'Irish language could be a unifying, rather than divisive factor' - Leitrim/Sligo Senator

Sligo/Leitrim Senator, Nessa Cosgrove, made a call for renewed preparation and better engagement with the Northern Community "in the pursuit of Irish Unity".

Recalling her time as a Community Worker in various parts of Northern Ireland, Senator Cosgrove said:

 “As someone who lived and worked in the North before and after the Good Friday Agreement, and worked with both communities, and someone who lives in a Border Region, I have a strong interest and strong believe in the reunification of our Ireland. 

 We all know that the Ireland of today, north and south, is greatly changed from that of 1998 and the Good Friday Agreement. Our society is a pluralist society now, North and South of the Border.   

The very concept of national identity is unrecognisable today from what it was a century ago, and on our island it is a living breathing thing. That makes it all the more important that we abide by the principles of the Good Friday Agreement. Our goal must be to achieve the consent of the maximum number possible from all traditions.” 

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Reflecting on her role as Labour Party spokesperson on the Gaeltacht she stated that the Irish language could be a unifying, rather than divisive factor:

“As a lover of the Irish language I see the potential that embracing our culture can bring for inclusion, as an antidote to the poison of extremism and exclusion. This isn’t wishful thinking it’s historical fact. The 1911 census showed that up to 17% of all people on the Shankill Road, all protestants, had some level of Irish. Hidden Ulster the 1973 work by the late Pádraig Ó Snodaigh tells the same story, of a strong proportion of Gaelic speakers amongst Scottish settlers in Ulster. The real truth is often more complex than the simplistic stories we tell ourselves.  Brian Ervine, brother of David Ervine of the PUP, spoke of this more than 10 years ago, when as a champion for the use of Gaeilge, he said that Irish, could no longer be used as a “cultural stick” with which to beat unionists. Linda Ervine, married to Brian, who I had the pleasure of meeting, is on record as saying that Irish is very much the language of Protestants, Unionists and even Loyalists. The phrase she used Is Éireannach mé – ach is Briotanach mé fosta is one we should be encouraging, not disparaging. She and other language enthusiasts successfully opened a naíscoil in East Belfast in 2021. It’s motto is Páistí sona ag foghlaim le chéile, Happy children learning together.  This is what unity means.”

 Moving on to bodies, originating from both Unionist and Nationalist traditions, which Senator Cosgrove claims have demonstrated that change is possible she added “Organisations such as The Hume Foundation and the Shankhill women’s centre have been instrumental in bringing about peace and unity within the various communities in Northern Ireland.They have done this, offering leadership in peaceful change, brought forward through thought-shaping activities. This period of preparation should be used to engage in thought-shaping activity. We need a radical approach towards our relations with other communities who share our island. It is our challenge to further extend the hand of friendship in equality and justice to the other people who share our Island, to engage with northern protestant and unionist opinion about the future of Ireland.”