Mattie McGrath Urges Tribute to Father Alec Reid and Peace Figures

Hi, Minister Ryan, I'm glad you're here, and indeed in a short time available to me today, I want to say that I wear the badge of Liam Lynch, who died a hundred years ago, effectively brought about the end of the civil war, which was great, and when you come to Tipperadon, Minister Ryan, I'll bring you up to knock me down, to see that fine memorial, my late dad was clerk of works till he was also imprisoned for 14 months during the War of Independence, and indeed fought alongside Liam Lynch and others, but coming on to the peace process, and the work that was done, we can mention many people, how he mentioned about Father Alec Reid coming to his house in Kinseyley years ago, I want to mention Martin Mancer and Father Alec Reid, the late Father Alec Reid, of Clonaire Monastery and formerly of Nina, and Councillor Shearney Morris has been asking for a long, long time to have Father Reid acknowledged in his own hometown of Nina, I think we must, while more and more of them, Bertie Heron to never be forgotten, leave his mother's funeral, as we all know, to go up and conclude that peace deal, and many, many others, John Hulme, David Trimble, and many, many others, and Sinn Féin leaders as well, and I've looked at it recently in Stormont, and there's an eerie place, to see, and the African kid, Tara, closed, locked up, and it's an eerie place, and it's sad, but we must think of the people, and fellow Reid and his colleagues in Clonaire Monastery, we must also remember that he negotiated in the Basque War on the Spaniards, and he helped there, he was, dedicated his life to peace, he also tried to, in the first hunger strike, and he was devastated, and took it very badly when his hunger strike, second one, commenced, and he was very down and out over that, did so much work, and gave his, literally, dedicated his life to having meetings, and many, many, many things that he did, where people kidnapped and negotiated their release and everything else, so, a fitting tribute should be put in place, and I'm calling it Tipperary County Council, and the museum, and ask Council everybody else to look at doing that in the town of Nina, in Tipperary, to the late father, Alec Reid, one of many who played a huge part, but he definitely did, alongside former Minister Martin Mansour here as well, so, I think that must be acknowledged, and done, in the memory of that great man. Thank you.