Giants of peace meet on Boyne

Opinion

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Editor: Martin Lindsay

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Yet another political milestone was passed when old pals Bertie Ahern and Ian Paisley revisited the "green grassy slopes of the Boyne". A year ago, the idea of a Taoiseach saying farewell to the nation on the spot where the Irish Catholic cause was defeated by a Protestant king would have seemed beyond imagination; yesterday it was almost commonplace.

The air was thick with symbolism as two giants of the Northern Ireland peace process reminisced over a year of history-making political progress.

If the leaders of the two governments, north and south, can remain a traditional unionist and nationalist - and yet respect each other as colleagues and friends - then nothing is impossible in the fast-developing relationship between the United Kingdom and the Republic.

Who can forget that famous Paisley handshake in Dublin, or the significance of the gifts that they have exchanged? A bowl made from a Boyne tree, marking the Paisleys' 50th wedding anniversary, helped seal the St Andrews Agreement in 2006, just as Mr Paisley's present to Mr Ahern of a 1690 musket captured at the battle scene was reassurance that the ancient north-south quarrel had formally ended.

The Taoiseach has been as good as his word, since promising that the long-neglected site of the world-altering battle should be exploited for tourism.

Not only is the visitor centre set in unspoiled countryside, easily reached from Belfast and Dublin, but it can serve as an educational resource, spelling out to schoolchildren - and their parents - how the future map of Europe, and not just Ireland, was decided when King William triumphed over his father-in-law, James.

Centuries of division and conflict were to follow, during which both sides were guilty of terrible violence, but in the last decade there has been a rapid transformation of attitudes, largely thanks to the bravery of leading politicians at home and abroad. Mr Ahern richly deserved his day in the sun, and the plaudits he has received around the world, even if his retirement was accelerated by his strange financial dealings, which have done little to disturb his reputation.

The peace process he helped to initiate, along with Tony Blair, still has a long way to go, needing all the support it can get from incoming investors like the Americans gathered for this week's high-profile conference. The politicians have shown their readiness to share power together - even if unexpected problems are constantly arising - and now that spirit of generosity has to be conveyed to the many communities having difficulty letting go of the past.

The challenge of leadership now passes to Brian Cowen and Peter Robinson, who have all the pragmatic and persuasive qualities needed for progress. Working together, and with London, Europe and America, they can realise their common dream of a politically stable and economically successful Northern Ireland.