PRESIDENT MARY McAleese has spoken for "the fortunate generation" witness to "the juggernaut of history" transporting Ireland and Britain from a past relationship bedevilled by the complications of history to a new era of collegial and respectful friendship.
"That collegial, respectful relationship once so absent from the sweep of our intertwined histories is the single most salient characteristic of the present narrative," the President told a distinguished audience at the London School of Economics last night, in a lecture entitled Ireland and Britain - Old Narratives and New.
The President suggested there was possibly "no better showcase" for the new and dynamic relationship between the two countries "than in the way in which Ireland's long overlooked but very considerable contribution to the first World War has been brought into contemporary focus".
This "hidden history", she said, had "refused to settle for its place in shoeboxes in the attic".
Stressing that "the psychological and practical impact of manifestly cordial and respectful mutual relationships at the highest level cannot be over-stated", the President said they had undoubtedly helped create the climate in which the Belfast Agreement and the St Andrew's accord had been successfully negotiated.
"It has been fascinating to note just how powerful a tool for change has been the increasingly sensitive use of language, the evident awareness of the otherness of others, especially around their most neuralgic issues and the efforts made to be inclusive of all rather than highly partisan."
The President said these things had contributed to "opening up the space in people's hearts and minds" that allowed the seed idea of compromise to grow and prosper along with the possibility of forgiveness and reconciliation. They had allowed for what former taoiseach Bertie Ahern described in his historic address to the joint houses of parliament in Westminster in May last year as "the triumph of common interests over inherited divisions".
It was always going to be the case that relationships within Northern Ireland would be the most difficult to set to rights, she said.
"It was never going to be easy to overcome deep-rooted sectarian attitudes, seeded many centuries ago with toxic seed which has astonishingly long shelf-life," President McAleese said.
"Yet here again, the courageous and long-standing reconciliatory efforts of many people from both communities are supported and encouraged by the raft of civil and human rights protections within the Good Friday agreement and ancillary legislation."