US AOH delegation visits Derry

A high-level delegation from the Ancient Order of the Hibernians (AOH) in the United States has visited Derry.

Speaking to Derry News, Martin Galvin, the US Freedom For All Ireland AOH chairman said the group comprised AOH national president Danny O’Connell and vice president Sean Pender, and 30 people from various different states across the US.

The delegation was in the city last week to present funding to various groups.

He said: “We are giving out about $150,000 in grants to various organisations, including the Bogside Artists, the Bloody Sunday families, and the Martin McGuinness Peace Foundation in Derry, as well as groups including Relatives for Justice, cross community groups and various other groups that apply to us.”

The AOH delegation will also be having political meetings around the British Government’s Legacy Act and the United Ireland Referendum.

“We are very much involved in opposition to the Legacy Act. We applaud the fact that the Irish Government brought the case against Britain to Europe,” said Mr Galvin.

“We are actually meeting with families. We are meeting with solicitors. We are meeting with Irish Government officials.”

“America played a very important part in supporting the Irish Government in its fight against the Legacy Act and we want to continue that support now as the case now goes to Europe.

“However, although our key focus is on Legacy, we are increasingly meeting with groups like Ireland’s Future who want to start talking about the Referendum to get the process by which we can unite Ireland.

“As soon as the Legacy Act was mooted, we opposed it. There was high level opposition across the United States. We lobbied the Irish Government at that time to oppose it which it did.

“We also had meetings in the Dáil a couple of years ago with various officials and when the Good Friday Committee came out to the US, we brought them into meetings with American senators and congressmen.

“Our Chair at that time argued that if Britain passed the Legacy Bill, the AOH was going to call on the Irish Attorney General to bring an inter-state case.”

While the Irish Government’s anti-Legacy Act case continues in Europe, the AOH in the United States is focusing more on securing a unity referendum.

Mr Galvin said achieving the unity referendum required a number of things to happen.

“We are hoping in America we can do things, for example, try to have the American Government push to make Britain state the criteria where it will give a referendum. We are always concerned it will move the goalposts or it won’t set the goalposts. There is a term about a ‘Nelsonian Eye’ - just turning a blind eye to the proof there should be a referendum.

“In America we were leaders on the issue of legacy. We want to continue to be leaders on the issue of legacy - supporting when the case goes to Europe  - but we also want to begin to talk about getting the unity referendum, which would unite Derry with the rest of Ireland.

“We are meeting with groups like Ireland’s Future. We are talking about the prospect. We are trying to lobby. We are beginning to talk to different political parties about pushing for it.”

Mr Galvin voiced his opinion that a referendum on Irish unity could not be something pushed by one political party.

“We have got to have all of the parties in the South, together with the SDLP - all the Nationalist parties - pushing it,” he said.

“We are only going to get a referendum if we have all hands on deck and we are only going to win a referendum if we have all hands on deck.

“Irish America and the AOH has always been part of that message and we are going to continue to be.

“In terms of the new Executive, we think it is welcome to see somebody from Sinn Féin or a Nationalist First Minister at this time, even though the two positions are equivalent.

“We welcome the fact as it is another indication of movement towards support which can bring us a referendum, if the British recognise, which can bring us a united Ireland.

“The constitutional objective of the AOH is for a free and united Ireland. It was like that when we were established in the 1830s and it is like that now.

“We measure everything by that and we are hopeful an Executive led by a Nationalist, led by a member of Sinn Féin, is a big step in that direction.

“We are confident the Good Friday Agreement does provide a way to go forward.

“We are going to try to reach a United Ireland and we are working very hard to get that referendum to get Ireland united. That is our goal. That is what the AOH has always stood for. And that’s what we are hoping to see in my lifetime.”