Mary Lou McDonald cannot be surprised about questions
Letters, Irish News, November 27th, 2024
MARY Lou McDonald was reported in The Irish News as saying it’s “not reasonable” to ask Sinn Féin representatives about Troubles atrocities, especially if they were “a baby in the 1970s about things that happened in the 1970s”. As she was born in 1969 she is presumably granting this dispensation to herself. By contrast she adds that this “wouldn’t be reasonably done with somebody from Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil or the Labour Party”.
The problem with this position is that in 1922 the British government introduced a general amnesty for all Troubles-related offences in the War of Independence, and in 1924 the Free State government did likewise for the Civil War. There have been no similar Acts of Oblivion for the more recent Troubles. Besides which, there are no members of the other political parties alive who participated in these earlier conflicts, let alone the more recent Troubles on both sides of the border.
Today there is no statute of limitation on murder or grievous bodily harm on the grounds that the offence was related to a political cause. Hence there are still many cases pending and investigations taking place into events that resulted in death or serious injury between 1969 and 1998. By the way, many of these acts of violence were committed by people born in the 1970s.
In campaigning for a Truth Recovery Process, we are proposing, as an alternative to the courts, that victims and survivors should also be able to find out what happened through a mediation process in which former combatants could provide information in good faith to them. The process would be subject to verification under the joint auspices of appointed representatives of the British and Irish governments, ideally subject to international oversight.
Given the continuing relevance of legacy cases and the growing public awareness of the effects of intergenerational trauma, Mary Lou McDonald and her fellow members can hardly be surprised, let alone outraged, that they are still being asked about what happened during the more recent Troubles, especially by members of those generations who lived through them and by members of younger generations still affected by the long term consequences.
HARRY DONAGHY, Northern Chair, Belfast
JOHN GREEN, Southern Chair, Wicklow
This letter was originally sent in response to Mary Lou McDonald’s comment reported in the Irish News by Conor Coyle on November 13th, 2024 that it was:
‘Not reasonable’ to ask Sinn Féin representatives about Troubles atrocities:
“The Free State establishment does have a difficulty, or reluctance, or refusal at key points in time, to move on and to actually accept that you don’t ask someone who was a baby in the 1970s about things that happened in the 1970s”.
A similar letter to the Irish Times was not published
For further information contact Padraig Yeates, Secretary at padraigyeates@gmail.com or truthrecoveryireland@gmail.com
Comment
Great letter,
A few weeks ago I was talking to a man, now in his 50s, crippled for life when he was 18 or 19.
He didn’t think forgetting was something he could do.
With best wishes,
Liam Kennedy
