Thirty years of murder and violence during the Troubles has caused lasting sectarian division, hurt and hatred not only in Northern Ireland but here in Scotland too. But a series of events held on this side of the water are aiming to bring Irish Republicans and Unionists together and aid the reconciliation process.
The first meeting, which was held last week in the village of Plains, North Lanarkshire, was organised by a local Republican organisation, Cairde na hEireann (Friends of Ireland), and brought together Republicans who have spent time in prison and former British Army soldiers who have served in Northern Ireland.
Now the organisation says it intends to hold a series of similar meetings across Scotland, which could include victims of the Troubles.
The event was inspired by the Sinn Fein initiative Uncomfortable Conversations, which is aimed at promoting dialogue between the two communities.
It has included an event held in Londonderry/Derry last month attended by Sinn Fein’s national chairman Declan Kearney and Northern Ireland’s police chief George Hamilton.
Franny McAdam, national organiser of Cairde na hEireann, said: “The idea is that it is only through dialogue and talking through your experiences of what happened, then you can understand the other side’s point of view.
“The former soldiers gave their experiences of why they joined the Army and what happened in Northern Ireland, and how they felt about it.
“The Republicans talked about why they did what they did and ended up in jail – so it was a really interesting event.”
He added: “It was a ground-breaking event for Scotland – there is nothing like this which has happened before and we are planning to do a series of these events.
“It is not about sitting down and apportioning blame to anyone, it is sitting down and understanding why things happened. The sooner people do that, I think the sooner reconciliation can come about.
“Scotland is a very sectarian place as well. It is about breaking down barriers and sitting down and talking.”
One of the panel members was former soldier Tam Stewart, who was in the former Royal Scots Regiment for nine years and spent just over two years in Northern Ireland in the early 1980s. He said he had been nervous in the run-up to the event, but the meeting was “anything but uncomfortable”.
He said: “I spoke about my own experiences – I grew up in a wee village where there was no bigotry at all and we all played together as one.
“You join the army and suddenly you go to Northern Ireland and face bigotry – it was quite a shock to experience that as a young lad of 19, you don’t really understand at that stage in life what is going on.
“I think the meeting is an excellent idea and I think it is the way forward.
“The fact we could have a discussion which was anything but an ‘uncomfortable conversation’ and shake hands was really good – it is the first step on a long journey I believe.”
Another panel member was Micky Kinsella, a Republican activist from Derry who was never convicted but spent time on remand in prison accused of crimes including firearms possession.
He said he had found it interesting listening to the former soldiers and did not find the discussions "uncomfortable", despite the title of the meeting.
He added: “I think a lot was achieved as you had the two sides there listening to each other’s sides and having a discussion in a very calm atmosphere.”
Professor Richard English of the University of St Andrews and the author of 'Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA' said “genuine dialogue” between the two political communities in Northern Ireland remains stalled, despite the huge advances which have been made politically.
He added: “Uncomfortable Conversations provides the foundation on which all sides can begin to build proper trust, if they choose to do so.
“Sectarianism in Scotland has generated less violence than in the different context of Northern Ireland. But because of that, it has been seen as less of a priority.
“If the model of open dialogue between communities can be borrowed from Belfast, then that would seem to me another benefit in the Uncomfortable Conversations initiative."
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