Speech from the 9th Annual Congressional Forum

9th Annual Congressional Forum Speech

as promised...

OPENING

Esteemed guests, friends of the Washington Ireland Program, Ladies and Gentlemen. It is with great pleasure and excitement that on behalf of the Washington Ireland Program Class of 2008 I welcome you to the 9th Annual Congressional Forum. My name is Lauren Allison and I am currently an undergraduate at the University of St Andrews in Scotland reading International Relations and French.

Being in the US Capitol today, as a girl from Belfast, I feel humbled. This is just one of the many experiences afforded to the Class of 2008; experiences that will never be forgotten and for which we will always be grateful.

The people of Northern Ireland and Ireland have many friends in America and this is no less evident in the room today. The Friends of Ireland in Congress continue to show their tremendous support to Ireland and the Washington Ireland Program. Over the last decade a champion of that support has been Congressman James T. Walsh, with whom I have been interning and who we are proud to honour this evening.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement; an accord that changed the lives of everybody both North and South of the border. This evening, my teammates will offer their reflections of the last ten years and their aspirations for the next.

I don't want to give away my age, but this time ten years ago, I was approaching my tenth birthday. It was at this tender age that I first became conscious of the realities of the 'Troubles'. This Saturday marks the ten year anniversary of the deaths of Jason, Mark and Richard Quinn who, aged only 9, 10 and 11, were killed in a firebomb attack at their home during marching season. As I watched the news of the tragedy unfold on the television a stark realisation presented itself; these boys were the same age as me. The news reporter could offer no reason for this attack, only the house was targeted because the family were Catholic.

Confused, this prompted me to quiz my parents, whether I was Catholic or Protestant.

Mark Quinn was ten-years-old when I was 10-years old. Now I am turning twenty and sadly Mark Quinn will not be.

Ten years on, I am aware that this small lifetime was denied to the Quinn brothers. The then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Mo Mowlam, captured this sentiment in the aftermath, stating that:

"With the Good Friday Agreement and the election of the New Northern Ireland Assembly, the ground has been laid for those better times. Tragically Mark, Richard and Jason will not share them."

This evening we will hear from 4 speakers, all of who lived through the last ten years. They will speak of a troubled history overcome and look to future challenges that we can face together with a new sense of optimism.

So without further ado, let me introduce you to Catherine Green who will share with us some of her recollections from the past.

Catherine Green's speech can be read here.


As Catherine said in ten years Northern Ireland has come through a lot but I am glad to say that the events of the past are no longer are true depictions of the Northern Ireland we see today.

I would now like to invite Luke O'Donnell to the front to speak about how the Celtic Tiger has shaped Ireland and the importance of economic partnership with the United States of America.

Luke O 'Donnell's speech can be read here.

Both Catherine and Luke highlighted past challenges, which our two countries have overcome. This being said, 10 years is, in the lens of history, a very short time and we are currently faced with other challenges, which have only emerged recently.
I would like now to invite Fiona McCarrick to speak about the new challenges, which face our ever-changing cultures.

Fiona McCarrick's will be added soon.

As Fiona said, culture has changed in Ireland and Northern Ireland. There is an emergence in Northern Ireland of a generation who no longer identify with the sectarian stereotypes, which have been imposed on them. This in itself, although challenging our traditional sectarian divides positively, raises many challenges on identity amongst the youth in Northern Ireland.

Allow me to introduce to you Laura McManus, whose experiences touch on this issue.

Laura McManus's speech can be read here.

CLOSING

I hope it is evident from these four testimonies that the past decade has meant different things to different people. We all come from diverse backgrounds despite residing on a relatively small island. For football enthusiasts the last 10 years have seen some momentous occasions such as the 1-0 victory of Northern Ireland over England. For others there have been much more momentous moments politically such as the signing of the St Andrews Agreement.

But one thing remains a common strand in each of these challenges. Despite being Irish, British or Northern Irish, the people of our nations now recognise that to move forward and face future challenges we must work together.

Yes, 10 years on, I can say we all, look forward to a much more promising future. I have a faith and a hope that 10 years from now, perhaps the next generation of future leaders will be standing here describing successes we could never have imagined.

American author Henry David Thoreau once said:

“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavours to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”

I believe this is true of Northern Ireland and Ireland. We have seen many events in the last 10 years that could be termed as unexpected successes. Who would have believed 10 years ago that the momentous pictures of two sworn enemies laughing together in Stormont would have been splashed across news screens the world over.

So let us advance towards the dreams of a society where religion and politics don’t dictate where people live, work or travel.
Let us advance towards achieving the goal that one day we will see a society where our own children celebrate their differences and appreciate the culture of others so that, together, regardless of their political beliefs, they may live in a peaceful, stable and just society.

Richard, Mark and Jason Quinn will not get to enjoy the society we now live in, but we can. I challenge not only the leaders in our home nations, but each individual, not to forget the deaths of the Quinn brothers and the 3,523 victims of the troubles but honour them by not wasting our opportunities and make Northern Ireland and Ireland countries to be proud of.