Martin honours Mallon’s legacy with ‘Shared Home Place’ programme
by Allan LEONARD
22 July 2025
The Navan Centre and Fort recently hosted an event, organised by the John & Pat Hume Foundation, to celebrate the memory and legacy of the respected Irish politician, Seamus Mallon, with a lecture by Ireland Taoiseach Micheál Martin TD. This was followed by a discussion chaired by Dawn Purvis, with Allen McAdam, Kate Clifford, and Deirdriú McQuaid, which delved into themes of identity, belonging, and shaping a shared future for Ireland, drawing from personal experiences and professional insights.
To set the scene, Dawn Purvis quoted from Mallon’s memoir, A Shared Home Place:
“He said, ‘We can build a shared centre, where most people, unionist and nationalist, can feel comfortable and secure, and at home.’ That’s what the address is about this evening — it’s about that shared home place.”
This introduction, along with the screening of a short film about Seamus Mallon’s life, paved the way for the speakers to share their insights on how belonging can be fostered in a diverse and evolving society.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin delivered a speech that touched on various aspects of Ireland’s past, present, and future, emphasising the importance of reconciliation, inclusivity, and community building.
Martin began by connecting the past to the future, referencing Mallon:
“For Seamus, history was not a fixation on a non-changing past, but a way forward. It was an acknowledgement that reconciliation comes from a deep awareness of the past in all its complexity, and it is through this awareness that we can create new futures.
“Seamus imagined Armagh in just these terms, in his memoirs. He described it as a centre for a common heritage, a new vision of a dynamic Ulster — neither Catholic nor Protestant, Celtic nor Scottish, Gaelic nor Anglo-Saxon. But an Ulster of generous, garrulous, combative, hardworking, and poetic people, united for the first time in common love of their own place.”
Highlighting the Irish government’s efforts, Martin elaborated on the Shared Island Initiative’s role in fostering cooperation and mutual understanding:
“The Shared Island Initiative is focused on harnessing the full potential of the Good Friday Agreement in politics and in wider society, echoing the sentiments we heard on that video from Seamus himself.”
Martin reiterated the need to accommodate and understand the island’s diverse communities:
“Then as now I drew on Seamus’s wise words to encapsulate why we need to do more to accommodate and understand each other across the different and often interwoven communities of this island.”
An Taoiseach said that the Shared Island Initiative has made significant strides:
“With these foundations and the sustained political focus and drive from the government, our Shared Island Initiative has enabled a step change in beneficial island-wide cooperation and new connections between people across the island.
“On these foundations, we can drive forward that central and essential work of reconciliation.
“As Seamus said in his address to his [SDLP] party conference in Belfast in 1999, ‘We know each other. We belong together. We sink or swim together.’ What does that mean in real terms?”
Martin then listed financial commitments that his Government have made, such as:
- construction of Narrow Water Bridge at Carlingford Lough
- €25m for a “shared destinations” tourism programme
- phase three of the Ulster Canal restoration at Clones, Co. Monaghan
- €50m for new cross-border collaborative research projects
- €55m (plus funding from the Northern Ireland Executive) for the Co-Centres for Research and Innovation initiative (to create collaborative research centres across Ireland, Great Britain, and Northern Ireland, with a focus on addressing challenges such as climate change and sustainable food systems)
- funding of 150 projects to date in the Shared Island Civic Society Fund
“This is what building a shared future means in real terms,” An Taoiseach concluded, adding that the Government will double its resource commitment with an additional €1bn to its Shared Island Fund, to foster reconciliation, mutual respect, and growth.
Introducing a new dimension to the Shared Island Initiative, Martin announced the Shared Home Place programme:
“This is inspired not just by Seamus’s words, but by his lifelong commitment and work to deepen a shared connection to place and to community.
“This participatory programme will be launched later this year, with a range of ways for communities and/or diaspora abroad to explore and celebrate the diverse layers of heritage that are part of every town on this island, and of what makes us the people and communities we are today.
“This is all about having more context, more points of connection, and more confidence to acknowledge that Irishness and Britishness — in all of their varieties and continuing evolution — have shaped the heritage of every county on this island.
“ And to recognize more the contributions of Irish, Anglo-Irish, and Ulster-Scots traditions across the island of Ireland, and those of ethnic minority communities, all are a source of richness and strength in our society. Each is a valued part of the heritage of this island and crucial to how we approach and build our future together.
“The Shared Home Place programme will foster a space in our society for telling the multiple versions of the stories of Ireland that are and always will be a part of who we are. It will be a part of how we honour Seamus’s legacy and work every day so that our Good Friday agreement stands as the beacon of hope.”
Concluding his speech, Martin called for continued evaluation and improvement of the Good Friday Agreement:
“Every so often, it is important that we challenge ourselves and examine our own roles. Is the agreement perfect, 27 years on? Are there things we can do better? How can we create a greater sense of shared home place for all on this island?
“Seamus ends his book with a Greek proverb: ‘A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they will never sit.’
“Seamus and some other leading figures who brought us to where we are today are no longer with us, and they knew that there would be a long road ahead. And here in the orchard county and across this island, it is up to all of us politicians, civic society, activists, mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, students, children, and most importantly neighbors, to tend and nurture the roots and to grow and reap the fruit of the tree of peace that they planted in the garden of our shared home place.”
In summary, Micheál Martin’s address underscored the importance of history, community involvement, and sustained political efforts in crafting a shared and inclusive future for Ireland.
Dawn Purvis responded to An Taoiseach’s address with an anecdote of her mentor, former PUP leader, David Ervine:
“He was asked a question: ‘Are you British? Are you Irish? Are you unionist, or what are you?’ And he [replied], ‘I’m a lot of things and I’m intent on celebrating it. And the confidence that I bring to that, I hope, is an encouragement for people to stop this nonsense about not being Irish. Why can’t I be an Irish citizen? How the hell can you not be Irish when you’re born and reared, and all the things that affect you are on the island of Ireland?’
She told Martin that his lecture reminded her that you can be British and Irish, and you can be both, and you can be whatever you want to be, and you can be none of these.
Purvis set the context of her questions to the guest panellists, in terms of belonging and belonging here: “I thought, well, where does here belong to?”
Allen McAdam drew from his heritage as a Presbyterian of Scottish descent living in Monaghan. He discussed the idea of integration, noting, “Integration is where people are made to feel at home and contribute, have the opportunities to contribute to society, to feel that sense of community.” Allen suggested that lessons from history could guide current and future efforts in fostering belonging, while acknowledging the concerns brought by rapid demographic changes.
Kate Clifford offered a community-focused viewpoint, emphasising that belonging is cultivated through shared goals and mutual contributions: “Belonging isn’t something that we bestow to people. It’s something we enable. Good policy and good politicians will enable people to have to belong.” She urged political leaders to challenge toxic narratives and highlight the positive contributions of migrant communities. “We need to value the contribution these people are making,” she stated, pointing out the essential roles migrants play in sectors like healthcare.
Deirdriú McQuaid added to the conversation by focusing on the essence of community engagement. She shared her personal experiences and highlighted the vital role of participation in feeling a sense of belonging: “It’s wherever I lay my hat, isn’t it really? You know, I think belonging happens around kitchen tables. It happens in sports fields. It happens when we have a common purpose or a common goal.” She stressed that newcomers who engage actively in their communities can create strong bonds and foster belonging.
The panel discussion illuminated the multifaceted nature of belonging and identity in Ireland. Through personal anecdotes, professional insights, and actionable recommendations, each speaker contributed to a nuanced and comprehensive understanding of how a shared future can be built. Allen McAdam called for empathy in addressing demographic changes, while Kate Clifford and Deirdriú McQuaid underlined the importance of community engagement and mutual respect. Taoiseach Micheál Martin concluded with a call for continued dialogue and inclusive policies to sustain and grow a sense of belonging for all who call Ireland home.
As Seamus’s daughter, Orla Mannon, said in her final remarks: “Your presence keeps my father’s legacy alive: respect, service, and a belief in a shared home place for all.”