Scottish Catholic Observer

The Irish President has said history should not be ‘abused’ by those who wish to promote sectarianism in Scotland and Ireland.

President Michael Higgins, visiting Iona to help celebrate the 1450th anniversary of St Columba’s arrival on the island, told an audience in the Iona Community hall on Sunday there were ‘no benefits’ to be won from hate or intolerance based ‘on an abuse of myth and history.’

Mr Higgins (above centre) said that though St Columba was the most famous Irish emigrant to Scotland, those who had followed him had not always been well treated.

The past holds many ‘fine and good lessons,’ he said, but, equally, it can be ransacked and abused to create stereotypes ‘which obstruct us, which hurt us and deplete, or even poison our future.’

Sectarianism or xenophobia ‘may be a symptom of its members feeling themselves ignored, rejected by those in power or under threat from wider socio-economic pressures’, he said.

However, though the possible sources of both should be understood, ‘their manifestation or the endorsement of any call to hatred of the other’ can never be condoned,’ he told several hundred people in Iona’s community hall.

Scottish Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop (above left) accompanied the president of Ireland on his visit and also attended a special service held at Iona Abbey, built by St Columba in the sixth century following his voyage from Ireland to the Inner Hebrides.

Ms Hyslop said the occasion was a fitting way to celebrate Scotland’s links with its Irish neighbours.

“St Columba’s journey to Iona is just one of the many events which have created our strong bond with Ireland and it’s important that we recognise and celebrate the continuing significance of this remarkable man and the community he founded,” she said. “The Scottish Government continues to recognise and value the substantial and enduring work of the Iona Community and the role it plays as part of Scotland’s diverse faith and belief communities.”