COMMEMORATING THE past in as inclusive a way as possible offered one of the best ways of preventing a small minority from seeking to hinder strengthening ties between Britain and Ireland, the British ambassador to Ireland, Dominick Chilcott, said yesterday.
Relations between Ireland and Britain had never been stronger with both governments committed to accentuating the positive, and the relationship was no longer dominated by Northern Ireland but focused on promoting jobs and economic growth, he said. Delivering the opening address at a conference on Irish Home Rule 1912-1914 hosted by the school of history at University College Cork, Mr Chilcott said Ireland and Britain now worked closely together both in the EU and in the wider world. Speaking later, he said he hoped the British government would have some involvement in the 1916 Easter Rising commemorations and he hoped they would respect the past while recognising the modern relationship between the two countries.
“I hope we will be involved in the 1916 commemorations – we have to be brave enough to face what happened in the past, but we want to do it in a way with our friends in the Irish Government which shows we respect the past but doesn’t stop us from being very good friends in the present.”
In his main address he said: “We both recognise the very high value our economies have for each other. The UK is Ireland’s biggest trading partner. Ireland is the UK’s fifth biggest export market. When one of us in difficulty, it affects the other.
“When one of us is growing fast, it helps to promote growth in the other. We are increasingly inter-dependent. It has never been less true that England’s or, more correctly, Britain’s difficulty is Ireland’s opportunity. As two very open economies, we sink or swim together.”
Improvements in Anglo-Irish relations had stemmed from factors including close co-operation within the EU and the successful design and implementation of the peace process in Northern Ireland.
The visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Ireland last year was also a very significant factor, removing as it did any lingering inhibitions that the British or Irish people might have felt about expressing their regard, and indeed affection, for each other.
Recalling the sight of the queen joshing with stallholders in the English Market in Cork, Mr Chilcott said it was clear that both governments and the vast majority of both the Irish and British peoples wanted to strengthen the bilateral co-operation that benefits both islands.
“But there remains a very small minority who feel differently. They may wish to exploit the decade of centenaries for their own nefarious purposes. We mustn’t allow them to wind the clock back,” said Mr Chilcott.
