And it is this self-confidence that allows us, still conscious of our history but not captured by it, to build a new and lasting partnership of common interest that fully respects identity and sovereignty, with you our nearest neighbour.
Today our partnership in the world is expressed most especially in the European Union. Our joint membership has served as a vital catalyst for the building of a deeper relationship between our two islands. Europe forms a key part of our shared future. The European Union has acted as a potent example of a new political model that enables old enemies to become partners in progress.
On the world stage too we have a shared commitment to democracy, to human rights and to international development.
And we stand together to make poverty history.
I think of the power of our example - of the history we have written together in Northern Ireland. No two conflicts are exactly the same and no two solutions will ever be alike. But the world has watched as we grappled with our past and made our peace with one another. Now our two governments can share our past experience and newfound hope with others who are caught up in conflict and feel despair.
Mr Speaker, Lord Speaker,
Our relationship is a partnership of people first and foremost.
No two nations and no two peoples have closer ties of history and geography and of family and friendship.
Emigration was for too long a recurring theme of the Irish saga, from the horrors of the Great Famine, to dark economic times in the 20th Century.
Many Irish people came to this country as emigrants. And today there are hundreds of thousands of Irish-born people living in Britain today. Theirs were stories of dislocation, and stories of aspiration, and then of new lives built, new families created, new strands woven into the fabric of both our national identities.
Today, there are over a hundred members of this Parliament with an Irish background. And there are millions more like them in Britain, who have gone on to new levels of success with each new generation.
And, of course, the tide was not all one way. There are over 100,000 British citizens in Ireland now, a most welcome part of an ever more diverse population.
British settlement, organised and otherwise, has given the island of Ireland a British tradition too - not just in history and language, borders and politics, but in a thriving community of unionist people proud of who they are, where they came from, and what they hope for.
They are a living bridge between us.
The Irish Government fully respects their rights and identity.
We value their voice, their vision and their future contribution to the life of the island of Ireland in whatever way it should develop.
Our economic partnership has always been, and remains, a cornerstone of our prosperity and our friendship.
Irish and British people are driving the economies of both our islands with efficiency and enterprise, regardless of politics or borders.
The scale of our economic partnership is impressive and is immensely important for all our people.
British exports to Ireland alone, are more than double that of British exports to China, India, Brazil and Mexico combined. And Britain takes almost half of our food exports and half the exports of our indigenous companies.
And the achievements we have seen in Northern Ireland will open up still greater opportunities for economic cooperation between both islands and both parts of Ireland.
The people of these islands have woven a rich tapestry of culture over the centuries. This has given rise to a partnership of culture that is renowned across the world.
One of the most creative moments in human history was the meeting between the English language and the Irish people.
It has given us some of the great works of world literature - of Jonathan Swift, Oscar Wilde, James Joyce, George Bernard Shaw, William Butler Yeats, Samuel Beckett, John McGahern and many, many others. Not the least of those was Richard Brinsley Sheridan, who served in this House, was born in Dorset Street in my constituency and is now buried nearby in Poets Corner at Westminster Abbey.
They all found their genius in the English language, but they drew on a perspective that was uniquely Irish.
Today, a vibrant cultural life is shared by both our countries across every imaginable field - in music, dance, education, theatre, film and sport.
In culture, as in sport, we share and together enjoy so much.
And in all these areas, too, our endeavours are not divorced from our history, but are built on it.
Earlier this year, the Irish and English rugby teams met in the magnificent headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association at Croke Park in Dublin. It was a match played and watched on what is now a field of dreams, but was once the very earth of past bloodshed.
But it was a match played in the spirit of sport. No one forgot the shadows of history, but everyone was living in the sunlight of that day.
Of all these bonds - of family and friendship, of commerce and culture - the greatest of all is our partnership of peace.
We have shown that even the seemingly intractable can be overcome - that peace is not impossible and conflict is not inevitable.
We have learned, as Seamus Heaney wrote:
'Even if the hopes you started out with are dashed, hope has to be maintained'.
The Anglo-Irish Agreement, the Downing Street Declaration and the Good Friday Agreement: many of you here have been participants and makers of this history. All of you have kept hope.
Peace in Ireland has been the work of a generation. Today, I salute all those who helped to lay the foundations for what has now taken shape. In doing so, I acknowledge the work over so many years of the British-Irish Parliamentary Body and also our great and valued friends in the United States who have been with us at all times on the long journey.
When Prime Minister Blair and I started out together ten years ago, we were able to build on the courageous early steps that Sir John Major and his colleagues had taken with us.
But the contribution of Prime Minister Blair has been exceptional.
This was not a task he had to take on and not one that promised quick or easy rewards. He took it on simply because there was a chance that a great good could be achieved.
Tony Blair has been a true friend to me and a true friend to Ireland. He has an honoured place in Irish hearts and in Irish history.
Mr Speaker, Lord Speaker,
Nine years ago, the people of the island of Ireland democratically endorsed the Good Friday Agreement, a clear command to all political leaders to advance the work of peace.
In March this year, the people of Northern Ireland confirmed that command through the ballot box and set their seal on the path of political progress.
There are certain days which define an era. More rarely there are days that define the next, that embody the turn of the tide.
Too many Irish days have done so through tragedy and violence.
Tuesday 8 May in Belfast was a day when we witnessed events that will truly define our time and the next.
Shared devolved government, commanding support from both communities and all the parties in Northern Ireland, is now in place. Now at last the full genius and full potential of the Good Friday Agreement will unfold in the interests of all the peoples of these islands.
Yes, there will be challenges ahead. But these challenges can now be faced in a climate of peace and from a foundation of partnership.
There are real issues on which the people of Northern Ireland disagree. Some are the sort that face every government, and it is now the business of their politicians to find solutions based on practicality and compromise.
Others are more fundamental issues of political and cultural identity.
But we are now in an era of agreement - of new politics and new realities.
The world has seen Ireland's economic achievements. There is no reason why a peaceful and stable Northern Ireland should not achieve similar success. We are ready to be a partner and friend on the path to economic growth. Both parts of the island of Ireland will gain and grow.
The Irish Government has demonstrated its commitment by announcing investment in important and practical projects that will support development and growth in Northern Ireland.
Chancellor Gordon Brown's financial package expresses Britain's clear commitment. Now let us move forward with strong practical support and increasing political confidence.
The tide of history can both ebb and flow and with it our hopes and dreams. But last week's events are powerful evidence that we are moving with the tide of lasting change.
There is now real strength in the consensus on the way forward.
We know the unique and delicate balance that binds this process together and we are committed to doing everything in our power to protect what has been achieved.
Mr Speaker, Lord Speaker,
In our impatience to build a better future we must remember those who have died and remember those who mourn.
The conflict has left over 3,700 dead and thousands more seriously injured during our lifetimes. This appalling loss has left deep scars which cannot easily be healed.
I know that these are not empty words to Members of this Parliament, who have also experienced tragedy and personal loss at first hand. I remember those killed and maimed at Brighton and I remember Airey Neave MP, who was murdered so close to where we are today.
There is a gnawing hunger for the truth about the loss of loved ones. The conflict has left many unanswered questions in its wake.
Some of these are the subjects of ongoing or promised inquiries. In these days of hope and promise we know the deep hurt and pain that linger in the hearts of so many and for whom the journey of healing and reconciliation will never be easy.
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