Denzil McDaniel: A Sunday in March that posed the Irish question

Different things to different people, no?

Going back to the previous weekend, I had reason to travel on the Sunday morning, so went to the 9am service in my church.

Heading down the road afterwards in the car, I broke the journey by listening to the radio which happened to be tuned in to BBC Radio Ulster’s Morning Service which was from First Larne Presbyterian Church. Early on, the Minister referred to the writer Jonathan Swift’s description of long ago Presbyterians: “a more roguish, wicked, thievish race than even the natural Irish of the other three Provinces.”

Even then, Ulster was considered a bit different, eh?

The Minister joked that he hoped they’d moved on from that reputation, and indeed it was a lovely service involving children and people of all ages from that north-eastern corner of this island and evoked the Larne church’s mission statement of “sharing God’s love.”

By lunchtime, I was home and settled into my usual routine with a read of The Sunday Times, which included a great article by Michael Foley about another community in Ulster, the Gaels north of the Border in Crossmaglen. It focused particularly on the McConville family’s tough past experiences of conflict going on all around them.

When speaking of the isolation, Oisin McConville interestingly makes the point: “We didn’t feel northern or southern. We had our own identity and we had to struggle hard to protect that.”

Aside from the thought that Brexit and the Border will mean very different things in Larne and Crossmaglen, the differences in these two Ulster communities in terms of identity would seem varied too. Both Irish, though, surely?

My Sunday continued with the rugby in the afternoon; that day France were the opponents at the Aviva and I watched the anthems and wondered what was going through the minds of Best, Stockdale and Henderson as the Ulstermen stood while their fellow Irishmen belted out Amhrán na bhFiann. People, I presume of different faith and possibly none, united in a common battle.

In the evening, I caught up with social media and saw the story of two young people who had graduated as members of the Gardai; Marcela Jakobszak and Martins Klavins.

Marcela is a young woman originally from Poland and Martins is Lithuanian, and this was a small indication of the way Ireland has welcomed many different nationals into society over the years, and celebrates this at annual ceremonies.

Last September at the National Concert Hall in Dublin, 480 people resident here for some years were confirmed as Irish citizens. They were from 68 different countries, from Mongolia to South Africa, and included 47 British people who are now Irish citizens.

South of the Border, Ireland has changed socially with the acceptance of divorce, abortion laws, equal marriage and so on. It is changing demographically, too, and the thought occurred to me on that Sunday in March 2019 that the “new Irish” have a stake in this island, along with the Larne Presbyterians of presumably Plantation background and the Gaels from Crossmaglen left cut off from their natural hinterland by Partition.

It is, of course, the latter two who are involved in the ancient quarrel, although we should remind ourselves that it was the Presbyterians who inspired the Irish rebellion of 1798; angry with being discriminated against by the Anglican establishment, the Presbyterians joined with the Catholic population to try to end British rule.

A couple of centuries on, the unity question seems a lot more binary, to use a term in fashion.

I recall a senior Orangeman some years ago musing privately to me that “both sides have much more in common that which divides us” but it’s the divisions which continue to cause angst and hurt.

On St. Patrick’s Day, there’s no better country than Ireland for projecting its image across the globe, with green everywhere. North and South, we send government representatives to sell our qualities and politicians of all shades are welcomed through doors opened wide.

Omagh Protestant Boys flute band received an incredible welcome in the States in Savannah and Arlene Foster had the, er, privilege of meeting Donald Trump. So did Leo Varadkar, and when he met vice president, Mike Pence, the Taoiseach brought along his gay partner, Matt Barrett to meet a VP once accused of speaking about the LGBT community and “wanting to hang them all.”

All people from this island, of differing identities receive a warm welcome abroad; it’s just at home that we can’t live with each other.

Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald received criticism when she posed beside a banner saying “England get out of Ireland.” Personally, I thought it wasn’t any massive deal, but neither was it the most diplomatic or sensitive thing from the leader of a party which says it wants to woo Unionists and convince them of the merits of joining with them in a united Ireland.

I like the tweet which posed to Ms McDonald the prospect that in such a united Ireland there would be more, not less, people who are culturally British; and the tweet suggested “they might want to fly their flag over Leinster House on their queen’s birthday.”

The issue of a united Ireland poll seems to be moving centre stage. The narrative seems to be that moderate Nationalists in Northern Ireland have given this place a chance for the 20 years post-Good Friday Agreement. But the triumphalist nature of Unionism has pushed them towards the position that this entity is a busted flush and they’re ready to vote for a united Ireland.

However true that may be, it doesn’t seem to be the tactic to reassure Unionists, who would be hard to persuade anyway, amid a re-running of the competing of narratives of the violence of the latter decades of the last century.

The ancient quarrel doesn’t seem that ancient at times; and despite all the modernisation across the island, it would seem that the old divide of the two communities still dominates the debate.

Or are the people on the ground ahead of the politicians, people coming together seems to be happening and growing generically?

Will it dawn on us that all groups of different identity, background, sexuality, faith and none, have a future on this island and ownership of it? That they all deserve respect; that if one group wins, we all lose? What sort of country would it be that marginalises any minority?

With all its problems, of which there are so many, this is still a great place. If only we could share it.

In the week we celebrate St. Patrick, a true Christian leader, I should finish by saying the kingdom I belong to is the kingdom of God.