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IRISH EXAMINER | October 30th, 2019
Ireland ‘Should Have Central Role In New Peace Foundation Launched In
Memory Of Martin McGuinness
EU Peace Project’ f o u n d a t i o n
A new peace

launched in
reland should have a “Northern Ireland has an change on this island. The
central role in shaping agreed way back and, in our EU have a role in that too.” memory of
Ithe EU peace project, view, the institutions of the He said: “A growing num- M a r t i n
a report said. EU can and should function ber of people on the island of McGuinness is
The bloc should provide a in a supportive role by clari- Ireland believe that Irish to establish a
pluralist “European roof” for fying the consequences of unity is the democratic alter- p e r m a n e n t
the process of Irish unifica- this choice and facilitating a native to the unwanted memorial to the
tion, its authors said. managed transition to new Brexit being foisted upon cit- late political
The report was published arrangements.” izens here, and Irish unity is leader.
in west Belfast on Monday. The document entitled: now at the forefront of Irish It will feature
It said: “If the EU takes The EU and Irish Unity: politics. an inclusive
seriously its own foundation- Planning and Preparing for “The real prospect of a program of edu-
al values, and its commit- Constitutional change in referendum on Irish unity in cation, sport, debate, art and culture, his friends and family
ment to the Good Friday Ireland, was authored by the near future must also fea- said.
Agreement in all its parts, Professor Colin Harvey from ture strongly in the ongoing Foyle MP Elisha McCallion said: “This work will be car-
then planning and prepara- QUB and barrister Mark Brexit negotiations between ried out through Martin’s vision of a united, agreed and
tion for the moment when Bassett. the EU and British govern- peaceful Ireland by promoting understanding, equality,
the principle of consent will Sinn Féin MEP Martina ment. respect and reconciliation.
be tested must begin now; it Anderson attended the “The EU have a key role “As part of the process, the foundation will also work to
should form one part of the report launch. to play in assisting the transi- establish a fitting, permanent memorial to remember
ongoing negotiations She said: “We have a dem- tion to Irish unity. The EU Martin.”
between the EU and UK. ocratic pathway back into should ensure that negotia- The former deputy first minister’s son Fiachra said: “We
“There is an opportunity the EU through an Irish tions on the future relation- want to make the Martin McGuinness Foundation a key part
for the EU to ensure that the unity referendum. This is ship post-Brexit give consid- of my father’s legacy as a leader, an activist and internation-
island of Ireland continues to part of the Good Friday eration to the right to self- al statesman.
have a central role in shaping Agreement. determination as provided “Through the foundation we hope to tell the story of his
this supranational European “It’s right that we prepare for in the Good Friday life in the Bogside, his roots in Donegal – but also celebrate
peace project. and plan for constitutional Agreement.” C his commitment to bring about social, economic and politi-
cal change.
“We are also delighted to announce that the third annual
Chieftain’s Walk will take place on Sunday March 29 2020 –
the route will be confirmed in the near future.” C

Number Of Births Fall By Almost A Fifth
Since 2010 According to CSO Figures

The number of births in Ireland has fallen by almost a fifth
in eight years, according to the Central Statistics Office
(CSO).
The CSO’s Vital Statistics Annual Report for 2017 also
found that the average age of mothers who gave birth in 2017
has risen to its highest since it was first recorded in 1955. The
average age in 2017 was 32.8 years.
In the last 10 years, the number of births to teenage moth-
ers has more than halved.
More than a third of all births in 2017 were outside of mar-
riage or a civil partnership.
61,824 babies were born in Ireland in 2017, a fall of 17.8%
since 2010 and 3.2% since 2016. It is the eighth year in a row
that the country has seen a decline in births.
Up to 31,779 of the births in 2017 were males and 30,045
females.
There were 30,418 deaths in 2017, a decrease of 249 or
0.8% on the 2016 figure. Almost 1.3% (383) of all deaths were
due to suicide, four-fifths or 80.9% of which were males.
The natural increase (births minus deaths) in 2017 was
31,406, a decrease of 5.3% on the 2016 figure. The natural
increase in 2007 was 43,272, over 27.4% more than the 2017
figure.
The figures also show that 37.6% of all births were outside
of marriage or a civil partnership in 2017. The comparable
figure, 30 years earlier, in 1987 was 10.9%.
The number of sets of twins in 2017 was 1,134 while there
were 17 sets of triplets in the same year.
Mothers under the age of 30 accounted for 27.4% of births
in 2017 compared with 2007 when mothers under 30
accounted for 39.3% of births.
There were 1,038 births to mothers under 20 years of age
in 2017, down from 2,505 in 2007, a decrease of 58.6%. C