Martin McGuinness' Speech

I stand here today, on the National Mall of the United States of America, amongst many of the people and representatives who have shown us such friendship and commitment over many years.

I want to thank you for your steadfast support.  

This is a city that I have had the privilege to visit many times in the past but today is different; today I am here not just as the representative of one part of the community, today I am proud, honoured and humbled to speak to you as the joint leader of an administration which represents our entire society, a society moving from division, to one which is united in our celebration of diversity and one that is determined to provide a better future for all our people.  

These emotive surroundings, near monuments to some of the world’s greatest leaders, provide a place entirely appropriate to contemplate the journey that we travel.  We all remember the iconic images of Martin Luther King only yards from where we stand today.

The dream of a better America that he talked about in that speech had an immediate relevance and resonance for our divided society. And the changes that he aspired to are now, for us, becoming a reality. The historic agreement reached on May 8 has the potential to put forever behind us a history of division, intolerance and conflict.

We are a society not just in transition – We are a society in transformation.

We have begun the business of building a better future for all our children  

For decades, indeed centuries our history was one of conflict division and war.  That part of our history is at an end.  The war is well and truly over.  Through dialogue, accommodation and agreement we have begun to script a new history marked by confidence, optimism and creativity.

When you meet with our performers and participants in the festival you will meet people who take pleasure in their culture and have a strong desire to share it with each other and with you.  

You will see at first hand the vibrancy, diversity and creativity of our cultural life, and its influence here in the United States.  The Folklife Festival will show you a side to our life that you may not expect, and I am sure one that pleasantly surprises you.  

Since March, our artists and performers have been presenting to Washington the world class quality of our talent in the largest international showcasing of our arts and culture ever undertaken.  Through this programme we have demonstrated our potential for business opportunities and as a place to visit, to invest, to study, to experience and to enjoy.  

This programme is culminating today with the opening of the Smithsonian’s Folklife Festival.  On behalf of our new power-sharing government, I want to thank you and the Smithsonian Institution for the opportunity to participate in the Folklife Festival this year and to celebrate with you the tremendous potential that is now opening up for all our people.

This celebration couldn’t happen at a better time in our history.