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Gordon Brown statement to House of Commons on Hillsborough Agreement –
None of this could have been achieved without working closely with the Irish government – and I pay tribute to Brian Cowen, the Irish Foreign Minister, Micheal Martin and to the Taoiseach’s predecessors Bertie Ahern and Albert Reynolds.
Who’s missing from that list of predecessor Taoisigh?
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Ah another endorsement from a British PM for FF as the natural party of government for the Oirish.
Well did John Bruton actually contribute anything to the peace process?
If it was FG in power and not FF then there would be no peace process.
Sad to say but true. Fine Gael could not put aside their ingrained anti-republican feeling to argue the pan-nationalist position. And its that pan-nationalist position that pushed the position forward sufficiently to end the conflict.
It is regretted that they could not ever get past this to be able to stand up to the British or the loyalists.
crooks and fraudsters that FF are but at least they could do it. How would FG have handled the recent devolution talks I wonder? Who would they instinctively side with? Many suspect the DUP even though that party was clearly being petulant in the main.
Is that a fair statement? Considering that Enda Kenny believes that one of the big consequences of unemployment will be a rise in dissident support. Fancifully insane that idea.
And evidence enough i believe that FG were and are sadly too provincial, too mired in the past
IRA ceasefire when John Bruton started his 2 years in office. Parts of London being bombed when John Bruton finished his 2 years in office. I’m not surprised the British Government don’t want to mention him. I wonder do Ingersoll Rand know what they are getting for their €180K.
Colm,
The end of the ceasefire was as much Major’s fault as Bruton. But all too typically of FG when the British decided to shaft the process in order to have a tory govt. safe the FG govt. here didnt do too much about it.
Why would they? They were unable to separate their obession with republicans and the need to act as defenders of the nationalist argument and to demand fair process.
Thats why Bruton is dropped from the history books here. Although I am sure he is lionised in the Fine gael party still.
Well done John.
Who’s missing from that list of predecessor Taoisigh?
In fairness, as others have pointed out – the missing Taoiseach is John “Fuckin’ Peace Process” Bruton.
It was Garrett Fitzgerald who began it all with the Anglo Irish Agreement in 1985 which for the first time gave Dublin a say in the affairs of N Ireland. And remember what Haughey did with that, he send his to rag Brian Lenihan to the USA to oppose it, an act of national treason. Of course Haughey later dismissed him in 1990, but did the Lenihans hold that against him ,no, Brian jnr read the lesson at the disgraceful state funeral of CJH even though Haughey stole about 250,000 from his father;s sick fund.The party first and foremost.
Seamus,
The Anglo-Irish agreement was most definitely not the start of the peace process. Instead it was an attemt to bolster SDLP at SF’s expense.
It had nothing to do with finding a resolution and more to do with hoping the issue would go away.
Unfortunately for Garret it was not possible to ignore 40% of the nationalist community.
Haughey opposed the agreement for selfish political reasons but it was a crock of a treaty that only furthered the model of exclusion.