Debate contribution: Election of Speaker and Deputy Speakers

Debate contribution by Mr Justin McNulty on 13 May 2022.

MLA: Mr Justin McNulty
Party at the time: Social Democratic and Labour Party
Date: 13 May 2022
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Speaker's Business
Heading: Election of Speaker and Deputy Speakers
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 4140111

Text

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle.
Comhghairdeas
on your service and ádh mór ort
in the next phase. My father, despairing over the deadlock in this place, reminded me of an old Irish tradition: meitheal.
The meitheal was the high point of the year. In days gone by, families in my townland and in townlands across Ireland cut corn, made hay and picked spuds in their neighbours' fields as often as they did in their own fields. Through that spirit of meitheal, people survived and thrived. Women and men worked in parallel to win the harvest. There was a great sense of camaraderie and support with problems to be solved, and the craic was mighty. The meitheal was the high point of the year. Let that be now. Let us recapture the meitheal in our shared home place. Let us build a society where our children live and learn together, where neighbours carry each other in tough times and where all communities pull together for the common good. Let us build a society where meitheal sweetens our victories and takes the sting out of tragedies and challenges. Let us build a new Ireland for all.

196 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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