THE SUCCESSFUL negotiation of policing and justice devolution in Northern Ireland proves that some “can dare to dream in the darkness” to create peace, British prime minister Gordon Brown said yesterday.
Mr Brown, who was presented with a Tipperary Crystal bowl of shamrock by fashion designer Louise Kennedy, became the first prime minister to attend the annual St Patrick’s Day Champ reception in Westminster.
“There is no celebration that is greater than the celebration that is being had around the world for St Patrick’s Day,” said Mr Brown, who was introduced by former Northern Ireland Office minister, Lord Alf Dubs.
Joking that he would have to declare the shamrock to the House authorities as a gift, Mr Brown said: “There is no celebration that is being held in so many different countries, or no celebration that is so marked by the historical experience of the Irish people.”
The devolution deal required “men and women of courage, prepared to forgive the past in the service of the future”, he said, adding that he was “very proud of all of those” who helped to bring it about. The negotiations had often been difficult, “many, many late hours in which the difference between night and day didn’t seem to exist at all”.
Reserving his warmest words for Taoiseach Brian Cowen, Mr Brown said: “Nobody deserves greater credit for this than my friend Brian Cowen. He brought great patience, he brought huge tenacity, he brought good humour and he brought great skill. This settlement would not have happened without the levels of co-operation between the Irish and British governments and, particularly, the work of the Northern Ireland ministers and the work of [NI Secretary of State] Shaun Woodward, Brian Cowen and [Minister for Foreign Affairs] Micheál Martin.
“In partnership, we have achieved something that people said a few months ago was impossible. Now we look forward to the beginning of April when the devolution will actually be a reality.
“There is nothing beyond us if we are pursuing the greatest of causes and it is our generation, therefore, that peace will finally come to Ireland. For all of those who showed the courage to make it possible, today must be a day when we celebrate their success,” he told the reception.
Paying tribute to the Irish in Britain, the prime minister said: “I am so grateful to all of you for the contribution to the life of our country; the contribution in sports, in arts, in culture, in literature, in education, and in politics, and I do thank you all for what you do and thank you all for the contribution that you make to our culture.
“We can dare to dream in the darkness that things will happen if we bring people together. There are so many stories: the end of apartheid, the end of slavery, the extension of the franchise, the end of segregation that proves that people can create their own destinies if they have their own will.”
Champ was set up 12 years ago to improve dialogue between Catholics and Protestants in the North, and between Ireland and Britain.
Minister of State John Curran, who has represented the Government at a series of events in London and elsewhere over the St Patrick’s celebration, said there is now “a wish for the peace to be established, sustained and built on”.