Sectarian divide continues to worry Irish president
Thursday, 20 Nov 2008 13:46
Good neighbours: Mary McAleese grew up in Belfast
Ireland's sectarian tensions remain a "profound" problem for the country, its president warned last night.
Mary McAleese told an audience at the London School of Economics that sectarian hatred was "a toxic seed with a long shelf-life" and that, both north and south of the border, the issue had to be resolved.
"Most people live separately – that's not a good way to meet your neighbours because you're living in a hermetically sealed bubble. That has to be addressed," she said.
"You need a chance to know one another. Out of fear of trampling on each other's neuralgic sensitivities we did not [talk about the tensions]. Even good friends found them too hot to handle."
Earlier this week Martin McGuinness and Peter Robinson succeeded in resolving a deadlock which had prevented the Northern Ireland executive from meeting for five months.
Today it holds its first meeting after agreement on the devolution of policing and justice powers.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen has described the development as "the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle" and, as Ms McAleese indicated, the frameworks now in place should make dialogue easier.
"There's quite a lot of work to be done. I'm so pleased we're in a generation where these debates can take place without frightening people," she said in response to a question on Irish unification.
On political prospects in Northern Ireland, she added: "They have a lot of work to do. It's taken them five months… when I look back at it it tells you what a struggle it was. But it gives us great hope they will now find creativity, imagination, a sense of common trust. Hopefully that will flourish."