‘The Queen and I’

Why Co-operation Ireland?
The Historic Meeting between Her Majesty The
Queen, President of Ireland Michael D Higgins, First Minister Peter Robinson
and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness

 By Breidge Gadd, Co-operation Ireland Board
member

So what or who is this organisation called
Co-operation Ireland that has been thrust into the media headlines with regard
to its role in scene setting for the historic McGuinness Queen handshake. Well
one thing it is not, (as was perhaps hinted in some news reports), is a
construct to enable the Queen and the deputy First Minister to meet in an arena
acceptable to all parties. Co–incidentally this weekend as the news broke that
this meeting was likely to take place almost one thousand cyclists, in the
pouring rain took part in Co-operation Ireland’s maracycle started first in
1984 and now a firmly established fundraising/ north south exchange which sees
cyclists from all ages, backgrounds and creeds cycle the road from Dublin to
Belfast and vice versa. Some do it for fun, some for fitness, all do it to for
fundraising.  Many also take part because of a personal belief that on
this tiny island off the western seaboard of Europe, people from the north and
south, so long held apart because of the troubles, or from ignorance and from
prejudice, need to meet up get to know each other and start getting along –for
the mutual benefit of all of us.

And it is no surprise that the founders of the
charity Co-operation North in 1979 (name change to current Co-operation Ireland
came in 1998) had exactly the same idea. Brendan Regan the visionary founder
believed that in a future world, people in trade, business, public services,
tourism and more needed to blow away the suspicion and mistrust of centuries of
history between north and south and for the benefit of all become friends and
work allies. It made sound economic and living sense.

Over the past thirty plus years of its existence
Co-operation Ireland designed and delivered, or funded mostly with European
peace monies, projects designed for the times that were in it, but all with
that fundamental core of helping the people on this island move to a future
which for the first time in history meant that we stopped killing each other in
the name of nationhood.

In the 1980s and 1990s when politicians and
journalists were much exercised with peace deals and processes Co-operation
Ireland was organising exchanges, cross border and beyond between Northern
Ireland and the Republic where people from all aspects of life met to talk,
eat, draw, sing, paint, write nursery rhyme books. Or, as trust grew in each
other, people got together to tackle problem issues, predictably learning in
the process that we had much more in common than we had different; that a poor
community in Finglas shared similar challenges and issues as a protestant
community in East Belfast, and that a troubled drug using unskilled teenager in
Belfast faces the same challenge as his counterpart in Dublin.

Sometimes the emphasis in projects was on
conflict resolution, sometimes on mediation sometimes staff found the people
and the skills necessary to help very damaged hurt people deal with their
troubled past. In some of the projects, border people who lived perhaps a mile
apart but were too scared because of a vicious border campaign, to meet and
greet, found the courage through a drama project to make those tenuous steps to
become friends with their neighbours.

As the peace process bedded in and other
Northern Ireland and Southern bodies got together themselves, Co-operation
Ireland changed direction. In recent times emphasis has been on working
cooperatively in Northern Ireland with other youth organisations to help the
most beleagured communities find a peace dividend for their disenchanted young
people who previously were attracted to the exhilaration of armed combat. We
are also well aware that ignorance and prejudice is not the preserve of poor
people and some of our North/South projects, such as Choir of the Year
delivered in partnership with RTE enable young people protected in the past
from the worst of civil conflict, to come together to develop mutual
understanding and the determination to work collaboratively for their better
future.

As the work has developed and kept apace with
political developments and political success   so has international
recognition for the knowledge and skill of staff. This was first recognised in
the Civic-Link programme which brought together school children from north and
south to develop a common youth citizen programme and which latterly included
American schools. Their teachers felt that the way we worked honestly and
sometimes painfully at difference, facing our prejudices, exploring our bigotry
had a lot to teach American schools –both teachers and children. Other
countries some coming out of their own bloody conflict also feel that they have
a lot to learn from Ireland’s experience and learning.

I am a member of the Board of Co-operation
Ireland.   My fellow members, from the Republic and Northern Ireland
come from a range of backgrounds in the private and public sector. While we
bring different skills to our voluntary commitment to the organisation we all
have a common passion and a very personal commitment; that is the firm belief
that we, who have lived through a turbulent time in the history of this island
owe it to our children to do everything that we possibly can to ensure that
future generations have the opportunity to design a better future for
themselves, where co-operation replaces hostility. That is why we give up our
spare time and offer what experience and skill that we have to help the
organisation in its endeavours. Some people think that because the fighting has
stopped the work is done. In many instances especially in the Republic
indifference has replaced fear of (those fighting people) in the north. In fact
the need to work closely together is more imperative than ever, not for a
united Ireland nor for closer ties with Britain but for the mutual benefit of
our children on this island.

Co-operation Ireland was delighted that the
Queen and the President of Ireland agreed to become joint patrons of our
charity. Their joint patronage displays in a deeply symbolic way the vision
that drives Board members and staff of Co-operation Ireland working together
across borders internal and external for a better life. We were honoured when
both heads of state attended together our 30th anniversary event at Hillsborough Castle in May
2009.  This week will see a big step forward in the building of an island
at peace with itself.