Tony Blair's departure and Irish Nationalism

Blair's departure: The view from Northern Ireland

By David McKittrick

Published: 11 May 2007

Tony Blair is so popular and respected in nationalist Ireland that the future will probably see statues erected in his honour: he can certainly expect a stream of honours in the years ahead.

And although Unionists in Northern Ireland have more reservations about his performance, his efforts in the peace process have guaranteed him favourable mentions in future history books.

It is unsurprising that the Irish Prime Minister, Bertie Ahern, has already paid the most glowing tributes to him, given their close partnership, but admiration for him is evident throughout the political spectrum within nationalism.

Iraq is widely regarded as a blot on his record, but the general sense from an Irish nationalist perspective is that his peace-process efforts overshadow this.

This week's formation of a power-sharing government in Belfast is seen in Ireland as his crowning achievement, but even before that historic breakthrough his stock was extraordinarily high.

This was in the first instance due to his informality, and lack of any trace of condescension towards the Irish, as well as the substance of his policies: Anglo-Irish relations had very often been difficult when the Tories were in power. His personal popularity was spelt out by the Irish Independent columnist Martina Devlin, who wrote earlier this year: "He was the first British prime minister not to treat us as poor relations or hapless incompetents. He has been good for Ireland." The Belfast Irish News has already delivered its verdict with the headline: "Place in Irish history assured", its political correspondent William Graham commending the time and energy Mr Blair spent on the peace process.

His first visit to Belfast as prime minister came only two weeks after taking office when he offered new exploratory talks with Sinn Fein while seeking to reassure Unionists that the union with Britain was safe.

It was the first of 37 visits across the Irish Sea. In the years that followed he had a succession of Northern Ireland secretaries but never relinquished his grasp of the often infuriatingly intricate details involved in balancing republican and Unionist demands.

Unionist reservations stem largely from the fact that many Northern Ireland Protestants had misgivings about the peace process itself. A common Unionist complaint is that he gave too many concessions to republicans, failing to exert pressure which might have achieved earlier IRA arms decommissioning.

Another frequent criticism is that the Good Friday Agreement, which he managed to put together in 1998, should have linked the release of prisoners to the arms issue. Another grumble is that he misled them into thinking that Sinn Fein would not get into government while the IRA continued to hold arms.

Historians are bound to spend decades grappling with the advisability of the peace process.

Overall, many figures played important parts in the peace process, and various sections of Irish opinion will highlight the contributions of figures such as John Hume, Gerry Adams, David Trimble, Bertie Ahern and others.

It is nonetheless certain that a place is reserved for Tony Blair in the Irish nationalist pantheon.



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