Irish President Catherine Connolly is currently on a tour of Northern Ireland. It is her first official trip across the border since her victory in the Irish Presidential election late last year and fulfils an election promise that Northern Ireland would be her first official destination as Irish President. The previous two days have been eventful.
Her first stop on Wednesday was with the local branch of the Peaceplayers. On their website the Peaceplayers mission statement says…
Founded in 2003, PeacePlayers Northern Ireland was created with the goal of using basketball as a tool for reconciliation and peace-building in a region that had been deeply divided by years of conflict. Our mission is to unite and empower young people from all parts of the community through the shared experience of sport, and to promote understanding and respect.
President Connolly even managed to score two shots on the court, one of which was accomplished while not even facing the hoop!
Following her visit with the Peaceplayers, the President travelled to Stormont Castle where she was received by First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly. The BBC report on the visit quotes both leaders
…O’Neill said Connolly was “very much fulfilling her pledge that she made to be a president for all”. “I think we’re going to enjoy a very good relationship with her throughout her tenure as Uachtarán na hÉireann (Irish president),” she added. O’Neill also said she extended an invitation to Connolly to attend the Irish arts festival Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann when it takes place in Belfast in August.
Little-Pengelly said the ministers “had a positive engagement” with the president.“I believe in building positive working relationships, particularly important in the context of our closest neighbour, based on mutual respect,” she said.
Later at an engagement at the University of Ulster in Belfast, the Irish Times quotes President Connolly as saying in a speech that…
“Northern Ireland represents “a beacon of light to the world” in showing that peace is possible, President Catherine Connolly has said… Connolly told a packed room at Ulster University in Belfast on Wednesday she wanted to play a part in “deepening relationships on this island”.“We won’t always agree,” she said. “We will have different perspectives and, of course, different aspirations for the future. All of those perspectives and aspirations are legitimate.”
During the speech, she referenced Article 3 of the Constitution, which sets out the firm wish of the Irish people for a united Ireland under consent.“I think it’s worth reading out what we committed to in our Constitution because I couldn’t capture it any better,” she said. Connolly said we are living in an “intertwined and unfinished story”.“Our games, our music, our languages should never divide us,” she added. “They are integral to this island’s cultural wealth. They are our shared treasures.”
The day concluded with a reception for women in community leadership.
The second day of the trip was focused on the Northwest where President Connolly attended a civic reception in the Guildhall and visited both the Siege Museum and Museum of Free Derry as well as a local cultúrlann. She also met the families of the victims of Blood Sunday.
The main headline from the day was her interaction with the DUP’s Gregory Campbell…
…Gregory Campbell has told President Catherine Connolly “you’re in our country” and warned her against “rewriting the past” on her visit to Co Derry. In a short interaction between the pair after President Connolly addressed the Guildhall, she said she is “here to listen” – adding “at the end of the day we’re human beings and we have to have respect”.
Referring to his attendance this evening (Thursday) at a debate in Dublin, the DUP MP told the President: “You’re in our country. Tonight I’m going to your country.” He added: “We’re not leaving the United Kingdom, not now or at anytime in the future, so I think it’s better if we try and ensure no-one rewrites the past as we all build for the future.” Mr Campbell said he wanted to “make our acquaintance to try and build on that”.
President Connolly replied: “We’re here to listen and to learn from each other and rewriting history would be…” when Mr Campbell interjected “a big mistake”, to which Ms Connolly agreed, saying: “In any country and in many countries they’ve rewritten history to suit a narrative.”
She will conclude her three-day official visit to Northern Ireland later today.
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