Respectful debate on constitutional change in Ireland held in Derry's Fountain estate praised

The event was organised by the Peace Impact Programme and took place at New Gate Arts and Culture Centre on Saturday morning.

At this month’s Governance and Strategic Planning Committee meeting, People Before Profit councillor Shaun Harkin said the meeting was “probably the first of its kind in the sense that it was held in what people would see as a Protestant or Unionist area.”

Councillor Harkin said: “It was an excellent meeting, there was a lot of debate there, and the positions were very well represented, but it was done in a very respectful way.

“Councillors from different political groupings were there, [but] it was disappointing that it wasn’t attended by the UUP or DUP, to my knowledge.

“The thrust of the discussion was how is this going to improve the lives of working class people in the north and south, and how can we envision an Ireland where working class people will be better off.

“Even where there was a lot of disagreement, it was a very positive engagement; I’m glad I went to it, I’m glad that there’s been positive coverage, and fair play to the organisers for taking that step.”

Sinn Féin councillor Sandra Duffy said the event was “interesting and well-attended”, with a breadth of speakers covering “many different views”.

She added: “I know what my position is and the meeting didn’t change that, but it’s really good to see these conversations [and debates] taking place.”

“So I welcome the fact that it took place and am glad that I had the opportunity to attend.”

UUP Alderman Derek Hussey clarified that he and other UUP representatives did not boycott the meeting but they could not attend as it clashed with his party’s spring conference, while SDLP councillor Sean Mooney welcomed engagement from the Protestant Unionist Loyalist (PUL) community.

Independent councillor Gary Donnelly said this was the first event of this kind where he “actually felt comfortable and enjoyed the conversations.”

“It’s important to point out that it’s not just two options here,” he said. “It’s not the status quo or the extension of a 26-county state to a 32-county state.

“These flaws were pointed out by some of the Unionist commentators, so I thought that that was very interesting, and I commend New Gate for having the courage to do it.

“I’m politically opposed to unionism and I want to see the end of unionism, but they had the courage and conviction to organise it and allowed people to comment.”

Andrew Balfour,

Local Democracy Reporter.