Speeches delivered by First Minister and Deputy First Minister today in Parliament Buildings, Belfast
Tuesday, 8 May 2007The following are the texts of the speeches delivered today by First Minister, the Rt Hon Dr Ian Paisley, MP MLA, and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, MP MLA, in the Great Hall in Parliament Buildings.
Dr Ian Paisley: “How true are the words of Holy Scripture, ‘We know not what a day may bring forth.’
“If anyone had told me that I would be standing here today to take this office, I would have been totally unbelieving. I am here by the vote of the majority of the electorate of our beloved Province. During the past few days I have listened to many very well placed people from outside Northern Ireland seeking to emphasise the contribution they claim to have made in bringing it about. However, the real truth of the matter is rather different.
“If those same people had only allowed the Ulster people to settle the matter without their interference and insistence upon their way and their way alone, we would all have come to this day a lot earlier.
“I remember well the night the Belfast Agreement was signed, I was wrongfully arrested and locked up on the orders of the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. It was only after the Assistant Chief of Police intervened that I was released. On my release I was kicked and cursed by certain loyalists who supported the Belfast Agreement. But that was yesterday, this is today, and tomorrow is tomorrow.
“Today at long last we are starting upon the road – I emphasise starting – which I believe will take us to lasting peace in our Province. I have not changed my unionism, the union of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom, which I believe is today stronger than ever.
“We are making this declaration, we are all aiming to build a Northern Ireland in which all can live together in peace, being equal under the law and equally subject to the law. I welcome the pledge we have all taken to that effect today. That is the rock foundation upon which we must build.
“Today we salute Ulster’s honoured and unaging dead – the innocent victims, that gallant band, members of both religions, Protestant and Roman Catholic, strong in their allegiance to their differing political beliefs, Unionist and Nationalist, male and female, children and adults, all innocent victims of the terrible conflict. In the shadows of the evenings and in the sunrise of the mornings we hail their gallantry and heroism. It cannot and will not be erased from our memories.
“Nor can we forget those who continue to bear the scars of suffering and whose bodies have been robbed of sight, robbed of hearing, robbed of limbs. Yes, and we must all shed the silent and bitter tear for those whose loved one’s bodies have not yet been returned.
“Let me read to you the words of Deirdre Speer who lost her Police officer father in the struggle:
Remember me! Remember me!
My sculptured glens where crystal rivers run,
My purple mountains, misty in the sun,
My coastlines, little changed since time begun,
I gave you birth.
Remember me! Remember me!
Though battle-scarred and weary I abide.
When you speak of history say my name with pride.
I am Ulster.
“In politics, as in life, it is a truism that no-one can ever have one hundred percent of what they desire. They must make a verdict when they believe they have achieved enough to move things forward. Unlike at any other time I believe we are now able to make progress.
“Winning support for all the institutions of policing has been a critical test that today has been met in pledged word and deed. Recognising the significance of that change from a community that for decade’s demonstrated hostility for policing, has been critical in Ulster turning the corner.
“I have sensed a great sigh of relief amongst all our people who want the hostility to be replaced with neighbourliness. The great king Solomon said, ‘To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted.
A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to break down and a time to build up.
A time to get and a time to lose.
A time to keep and a time to cast away.
A time to love and a time to hate.
A time of war and a time of peace.’
“I believe that Northern Ireland has come to a time of peace, a time when hate will no longer rule. How good it will be to be part of a wonderful healing in our Province. Today we have begun to plant and we await the harvest.”
Martin McGuinness: “I am proud to stand here today as an Irish Republican who believes absolutely in a United Ireland. I too wish to welcome the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, and the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, and all our friends from around the world whose encouragement and support helped us reach this day.
“Many people in this hall today played an important part in our peace process. Many others could not be with us today. I want to send our warmest thanks to them. We will continue to rely on that support as we strive towards a society moving from division and disharmony to one which celebrates our diversity and is determined to provide a better future for all our people.
“One which cherishes the elderly, the vulnerable, the young and all of our children equally. Which welcomes warmly those from other lands and cultures who wish to join us and forge a future together.
“A society which remembers those who have lost their lives. Last Saturday I spent time with families in County Tyrone who had lost loved ones. They and many others throughout our community have suffered and continue to suffer as a result of our difficult and painful past. So we must look to the future to find the means to help them heal.
“We must also focus on the practical. To build we need the tools and as I have said we look to our friends on these islands and beyond to provide the practical support we need.
“As joint heads of the Executive the First Minister and I pledge to do all in our power to ensure it makes a real difference to the lives of all our people by harnessing their skills through a first rate education system, caring for our sick in the best health service we can provide and building our economy through encouraging investment and improving our infrastructure.
“We know that this will not be easy and the road we are embarking on will have many twists and turns. It is however a road which we have chosen and which is supported by the vast majority of our people. In the recent elections they voted for a new political era based on peace and reconciliation.
“On the evening of the Assembly election results I received a phone call from a 100 years young woman, Molly Gallagher, in County Donegal. She told me she was very happy with the election results and that she was looking forward to seeing Ian Paisley and myself together. I’m sure she is watching us today. Hello Molly!
“As for Ian Paisley, I want to wish you all the best as we step forward towards the greatest yet most exciting challenge of our lives.
“Ireland’s greatest living poet, a fellow Derry man, Seamus Heaney, once told a gathering that I attended at Magee University that for too long and too often we speak of the others or the other side and that what we need to do is to get to a place of through otherness. The Office of the First and deputy First Minsters is a good place to start. This will only work if we collectively accept the wisdom and importance of Seamus Heaneys words.
“Since March 26 much work has been done which has confounded critics and astounded the sceptics.
“Like these talented people from Sky’s the Limit, who entertained us so wonderfully today, we must overcome the difficulties which we face in order to achieve our goals and seize the opportunities that exist. This, and future generations expect and deserve no less from us.”
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