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Unfinished Peace
Thoughts on Northern Ireland’s Unanswered Past
by Brian Rowan
2015 Colourpoint £9.99
“There
is no one truth, narrative or answer. There never will be, and this is
something that needs to be understood and accepted by us all.”
Brian Rowan lets us know from the outset
that his excellent book does not conclude with a miraculous resolution to
Northern Ireland’s troubled past and unsettled present. So, what’s the point of
the book if it is not a prescription to cure the pain? Why do I call it excellent
if it does not give us the magic answer?
Well, the book encapsulates the
complexities, contradictions and confusions of Northern Ireland’s recent past
(the book’s core span is from 1993 to the present) in a way that I don’t think
anyone has attempted before. Here we read about the famous and the infamous
people, the ordinary and the extraordinary, those who feel able to forgive and
those who can never forget. We encounter the people who justify atrocities for
their own agendas and those who will never understand why anyone can trigger a
bomb and fire a gun to kill, maim and destroy for any reason. We read about
those people who want a line drawn under the past and a guarantee of absolution
and those who want to see justice done regardless of the passing years.
But through it all, there are stories of
unusual things happening, not least one encounter that would have been thought
impossible after the bombing by the IRA in 1993 of a fishmonger’s shop on the
Shankill Road. Alan McBride’s wife was killed in the explosion. Sinn Fein’s Gerry Adams carried the
coffin at the bomber’s funeral. Yet the two men met some years later, shook
hands and had a long conversation, attracting congratulations and criticism along
the way. Although this particular example happened in 2009, it is not out of the question to assume that in the early 1990s similar, perhaps, lower key meetings, handshakes, reconciliations, etc happened and can be considered as small steps that eventually
led to the 1994 IRA ceasefire and the beginnings of a path to peace. It was a
time to consider trusting people and organizations that had been involved in or
close to violence and also a time of political confusion, seemingly endless
talks about talks and debates over wording and terminology. It was a time to forge ahead or to dig
in heels. Either way, it was a long road ahead and it still is.
An IRA ceasefire followed by a loyalist
ceasefire did not stop the killing.
But, in tandem with reprisals and scaremongering, there were more than a
few efforts to start conversations out in the open and in secret. These were
still dangerous, sensitive and unpredictable days. The book carries on with an
impressive methodical analysis bolstered by individual memories and
perspectives on how the police behaved, what prisoners thought, whether or not
weapons decommissioning would actually happen, whether paramilitary high
commanders could guarantee compliance in their lower ranks and how to deal with
the dreadful mystery of “the disappeared’. There is also the continuing
challenge of how to define the word “victim”.
The thorny issue of drawing a line under
the past and creating a mechanism to allow participants in “the struggle” to
give an honest account of events continues to this day. Anyone brave enough to
speak the truth is liable, under current legislation, to arrest, prosecution
and imprisonment. If there is no freedom to speak, the past will continue to
occupy its own fog. This is the
major stumbling block in the hope of ever finding out the whole truth. Of
course, as time marches on, a number of the key figures in the war, conflict,
struggle or whatever you want to call it, are dead, buried along with their
stories, leaving huge gaps in the complex historical jigsaw.
Any meaningful peace from a peace process
should include peace of mind as far as that is humanly possible. Oh how easy it
is to type such words. Changing hearts and minds, now that’s a long, tough
haul. “The past is still with us and still waiting for some process, some
creative thinking and some courage; some leadership and some new way,” writes
Brian Rowan.
“Unfinished Peace” is a monumental work
that has pulled together many stories and many perspectives from politicians,
police, academics, religious leaders, counsellors, journalists, relatives as
well as ‘policy’ statements from that alphabet soup concoction IRA, UDA, UFF,
UVF et al.
It is a brave book because it tries to dig
deep into the lives, history and emotions of many people involved in and
affected by the horrors of the past. It is a book to be studied, a book to
learn from and a book, hopefully, to help creative thinking to get Northern
Ireland closer to the peace it wants and deserves. There is no future in the
past but the next generations have opportunities to de-clutter, out with the
old and in with the new as we say at this time of year. Unfinished peace can
still be finished. If we give up on that ambition, what’s the point? Brian
Rowan has done a great deal here to encourage everyone to face facts and keep
bouncing back off the ropes.
Footnote:
Brian Rowan’s daughter Elle took most of
the photographs in the book. They are outstanding.
