Holywell Trust Conversations

FULL EPISODE NOTES  ‘A stronger role for civic society must be central to getting government back’ International peace negotiator John McKinney has urged the political parties to include a stronger role for civic society in a reformed structure of governance for Northern Ireland.  John – a former chief executive of the Special EU Programmes Body and of Omagh District Council – was speaking in the...

FULL EPISODE NOTES How Brexit changes a unionist to a united Irelander   Brexit is making some unionists re-evaluate their allegiance to the UK – and consider support for a united Ireland, says Philip Gilliland, a commercial lawyer and former president of the Londonderry Chamber of Commerce. “We've been given a gift which is called Brexit, because it's allowed those of us who are from a Protestant...

FULL EPISODE NOTES ‘Stephen Nolan needs to find the right balance – and not make angry people angrier’   Stephen Nolan needs to find the right balance between allowing people to express their emotions, without making angry people even angrier. The plea was made in the latest Forward Together podcast by Sinn Fein MLA and former finance minister Máirtín Ó Muilleoir.    “In this often divided society...

‘Let’s not repeat the mistakes of the past! (But we are.)’   Northern Ireland is “a society that is still emerging from conflict”, warns Conal McFeely, chief executive of one of Northern Ireland’s largest and most successful not-for-profit businesses, the Rathmor Centre [i] in Derry.  He was interviewed in the latest Forward Together podcast.     “We must collectively not allow ourselves to make t...

‘We have lost ground in the past 20 years’, claims PUP’s John Kyle   Society in Northern Ireland has gone backwards since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, argues the former leader of the Progressive Unionist Party John Kyle, who is also a GP in Belfast. “ In my view we have lost ground in the past 20 years,” he says in the latest Forward Together podcast.   John believes that we need to r...

‘If we tell people the cost of segregation, they will support greater integration’   If people are told the financial cost of segregation and service duplication, there will be much greater support for social integration, says community worker Maureen Hetherington.  Maureen is director of The Junction community and peace-building centre in Derry-Londonderry and was interviewed in the latest ‘Forwa...

‘Citizen’s Assembly could help progress with health reform’   The adoption of a citizens’ assembly could assist with making progress with reform of the health service in Northern Ireland, says Simon Hamilton – a DUP MLA and former health and finance minister.  He was interviewed in the latest ‘Forward Together’ podcast.   Speaking about the use of citizens’ assemblies in the Republic of Ireland, S...

There needs to be an all-island, integrated, health service, and its creation should not be dependent upon the agreement or timing of a united Ireland, argues Professor Jim Dornan – one of the architects of existing cross-border co-operation in health services.  Jim was interviewed in the latest Forward Together podcast.  “In many ways Ireland is a Goldilocks sized country for health provision,” h...

Justice for victims is achieved by “giving them a society that works”, says Fergus O'Dowd TD of Fine Gael.  He is a member of the Oireachtas Good Friday Implementation Committee and was appointed earlier this year by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to lead a new Fine Gael group to develop links with Northern Ireland.  He is interviewed in the latest Forward Together podcast. Discussing how to deal with eve...

‘Women lose out in Northern Ireland’   More must be done in Northern Ireland to make society more open for women and for minorities, argues Alexandra De La Torre, the co-ordinator for NICVA of the Next Chapter, which has the objective of strengthening women's engagement in civic society and participation in society.  Alexandra is interviewed in the latest Forward Together podcast.   “I think it is...

‘We have a political process instead of a peace process’   Northern Ireland has “had a political process at the cost of a peace process”, believes Clare Bailey MLA, the leader of the Green Party in Northern Ireland.  She is highly critical of the limited progress since the Good Friday Agreement 21 years ago and the lack of real social integration.  She was speaking in the latest Forward Together p...

In praise of Citizens’ Assemblies – Peter Sheridan believes they can provide solutions to some of Northern Ireland’s most intractable problems   Citizens’ assemblies should be widely used to address the problems faced by communities across Northern Ireland, argues Peter Sheridan, the chief executive of Co-operation Ireland. He was interviewed in the latest Forward Together podcast.   “It works in...

‘Political leadership is key to making progress’   Developing mutual respect, strengthening relationships and building proper political leadership are the basis for making progress in Northern Ireland, believes independent unionist MLA – and former justice minister - Claire Sugden.  She is interviewed in the latest Forward Together podcast.   Talking before the announcement of renewed political ta...

“A leadership vacuum” that must be filled   A leadership vacuum is causing harm across Northern Ireland, including in loyalist areas, and contributes to the lure of paramilitaries, warns victims’ campaigner  Alan McBride in the latest Forward Together podcast. “I think we probably need to put a lot of investment into areas like East Belfast and the Shankill and other areas to try and improve the l...

‘Let’s look again at the Eames-Bradley approach to the past’   The Eames-Bradley report was the best approach yet to how Northern Ireland should deal with Troubles legacy issues, argues Mark Durkan.  The former SDLP leader and deputy first minister was interviewed for the ‘Forward Together’ podcast series immediately before declaring his candidacy for Fine Gael for the Dublin constituency in the E...

‘Reaching across the divide’   Linda Ervine is a community worker in loyalist east Belfast, who is also an Irish language activist.  Her classes have attracted literally hundreds of people to study Irish at the Skainos Centre on Newtownards Road – proof that Northern Ireland must not be seen merely as a narrow concept of two communities.   “We've got to reach across the divide,” says Linda in the...

Senator Frances Black is an independent senator in Ireland’s Oireachtas and a member of its Good Friday Agreement Implementation Committee.  She has family roots in Rathlin Island and a strong commitment to addressing mental health challenges.  Frances is also a very modest person.  “I'm first and foremost a singer you know,” she says. “And I left school when I was very young. I don't have a great...

‘Strengthen and value civil society’   “Civil society needs to be strengthened to do more than just provide services,” argues Avila Kilmurray, one of the founders of the Women’s Coalition.  “Civil society in many ways was the backbone of society in the 70s, 80s, 90s in Northern Ireland, whenever we were in the midst of The Troubles.”    The call for a strong civic society was made in the third int...

The second episode of our Forward Together Podcast features an interview with former Ulster Unionist Party leader Mike Nesbitt. Below is a snapshot of the discussion with Mike. “Unionism needs to look and recognise that the environment around us is changing,” says former Ulster Unionist Party leader Mike Nesbitt MLA. He adds: “I would like to see civic unionism becoming more active... Perhaps we n...

‘Christians should lead in healing Northern Ireland’ Christians should take a leading role in healing Northern Ireland, says Bishop Ken Good, the Church of Ireland bishop for the cross-border diocese of Derry and Raphoe.  He also says that politicians should speak less and that civil society should find its voice. Bishop Ken Good was interviewed in the first of the Forward Together Podcast intervi...