A chara, – The funeral of Garret FitzGerald was a profoundly emotional occasion for thousands of Irish and British people, not least for the surviving negotiators of the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985 – one of Dr FitzGerald’s great legacies to the peace process and to history. We were honoured by the presence of Robert Armstrong, Lord Armstrong of Ilminster, former British cabinet secretary and leader of the British team of negotiators. We missed the late and much loved Dermot Nally, Irish cabinet secretary and our own leader during the years of intense negotiation before Hillsborough. Happily his wife Joan joined Sean Donlon, Noel Dorr and me in Donnybrook church. We also missed Andy Ward, the late brilliant secretary of the Department of Justice and Declan Quigley the late distinguished head of the Attorney-General’s Office.
After Robert Armstrong returned to London he sent me a most moving message from which the following are brief extracts: “I cannot find the words to express what it meant to me to be there with you, with Sean, with Noel, and with Joan Nally: ‘we few, we happy few, we band of brothers’. We missed Dermot, of course, and he was very much in my mind. And I was sad that David Goodall, my friend and colleague in the negotiations, could not be with us. In those days Garret was your leader, and not ours; but we could recognise the ideals which he was pursuing, and we could not only respect but also respond to those, and he became and never ceased to be a friend, and an inspiration. I know that the process which culminated in the Queen’s visit last week began round the tables in Iveagh House and in the Cabinet Office in those days.
“I remember, when I was sitting in the Cabinet Room during those days with the Prime Minister and the Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs and for Northern Ireland, discussing the drafting and the details of the agreement, reflecting that relations between Britain and Ireland had been discussed in that room over centuries, that we were now adding a new chapter to a long history, and that we had the possibility of creating an opportunity for a profound, beneficial and lasting change in that relationship. I am proud and grateful that we were able to do so; and I am sure that we should not have succeeded without Garret.”
The Irish team was directed at the political level by Garret FitzGerald, the tánaiste Dick Spring, the minister for foreign affairs Peter Barry, the Minister for Justice Michael Noonan and our Attorney-General John Rogers. Their presence in Donnybrook completed for “the band of brothers”, as we have become, our sense of having been permitted to play some part in helping move the tectonic plates of one of history’s most bitter legacies. Throughout, Garret FitzGerald led the Irish team – and sometimes inspired the British at the highest levels – with unyielding determination and typical control of every detail. The evidence of his influence was in the transformation of the seemingly settled pro-unionist convictions of the British prime minister and in her admirable and steadfast support for the Agreement in the face of convulsed loyalist rioting and outrage afterwards. The Irish government had a real and ungainsayable role in the processes of government of Northern Ireland. The political landscape was transformed.
For myself this experience was the greatest privilege of my life. – Is mise,
MICHAEL LILLIS,
Dartmouth Square, Dublin 6.
Madam, – Considering his early career and life long interest in aviation, surely the renaming of Terminal 2 to the “Garret FitzGerald Terminal” would be a fitting tribute to the great man. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – After his retirement from active politics, Garret FitzGerald retained an influential voice in our political world. His articles and interviews were insightful, balanced, sensible and honest. But most importantly, he rose above party affiliations, and at times even adopted stances which disagreed with his erstwhile party. In other words, he used his experience, intelligence and integrity to speak his mind on important national issues without following any party line.
Surely, if this were to be the template for membership of our Senate, there would be very few calls for its abolition? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – It is obvious from the 1921/1922 Treaty debates that Michael Collins tried his utmost to seek consensus on the Treaty and went to immense lengths to avoid divisions with his colleagues. I therefore reject the contention that “he remains .. . a symbol of former divisions in Irish society.” as suggested by Redmond McAuliffe (May 26th).
I recommend that Enda Kenny hangs an accompanying portrait of Garret FitzGerald in his office with the one of Michael Collins; one a symbol of the revolutionary era which laid the foundations for the independent State and the other to honour a man who led and oversaw the transformation of that State into the more pluralist and open country we enjoy today. – Yours, etc,