Northern Ireland centenary: Fermanagh politicians look to the future

Without the ongoing pandemic, Monday would doubtless have been marked with great fanfare from Unionist groups across civic society – instead, celebrations and commemorations have been delayed until later in the year. Locally, Centenary day plans were pared right back, with Enniskillen Castle being illuminated in purple, in non-partisan, corporate Council colours on May 3 to mark 100 years since The Government of Ireland Act 1920 came into effect, marking a respectful if muted acknowledgement of the milestone.

Nationalist groups have been clear they would not be celebrating Partition, but perhaps people on all sides of political divides in Northern Ireland will have used the anniversary to take stock of the current situation, reflect on what the North has experienced in the past 100 years, and to use this time to look to the future – certainly, a future that Nationalists are looking to with great interest. While there has been much talk about the past, now is also the time to look to the future of Northern Ireland.

The Impartial Reporter spoke to two young and upcoming Fermanagh and Omagh District Councillors about their views on a century of Northern Ireland, and their vision for the future.

“FORWARD-thinking, approachable and a Unionist” – that is how Councillor Deborah Erskine responded when asked to describe herself in few words by the Impartial Reporter. Councillor Erskine (née Armstrong) is part of a younger cohort of politicians in Fermanagh.

The Erne North councillor spoke to The Impartial Reporter about the Northern Ireland Centenary and what it means to her. She said: “The centenary means a lot to me, obviously, as a Unionist because we're looking back over the past 100 years, and then it's about looking forward as well. “I'm obviously one of those people that be celebrating that as a Unionist, but naturally, there will be people that will feel very differently about the centenary.”

Echoing her mentor, First Minister Arlene Foster’s resignation speech, Councillor Erskine said: “In 2021, there's a place for everybody here in Northern Ireland. “We have to share this place; we live together side by side [with people of all faiths, politics and backgrounds]. “And whether you're someone who thinks and laments about the fact that this is Partition, or whether you're someone that celebrates the fact that we're part of a union, we do have to use this period of time as a time of reflection for looking at Northern Ireland, and where we wants to see the country go.”

Councillor Erskine believes that the response to the pandemic has “cemented” Northern Ireland’s place in the union. She said: “The pandemic shows how important that it was, being part of the Union,” as she listed the highly successful roll-out of the Covid vaccination programme, and the role of the NHS, as core parts of that aspect of the benefits of being part of Britain.

Councillor Erskine expressed great pride in being from Fermanagh while speaking to The Impartial Reporter, and she spoke of a vision for the county in the next 100 years. She said: “I want to see better jobs for people, and increasing the good that we have in Northern Ireland, because we have so much to celebrate here. “We have so such to celebrate here in Fermanagh – take a walk down to the [Enniskillen] Castle and you will see the amount of history there and what it means for this place.”

Councillor Erskine began her career as a journalist with The Ulster Herald, having grown up in a house where the news was always on, and politics was a topic of conversation. “I went down the journalism route because it allowed me to report on the politicians, but I’m still in tune with the politics. “It then became clear to me that the politics thing was something I was becoming more involved with, and in tune with. “My friends were all involved in the DUP, and Arlene [Foster] took me under her wing whenever I was a young teenager, and really encouraged my political journey and where I was going in politics.”

With the imminent stepping down of Mrs. Foster as First Minister, there has been some discussion around the role of women in politics. When asked if the DUP was a good party to be a woman in, Councillor Erskine said: “I wouldn’t have been encouraged in the party if it was not the case that women were seen as being able to take on leadership roles. I was encouraged, through the party.”

With Mrs. Foster indicating she will step down from public life once she steps down from her First Minister role, there will be some discussions across Fermanagh South Tyrone over who may rise to the challenge of filling her seat.

If Councillor Erskine is considering a run in the 2021 Assembly election on the Fermanagh South Tyrone DUP ticket, she give nothing away when she talked to The Impartial Reporter. She said: “I support Arlene, but that's ultimately for the party to decide.”

NATIONALIST politicians in Northern Ireland were clear in recent weeks that, in their view, there should be no celebrations of the centenary of the formation of Northern Ireland.

One such politician was Erne West Councillor Chris McCaffrey, Sinn Féin, who spoke to The Impartial Reporter of “100 years of failure” and the future of Fermanagh. He said: “It [Partition] has failed the people right across this island, including Catholics, Protestants, from Loyalists to Republicans, Nationalists and Unionists – it has failed every section and every part of our society.

“It’s been a disaster, in terms of an economic stunt to the growth of our islands. We’ve had the cost of a duplication of services, and the estrangement of neighbouring counties from each other.”

Councillor McCaffrey raised the idea that all-island reunification without violence may be on the horizon. He said: “We are now the first generation that [can envisage] the democratic pathway to Irish Unity. “It is something I can say, without contradiction, that will occur in the very near future.”

When pressed for a year or a date for a Border poll, Councillor McCaffrey said: “It may not always be the most sensible thing to put a certain date on it. “We know from throughout the Brexit negotiations that when Article 51 was activated, it then ‘put a clock’ on the British government’s negotiations.

“It ended up being completely disastrous, not just for Britain, but it caused massive problems here in the Six Counties also, so putting a clock on things isn’t something we need to do.”

Councillor McCaffrey is keen for the debate on reunification to take place on this island. He said: “What we need to do is have the debate and the most fundamental thing needs to happen – we need to talk about what the future of a United Ireland might look like.

“We need parties to lay out their stalls as well, and what they believe. “I think that for Unionist parties to simply bury their heads in the sand and think that [a future all-island debate] is not coming, or else that they’re not going to engage in that – you know, firstly, it’s regrettable, because they’re not being fair to their electorate, because it [reunification] is something that is going to happen in our lifetime.”

Although their parties disagree on many issues, Councillor McCaffrey and Councillor Erskine both share a deep love of County Fermanagh.

Looking to the next 100 years in “this place”, Councillor McCaffrey said: “My vision for Fermanagh is a more fair and equal society. There are huge issues in Fermanagh, in terms of rural discrimination.” He listed some of these issues, including rural transport, access to services, in terms of the deprivation in some of our rural communities.

Of this, Councillor McCaffrey said: “This is as a result of Partition, but it’s also from effectively being side-lined.” McCaffrey has been involved in Republican politics for many years, joining Sinn Fein at the age of 14.

Having now served half of his council term, does he plan to stay in the political game? He said: “I don’t want to make any decisions yet, as that is for the electorate to decide, but I do see myself staying involved in politics in the future. I think the rewards are infinite.”