On Wednesday May 17 MPs from all five federal parties gathered with members of the Ottawa Irish community and guests from Montreal and Toronto to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement (GFA).
The GFA ended over three decades of armed conflict on the island of Ireland and has served as a model for conflict resolution in many parts of the world. In particular, the Irish experience was very influential in the successful negotiations between the Colombian government and FARC guerrillas.
The event in a Federal Parliament building was organized by NDP MP Charlie Angus with the help of Friends of Sinn Féin Canada. It was attended by over a dozen members of parliament, including the leader of the Canada-Ireland Parliamentary Friendship Group Liberal MP James Maloney, Elisabeth May of the Green Party, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, and Bloc Québécois critic for International Affairs Stephane Bergeron.
Over a hundred people filled the room to hear the guest speakers – Irish ambassador Eamonn McKee, Canadian General John De Chastelain, and Sinn Féin finance minister for the Northern Ireland Assembly Conor Murphy, talk of the importance of the Good Friday Agreement. Ambassador McKee, who was involved in the negotiations at the time, described the challenges involved and praised the contributions of Canadians to the peace process. He explained that unlike the US representatives who went at the behest of their government, the Canadians went as individuals, with only their good reputations and personal integrity to lend credibility to their work.
READ MORE: Why Canadian progressives should pay attention to the success of Sinn Féin
General De Chastelain, who oversaw the challenging process of decommissioning paramilitary weapons, received a huge round of applause when he reached the podium to speak. He described how complex and, at times, tortuous the negotiations were and recalled thinking the night before the deadline for the Good Friday Agreement to be approved that it had less than a 50 per cent chance of being accepted.
Sinn Féin’s Conor Murphy, who was also involved in the GFA negotiations, spoke of how the Agreement has brought peace and guided the past 25 years but should also light the path for the next 25 years. In his view, the GFA is a process, not a final product, and it will lead to a new inclusive united Ireland. The Sinn Féin minister also saluted the importance of Canada and Canadians to the peace process and the success of the Good Friday Agreement.
While the speakers were talking, a slide presentation along the walls showed old pictures with prominent Canadians like General De Chastelain, former Supreme Court Justice Peter Corey, and the late Warren Allmand OC PC during the momentous days of the peace process negotiations. As well, the slides showed Canadian activists who went to observe the Orange Order marches that were trying to force their way through Nationalist areas to provoke a crisis and undermine the Good Friday Agreement.
In 1998, the presence of these Canadian observers played a key role in defusing the situation and forcing the British government to rein in the Loyalists. The situation threatened to explode when Loyalist terrorists set fire to the home of a mixed (Nationalist/Unionist) couple and their three children burned to death. Several rank-and-file Canadian activists such as Arthur Sandborn and Manon Perron, both trade unionists from Montreal, met with then British secretary of State Mo Mowlan and ended up serving as a liaison with the nationalist community on the Ormeau Road to negotiate a compromise. In the end, the Orangemen were allowed to march along the road but had to remain silent. The Nationalists stood and watched in silence until the Orange bands arrived. Then they released black balloons to show mourning for the murdered children. The balloons hung in the air and visibly shamed the Loyalists. The scene drew international media attention to the issue of the marches and the apparent willingness of British state security forces to allow triumphalist sectarian marches to go through Irish nationalist neighbourhoods. Since that time, the issue of the Orange marches has been largely neutralized, and the role of Canadian observers was a key factor.
The involvement of Canadians made a lasting contribution to the Irish peace process and the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. The 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement event was deeply moving. Everyone in attendance could feel pride at the contribution of Canadians, both prominent figures and ordinary activists, to helping the Irish people achieve a landmark agreement that put in place the resolution of a seemingly unresolvable conflict.
On May 27, it was Montreal’s turn to mark the GFA’s 25th anniversary with a celebratory event organized by Friends of Sinn Féin Canada. Fifty people filled the back terrace at Hurley’s Irish pub to listen to the wonderful music of Gráinne and the poetry of Samara O’Gorman. The guest speaker Sinn Féin MP for North Belfast John Finucane talked about the many positive changes the Good Friday Agreement has brought to the North of Ireland.
John personally experienced tragedy during the conflict at the age of 8 when his father was murdered in front of him by Loyalist paramilitaries directed by British Intelligence agents. This was one of the most infamous cases of collusion between Loyalist killers and British security services. John spoke powerfully of how young people now grow up in a peaceful society thanks to the Good Friday Agreement. Like Conor Murphy in Ottawa, John stressed that the GFA is also a roadmap for a future united Ireland based on equality, human rights, and inclusion.
Another speaker, Dr. Michael Kenneally, founder of the School of Irish Studies, acknowledged activists in Montreal who have for decades informed the Montreal Irish community about events in the North of Ireland and built awareness and support for a peaceful and just solution to the conflict. The following day, John was invited by AOH leader Victor Boyle to address the Montreal Irish community at the Black Rock on the annual Walk to the Stone.
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