SINN Fein has accepted that it has not achieved its dream of a united Ireland by the centenary of the Easter Rising, though one local party member believes “we are on the road to it.”
Fermanagh-south Tyrone MLA Sean Lynch, a former IRA commander, has dismissed the suggestion that his party’s hopes of leaving the United Kingdom have been “a failure.”
“We don’t have a united Ireland, but that’s not a failure. We have a democratic process across the whole of Ireland and it is now up to us to convince others about a united Ireland, a new Ireland,” Mr. Lynch told The Impartial Reporter.
Sinn Fein’s Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness is on record predicting a united Ireland by 2016. In 2003, he told his party’s manifesto launch: “Certainly it is our view that it can be accomplished over a short period. Gerry Adams has said 2016 and I think that is achievable.”
“We were possibly aiming towards it [2016] but dates shouldn’t mean anything in our struggle,” said Mr. Lynch. “A united Ireland was probably a dream for those who fought in 1916. I think they realised they weren’t going to win but what they did was strike a blow for future generations to carry on the struggle,” he said.
The Easter Rising in 1916 was seen by some, including republicans, as a successful revolt against Britain, and by others, such as unionists, as a failure. Historians see it as a significant factor in the creation of the Republic of Ireland and the partition of the island.
“1916 was a defining moment for the politics of all of Ireland, and if it hadn’t happened maybe we would be living under British rule, or home rule, whatever you want to call it. Now is an important time for republicans to honour those who gave their lives for Irish freedom,” said Mr Lynch.
Mr. Lynch, whose Grandmother was a Protestant, added: “I have more in common with the Protestant people of Ulster than the people of Cork or Kerry. We all have this island to live on.”
The politician, who will contest the Assembly election in May, is a former member of the IRA and admits to getting involved in the Troubles after being motivated by the Easter Rising and Bloody Sunday in 1972 in which thirteen people were killed when British paratroopers opened fire on a civil rights march in Londonderry. A fourteenth died later.
“After that I felt like in 1916 there was only one way to fight the British and reflecting on and connecting with 1916, I realised that what happened then was done by arms and the only way Britain would listen was for arms again.
“At the end of the day, I think, the IRA brought the British Army and the British Government to the table. I don’t think that would have happened had it not been for the IRA campaign. Joining the IRA was a major step but it was one that I have never regretted. You knew the risks; you either ended up in prison or dead,” he said.
In April 1986, Mr. Lynch and his IRA colleague Seamus McElwaine were preparing to ambush a British army patrol on the Lisnaskea to Rosslea road when the SAS opened fire on the pair. Mr. McElwaine was shot dead while Mr. Lynch was left seriously wounded.
He was taken to the military wing of Musgrave Park hospital in Belfast, where he spent four months before being transferred to Crumlin Road jail. In December 1986 he received a 25 year prison sentence for possession of explosives and a rifle. He was released in October 1998 under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement after serving 12 years.
During his time in the Maze prison, Lynch was officer commanding of republican prisoners where he says the events of 1916 were never far from his mind.
“We commemorated 1916 in prison every year through pageantry and readings from some of the leaders’ speeches. We held a dignified commemoration every Easter Sunday,” he said, adding his belief that what happened back then was a “defining moment.”
“It was a rising to free Ireland,” said Mr. Lynch, who does not consider himself be living under British rule today.
“No, I don’t. We have an Assembly which has an all Ireland Ministerial Council and structures. I believe the British influence here is lessening. A united Ireland is a process, it was never going to happen with one big bang. I have absolutely no doubt that we are well on the road to it,” said Mr. Lynch.
The senior republican addressed an Easter Rising commemoration in Pettigo, County Donegal, on Monday. It was here where Ronnie Funston, a former member of the Ulster Defence Regiment, was killed by the IRA as he drove his tractor near the border in 1984. It was in nearby Tullyhommon where a 150 pound bomb planted by the IRA was discovered in 1987 on the same day as the Enniskillen bombing which killed 11 people, and injured 64.
For some locals, the hurt and pain of those dark days still lingers.
Ken Funston’s brother Ronnie accused the organisers of the event of being “insensitive.”
“Did the organisers consider the impact of this? Did they consider inviting me to speak? There is much talk of a shared society, but as a Border unionist, I don’t feel part of it,” he said.
When asked if he understood the hurt and pain that some people along the Border area, including Pettigo and Tullyhommon, continue to feel as a result of the IRA, Mr. Lynch replied: “That is understandable in any conflict. There was hurt on all sides and I think we have to understand that and try and work through it so we can reconcile those differences.”
Meanwhile, Ulster Unionist MP Tom Elliott has criticised Mr. Lynch for taking part in the event, saying he was “not comfortable” by it.
“I was not comfortable with Sean Lynch doing it but that’s a matter for the republican movement. I think it demeans their cause. It demeans the republican and nationalist cause, that they have someone who was a very active IRA member who was part of an organisation that brutally murdered many of their fellow citizens, friends and neighbours.”
The Fermanagh-south Tyrone representative spoke of “sensitivities” in the area.
“There are still sensitivities, there were people murdered by the IRA there. There are many people in the area that have felt pain and suffering. There were many families put out of the area because of murder attempts by the IRA,” he said.
Mr. Elliott, who served in the Ulster Defence Regiment during the Troubles, was based in North Fermanagh, which included covering the Pettigo area.
“I spent many nights in that area, including Tullyhommon. I think I was aware of how the Easter Rising motivated some republicans, maybe they felt it was a patriotic time, maybe they felt they had something to continue,” he said, describing 1916 as “an unnecessary period of murder” and “a failure."
"I don’t believe it should be celebrated because it was an unnecessary campaign, led by terrorism, led by militant republicans, but I don’t think the republican or nationalist narrative of the Easter Rising and mine will ever square up,” said Mr. Elliott.
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