The First Word: Shall We Ever Overcome?

My English brother-in-law once asked me if I had anything happy to write about. To paraphrase Dorothy Parker, the world has enough happiness in it without our having to read about it in magazines, but I know what he means. I wish I could devote this space to waxing lyrical about our Top 100: How their success contrasts with the snuggles of earlier generations. And how some of that ancestral tenacity is imbued in the likes of astronaut Eileen Collins, whose determination overcame all.

I could easily write 800 words saying, “Hey, look at us now, aren’t we Irish the greatest? Look at the people on our list and see how far we’ve come.” I could mention the “No Irish Need Apply” signs yet again, and how we’ve crushed every obstacle and made it cool to be Irish besides.

But once again Northern Ireland is in the headlines, and all congratulatory thoughts bend under the weight of the depressing news that the new Assembly has been dissolved and the Six Counties are again under direct rule from Britain. (Read “Deep Gloom Hangs Over the North” page 12 in this issue).

I am reminded that no matter how far we have come, no matter how rich or successful or treasured we are for our humor, music, wit and charm, brains and talent, we have one problem that takes the wind out of all our glory sails.

There in the background, casting a shadow over our success is our failure to move forward in Northern Ireland.

There is no value in pointing the finger, but I wish Peter Mandelson hadn’t suspended the powersharing executive. I wish Unionist intransigence over decommissioning hadn’t been the cause. I wish the IRA would take the high moral ground and give up their weapons.

I wish people would talk more about loyalist decommissioning and the fact that there are upwards of 130 thousand legally held weapons in Northern Ireland (but it’s virtually impossible for a Catholic there to get a gun license).

I wish the British government would understand that the army presence is just adding to the atmosphere of distrust and look at parallel decommissioning and demilitarization as a way forward.

I wish I could write about those on our Top 100 list who worked so hard to bring the people of Northern Ireland together, not least of all George Mitchell, without fear that all that has been accomplished will fade away.

I wish I never had to write another editorial on the North.

The truth is that the conflict in Northern Ireland is being left behind by the world. It is an anachronism in these times of global mindset and eCommerce.

The truth is that we are all related in those two islands. We are indelibly linked through ties that are familial, geographical and historical. What a shame that we can’t extol each other’ s virtues.

Here in America, English, Irish, Northern Irish, Scottish and Welsh immigrants find that they have more in common than not. My own family now includes two Northerners-one Protestant, one Catholic-and two English, one with not a drop of Irish blood and one with Irish parents.

My maternal grandfather, a doctor in the British army, was awarded the Military Cross for service in the Battle of the Somme, but we hardly spoke of `that’ side of the family when I was growing up. My father’ s stories of the atrocities of the Black and Tans (British army irregulars) held more sway.

The peace of the last few years has allowed us a more open view. Grandfather was dusted off and given proper recognition within the family. It would be a shame to put him away again.

The truth is that the narrative is not a one-sided tale-all our histories are deserving of respect. But the past should propel us forward, not keep us rooted to the spot. My father would have found it very hard to vote to amend Ireland’s constitution to give up its claim to the North, but people just like him, from all over Ireland, voted to do just that because they believed the future took precedence over the past.

The majority in Northern Ireland put aside distrust and prejudice and voted for the Good Friday Agreement and the power-sharing executive.

It will be a real shame if a bitter minority, entrenched in fear and hate, keep a whole people from advancing into this new millennium with a fresh will and determination to overcome the past.

Mortás Cine!