“Culture and Transformation”, Address by President Higgins
Magee Campus, University Of Ulster, Derry, 24th April 2012
Vice-Chancellor, Provost, a dhaoine uaisle:
I am delighted to be here today in Magee College. In a little over six months, I have had the opportunity to visit this wonderful city on two previous occasions – during the Presidential Election campaign when I was hugely impressed by the work that was being done to prepare for the Derry-Londonderry City of Culture 2013 and, two days after taking up office, when Sabina and I were in the Millennium Centre to enjoy some wonderful performances at the All-Island School Choir competition. So, it was a great pleasure to be invited again by Provost Deirdre Heenan to deliver this address at the College.
Next year the Maiden City will be transformed to Derry-Londonderry City of Culture. I look forward to the sights and sounds of what will no doubt be a wonderful chapter in the history of this great city. This year of celebration will give us an opportunity to affirm culture and creativity in a way that brings together all communities that share this city, its wider hinterland and indeed both parts of this island.
Derry has long been a city of culture, even before it acquired its new and deserved recognition. Some of Ireland’s finest living creative minds have been nurtured in this place, finding words, music and inspiration to reflect the wonder and greatness within, on and without these walls. There is a Derry which lives in literature and song, crystallising particular times and places, parallel to the living city.
Our Nobel laureate for literature Seamus Heaney was born in the countryside of Derry and spent formative years here in this city, and its people and places have proven an enduring muse to his poetry and prose. Derry takes on an almost mythical quality in his work:
“The Landscape was sacramental, instinct with signs, implying a system of reality beyond the visible realities.”1
On the other hand, Jennifer Johnston in her work immortalised a city in the midst of its darkest times but still vibrant and possessing a wild beauty – a trouble-stained city pushed up against the wide expanse of Lough Foyle, the city streets giving way to country lanes. Seamus Deane, a distinguished son of Derry, also finds beauty in the ordinary, the everyday life of people and place, memorably describing a homecoming to his native city:
“Crusts of light lie pulsing
Diamanté with the rain
At the track’s end. Amazing!
I am in Derry once again.
Once more I turn to greet
Ground that flees from my feet.”2
The delight with which Deane returns to his city is evident in his words. The city glimmers in his imagination.
Ní hamháin go bhfuil áit ag Doire san fhocal scríofa, ach tá an cumadóir Phil Coulter tar éis ómós a thabhairt dá bhaile dúchais ina chuid ceoil agus amhrán mar atá déanta ag mórán daoine eile leis. Tá sé suntasach go bhfuil an áit seo i ndiaidh go leor ealaíontóirí a spreagadh agus go bhfuil sé i gcónaí mar áit a spreagann a leithéid de chruthaitheacht.
Although these examples of creativity are very much in the artistic sense, creativity is not, of course, limited to this sphere alone. In my inaugural speech, I spoke of creative communities where people can give expression to new ideas, where people can contribute and effect positive changes at local level. Creativity is a powerful resource that has to be nurtured in our communities and in doing so, lays the foundation for social, cultural and economic transformation.
That positive change can occur through creative thinking is evidenced by John Hume’s hugely important contribution to Northern Ireland. He is an inspirational figure and one to whom we owe such a debt of gratitude for his courage in bringing peace to this place and the whole of the island. John Hume had a vision of the future – one where violence was no longer the currency of politics and people engaged in dialogue to find a fair and balanced accommodation between equally legitimate aspirations.
Even during the darkest days, when many people despaired, John had the courage to imagine and articulate the vision of a Northern Ireland at peace – what it might look like and what was the route map to get together. It was that moral imagination, that intellectual creativity – endlessly articulated and restated – that eventually became the template for the Good Friday Agreement and the basis for the partnership politics that Northern Ireland enjoys today.
The city of Derry and Derry people have, in many ways, been the creative influences of the peace process and have led the process of transformational change, in many cases before it was embraced in other parts of Northern Ireland.
Mark Durkan and Martin McGuinness have both occupied the office of deputy First Minister and discharged their duties with great integrity, effectiveness and generosity. Speaker William Hay, a proud representative of the city of Londonderry, has nurtured and promoted good working relationships between all the parties in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
The community in Derry has also played its part. As the first deputy Chairman of the Policing Board, Denis Bradley courageously pioneered the implementation of the new policing structures in Northern Ireland. On the sometimes contentious issue of parades, the loyal orders and the city traders in Derry showed what can be achieved when people engage with each other with mutual respect rather than remain frozen in sterile impasse. And the families of the Bloody Sunday campaign showed that their very long struggle for justice did not bring with it a hardening of the heart; that the truth, eventually acknowledged, liberated us all; and that vindication was not followed by recrimination but by a healing dignity and generosity.
In summary, the kind of imaginative vision and creative generosity that has been shown at political and community level in Derry has had a transformational impact across Northern Ireland and indeed the whole island.
It is difficult to believe that 32 years have elapsed since the establishment of the Field Day project. Its first production was, of course, Brian Friel’s Translations which famously premiered in the Guildhall in Derry on 23 September 1980. The founders of Field Day wanted to establish an open space – a conceptual “fifth province” that transcended the sterile divisions of politics and allowed issues of culture and identity to be creatively and constructively explored. They saw the potential for art and culture to combat prejudice and to narrow the chasms of mutual misunderstanding between the two political traditions in Northern Ireland.
In a wider context, art and culture has the same potential to play that transformative role today and it is needed more than ever. The powerful dominance of the neo-liberal model over the last twenty years has had a very negative impact, not just on the operation of the economy where speculative investments and deregulated markets have wreaked financial and fiscal havoc, but also on how we interact with each in wider society. The homogenising tendency of recent decades to regard the individual as simply a passive consumer, to whom one sells more and more goods and services, and not as a citizen who actively participates in society has had an impoverishing effect on all our lives.
Culture can prevent and treat some of these negative impacts. It can build an understanding of the many facets of sustainability; promote a new sense of solidarity; positively inspire a new model of economy that values fairness and is ethically robust; and be the bedrock from which, being self-confident about the integrity of our own culture, we can reach out to understand and respect other cultures. Culture is therefore an ingredient of society and public policy which needs to be brought in from the margins and not treated as a residual matter that is tangential to the needs of the real economy.
Creativity and culture are also firmly rooted in a sense of place, a sense of belonging. This feeling of being a part of somewhere is fundamental to our sense of community. I know that the people of Derry identify very strongly with their own corner of the city and county. They want to preserve and protect their home place. They feel proud of ‘their’ area – whether it is on the City side or in the Waterside, in the Bogside or in the Fountain. This community feeling is a valuable asset to the city, so long as it can be harnessed to bring people together. It can also be abused, however, and used to forge rivalries and notions of ‘them and ‘us’. A sense of community and love of place should be unifying factors, not ones which create division and separation.
The Irish Government’s Reconciliation and Anti-Sectarianism Fund has for many years supported initiatives in Derry that aim to overcome the burden of the past and to build cultural and economic connections at a community level that will transcend historical differences. Last summer, for instance, the Fund supported the InterAct Festival, which enabled young people from all over Derry and surrounding areas to work together to express themselves through the creative arts. The Fund has also provided support to the Junction, in its promotion of ‘ethical and shared remembering’ – an inclusive and sensitive approach to the commemoration of forthcoming centenaries. These and other initiatives are promoting a shared city, where cultural differences can be respected and diversity valued.
History can also be used to unify or divide. Over the coming decade, we will be marking a series of anniversaries of momentous events - from the introduction of the Third Home Rule Bill and the signing of the Ulster Covenant in 1912, through the Great War and the Easter Rising, to the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, the Partition of Ireland and the advent of Civil War. These events and how their narratives were communicated had a defining impact on political structures and sense of national identities on both sides of the border. How we choose to commemorate these centenaries, what events we decide to prioritise and what versions of the narrative we listen to will have a major impact on the long-term process of reconciliation and mutual understanding on this island. In short, how do we address the inevitable question of conflicting narratives?
Richard Kearney, following the paradigm of French philosopher Paul Ricoeur, has suggested five ways of dealing with conflicting narratives. First, an ethic of narrative hospitality; as Ricoeur puts it, this means:
“Taking responsibility in imagination and in sympathy for the story of the other through the narratives that concern the other”.
Second, an ethic of narrative flexibility – being open to showing, and being shown, how each event can be interpreted differently in different generations and by different narrators. Third, narrative plurality; or, as Ricoeur says
“The ability to recount the founding events of our national history in different ways is reinforced by the exchange of cultural memories”.
Fourth, transfiguration of the past – by this is meant, as Kearney puts it “a creative retrieval of the betrayed promises of the past”. This allows the unfulfilled future of the past – with all its emancipatory promise – to be made available as an instrument for our present and future.
Finally, pardon – this involves moving beyond a narrative of openness to forgiveness. This recognises the difference between an effected amnesia, which would be false and even amoral, and an amnesty such as will open the window for the time when, as Kearney puts it, “an ethics of reciprocity is touched by a politics of pardon”.
Bearing in mind these reflections, we should seize the opportunity these various centenaries provide to foster reconciliation and deepen mutual understanding of our shared histories, North and South, and across these islands. While recognising that different people can hold differing interpretations of the same events, it will be important that the commemoration of these anniversaries is carried out in a spirit of tolerance and mutual respect. Historical accuracy, too, will be a cornerstone of commemoration, and historians will have a vital role to play in ensuring that intellectual rigour prevails over any efforts towards polemical distortion.
However, our exploration of the past will not be simply an academic exercise. It must also be a deliberate act of imaginative engagement. I would envisage a key role for our artists in guiding how we, as members of varied and overlapping communities, remember and gain a deeper insight into the events of the past. Such an approach will, I feel, provide us with not just a better understanding of our history, but also of who we are today, the journey of peace we have travelled in recent years and how important it is to remain focused on reaching the destination of a shared society and reconciled island.
I am, of course, very conscious this decade of centenaries is not at the top of the agenda for many people. They are much more preoccupied by the personal struggle of coping with the severe impact of the current recession. In these difficult times, when the economy on the island faces many difficulties, it is all too easy to fall into the trap of despair and despondency. People are naturally concerned and worried about the future, especially about the employment prospects for the younger generation. I know that both administrations on the island are working very hard, separately and together, to put in place policies and measures that promote economic growth and boosts employment. As part of these efforts, it makes eminent sense to broaden and deepen North/South cooperation with a view to improving the quality of services to citizens on both sides of the border and, in this time of scarcity, to optimise the economies of scale that come from a shared and joined up approach to providing those services.
In this region, the implementation of the North West Gateway Initiative is an important priority. Other practical examples of the value of North/South cooperation include the shared provision of cancer services in Altnagelvin Hospital and world-class international broadband links via Project Kelvin. I also look forward to closer links between our higher education institutions – including the involvement of this wonderful institution. North/South engagement has long been a feature of life at Magee College, almost from its inception when a Dublin architect called Gribben designed the college building back in late 19th century.
Cooperation, mutual understanding and respect are themes to which we must return time and time again. As we all learn to live on this island in peace and partnership, we must also look forward and plan for a shared future; one which fully includes all people regardless of their social class, community affiliation or ethnic identity; and one in which our citizens do not live segregated lives but share the public space in harmony and equality. The legacy of history has conferred undeniable differences between our two main traditions – both in terms of our sense of identity and political aspirations. We should not seek to ignore the existence of these differences nor their complexity. We can and should, however, acknowledge these differences with mutual respect, whilst making the conscious decision to work together, live together and celebrate our shared history and culture in a way that enhances the quality of our shared society.
As I mentioned earlier, one of my first official engagements after becoming President was here in Derry. The occasion was the All-Ireland Choirs competition, sponsored by Co-operation Ireland and RTE, where secondary school children from all over the island gathered to celebrate music and singing. Seeing those young people enjoying themselves together on-stage and off, showed me clearly what the future can and should look like for the people of Ireland. Many other organisations create similar events to bring young people from both parts of the island together through culture and sport. I rejoice in the fact such events have become commonplace, and are increasingly regarded as remarkable only for the talent and skills on display.
Ladies and gentlemen, I am full of hope for a great future for this island and this city. We have come so far and through such dark times, with the people of Derry leading the way out of conflict; showing how a society can transform itself and the positive role that a rich culture and a cohesive community can play in that transformation. Next year’s Derry/Londonderry City of Culture is both a worthy recognition of the greatness you have achieved thus far and a promise of so much more to come in the future. I really look forward to coming back in 2013 and being part of that wonderful celebration.
Derry’s Peace Bridge is in many ways the physical embodiment of the transformation I have been talking about. In previously admiring the Bridge, I was struck by its almost sinuous quality; it reminded me of Alice Oswald’s description of Westminster Bridge in London as “the stone wing-bone of the city.”3 These words also seem apt for the Peace Bridge. It is not just a bridge bringing people together; it is not just a bridge bringing communities together; it is not just a bridge bringing north and south together; it is actually a set of wings on which our people, our communities and our cultures can rise up to a new future together, leaving behind the wasteful burdens of the past.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir.
1 Seamus Heaney, from ‘The Sense of Place’ [1977], in Preoccupations. Selected Prose 1968-1978.
2 Seamus Deane, Gradual Wards [1972]
3 Alice Oswald, ‘Another Westminster Bridge’ in Woods etc.