Keynote address by Taoiseach Micheál Martin at Fifth Shared Island Forum

Speech

Keynote address by Taoiseach Micheál Martin at Fifth Shared Island Forum

• From: Department of the Taoiseach

• Published on: 29 June 2026
• Last updated on: 29 June 2026

Check against Delivery

It's a pleasure to be here with you this morning at the impressive Windmill Quarter venue, in the heart of Dublin's docklands: a part of the city that vibrates with the change and progress of recent decades; a place imbued with the past, the present and the future potential of this island.

Tá an Fóram Oileáin Chomhroinnte seo ar siúl inniu beagnach sé bliana tar éis gur bhunaigh mé Tionscnamh Oileáin Chomhroinnte de chuid an Rialtais.

Rinne mé amhlaidh ar an uair sin mar aitheantas ar cé chomh tábhachtach is a bhí an tsíocháin agus an chobhsaíocht a dhaingnigh Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta, agus ar an ngá a bhaineann le a bheith ag tógáil ar na bunchlocha sin chun lánacmhainneacht an Chomhaontaithe a bhaint amach ar son muintir go léir an oileáin seo. Tá gá ann go fóill le fócas straitéiseach leanúnach a chur ar an obair seo.

This Shared Island Forum today takes place almost six years since I established the Government's Shared Island Initiative.

I did so then in recognition of the utmost importance of the peace and stability secured by the Good Friday Agreement, and of the need to build on those foundations to realise the full potential of the Agreement for all of the people of this island.

In particular, there was, and there remains, a need for a sustained, strategic focus on:

• working today on investing in the future across both jurisdictions in far more ambitious and integrated ways, given our connections and interdependence;
• placing a premium on forging new connections between people across all communities and all counties, recognising the gaps in contact and understanding that have grown up over the last century and more;
• and, crucially, doing these things with an intent honed by the principles, commitments and relationships of the Good Friday Agreement, including working with the Executive and through the North South Ministerial Council, and with the UK Government as co-guarantor of the Agreement, and through our UK-Ireland 2030 programme of strategic cooperation.

The work to build a shared future with all communities on this island is not and never can be a short-term, quick-fix task. There are many fundamental challenges which we need to approach progressively, collectively and resolutely to overcome.

We need to acknowledge that the legacy of the Troubles causes immense, continuing challenges for society, in Northern Ireland in particular, including the scourge of residual paramilitarism in afflicted communities.

The spiral of violence over thirty years left enduring pain and scars for victims' families across these islands, and implementation by the two Governments of the agreed framework on legacy remains essential work.

There also remain fundamental issues of trust, and on how to achieve common cause and understanding, across our different communities and political traditions, that we need to work on together, whatever the future looks like.

Charting ways forward and reaching better resolutions on these and other questions - of identity, belonging, loyalty and solidarity - are crucial for the future of our shared island, however the people may decide it is to be constituted in accordance with the Good Friday Agreement.

Ultimately, these are questions for all of us on this island - as citizens, neighbours, and guardians of the society that we will pass to our children and grandchildren.

Can we bequeath them a shared home place that is truly reconciled to our identity differences and one that harnesses the strength of our diversity?

How will we write this next chapter in our island's story?

My political forebears first proclaimed, and then slowly but surely realised, independence - a Republic for all - that has been built over the decades since, albeit at times haltingly and unevenly, and is continually transformed by the will and work of the people.

In 1973, mandated by the people, Ireland joined what became the European Union - the most successful peace-building endeavour in human history. As an EU member state, a new dimension of Ireland's national project and identity developed, a dimension now deeply embedded - and greatly valued - in Irish life today.

And, in 1998, the people of this island, North and South, created a new dispensation in overwhelmingly endorsing the Good Friday Agreement which secured peace and opened an agreed way to reimagine, work for, and realise the promise of a truly reconciled future on this island.

The Shared Island Initiative is about doing everything that we can, to achieve that together.

And although we live on an island, we are not alone in our efforts.

Today marks the start of the week in which Ireland will take up the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the eighth time. And I want to take this opportunity to recall the role of the EU itself as a vocal and active supporter of the peace process and of prosperity on this island. This was not just lip service.

What began as an initial €500 million investment through the first PEACE Programme in 1995, has continued to grow, with the total investment through the successive PEACE and PEACEPLUS programmes of over €3.4 billion. Since 1999 this has been delivered through the Special EU Programmes Body as one of six North South Implementation Bodies under the Good Friday Agreement.

And like the peace process itself, crucially this is work that continues. We are now working together - in Brussels, Dublin, Belfast and London - to develop a successor programme to underpin peace, progress and prosperity out to 2035. This is an important manifestation of continuing European Union solidarity and support for peace and reconciliation on the island of Ireland, and of a strong EU-UK relationship and partnership, which Ireland will always champion as an EU Member State.

Delivery

When I established the Shared Island Initiative in 2020, I spoke of the Government of Ireland's readiness, commitment, and ambition to work with all communities and traditions to build a truly shared future on this island.

The breadth and depth of what has been delivered since then - now backed by a dedicated €2 billion Shared Island Fund out to 2035 - is testament to the seriousness with which I made that commitment.

The Initiative is integrated with our strategic planning at a national level, as part of the National Planning Framework and National Development Plan Reviews last year, and with all Government Ministers and their Departments tasked with developing and delivering projects and programmes that take all-island investment, cooperation and connections to a far higher level than ever before.

We have rapidly moved ahead with this agenda:

Last week, the Government approved over €377m in new Shared Island Fund allocations, and there are now almost 50 major all-island projects and programmes being supported by the Fund.

This brings to over €1 billion the total investment by Government from the Fund to date.

There are now major, multi-annual Shared Island programmes underway, for instance, in enterprise, education, agriculture, research, tourism, biodiversity and climate action - all working at a greater scale, with more impact, better alignment than before, and contributing to a shared policy agenda for the island as a whole.

Shared Island is an investment in people, in prosperity, and, above all, in reconciliation.

We are working in tangible ways to bridge the gaps that emerged in our island's society and build a shared future.

One of the cornerstones of last week's Shared Island funding announcements was almost €230 million to enhance line speed, capacity and service resilience along the railways connecting Derry, Belfast and Dublin, with hourly-frequency services and optimised transfer times for rail travel between the three cities.

This investment in our shared rail infrastructure and services will underpin connectivity for commuters and businesses through the arc of the North coast and North Eastern seaboard of the island, supporting new travel, tourism and economic opportunities.

These landmark upgrades represent further delivery of the vision set out in the All-Island Strategic Rail Review developed by both Administrations.

The investment also complements the new €700 million fleet of Enterprise trains being co-funded by the Government and Executive, and with €165m in UK and EU input through PEACEPLUS funding. I was delighted to witness the contract signing for the new fleet together with the First and deputy First Minister and Ministers from both Administrations in Belfast last month.

By working together, we are also taking more strategic coordinated actions to reach our common climate, energy and sustainability targets, both North and South.

It brings to mind the Irish proverb - 'Trí na chéile a thógtar na cáisléain' - 'In our togetherness, castles are built.'

For example, last week, the Government provided €40 million for a new scheme to enable more rapid delivery of ports infrastructure to support Offshore Renewable Energy projects for the island of Ireland. This will also support more resilient and island-wide supply chains in a crucial and growing sector for this island, across Europe and globally.

We are contributing over €30 million to a major new cooperation programme with the Executive to improve water quality in the Lough Neagh Catchments. This will help to address the serious ecological issues at Lough Neagh, and provide for knowledge-sharing and collaboration on how we achieve shared EU Water Framework Directive standards across the island.

Similarly, through the deepening Shared Island partnership between Enterprise Ireland, Invest Northern Ireland and InterTradeIreland, we are supporting a new €36m co-funded Industrial Sustainability Challenge Fund. This will leverage over €100m in private funding to support first-of-a-kind industrial sustainability projects in sectors where it is particularly hard to tackle emissions. It will also build the capacity in eligible companies to access future EU Innovation Funding, and demonstrate to businesses what is possible.

We are investing directly in the island's future - our youngest children - by equipping every early learning and childcare setting, both North and South, with new learning resources, and through investing in skills, to best meet the sensory needs of all young children, particularly those with additional needs.

And we are creating further opportunities for the island by:

- Supporting the redevelopment of cricket facilities in Belfast's Stormont Estate, as part of our co-hosting of the T20 2030 Cricket World Cup with the UK, to see games played both North and South on this island, on a truly world stage, in what will be the largest ever broadcast sporting event held here, with billions of hours viewed globally - and many of those viewers having already watched the T20 game between Ireland and India played at Stormont this weekend.;

- We are also building capacity and skills in the island's Digital Creative Industries sector, leveraging capacity and co-operation on a cross-border basis, including the strength of Northern Ireland's advanced screen and immersive media infrastructure; and,

We are also [funding a new cancer support centre at Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry for patients in the North West] and the development of new bridge projects delivered by Belfast and Cork City Councils on a collaborative basis as part of their major docklands regeneration programmes.

And speaking of bridges, I look forward to seeing delivery of the fixed span of the iconic Narrow Water Bridge in the autumn, and completion of the bridge next year. It will be a transformative asset for the North Louth / South Down / South Armagh region.

Just as significantly, last week, the Government confirmed an overall funding package for the completion of the Ulster Canal restoration, to deliver a 14.5km cross-border blueway by 2029 that will link Clones with Lough Erne and the Shannon-Erne waterway, and with a new greenway and pollinator corridor running along the canal towpath.

These are transformative projects for the Central and East Border regions. Parts of our island that in decades past were stalked by violence, atrocity, and fear. Places that suffered economically and societally from partition and from the Troubles.

We don't forget this past, it has shaped our present.

But while remembering and acknowledging, we now continue to forge a transformational new way forward, as the people mandated North and South in 1998. To realise a different future, a shared future, as a more integrated, more prosperous, more reconciled island society.

In the words of the poet Catherine Ann Cullen writing about Dublin's new Rosie Hackett bridge "To make a bridge, you must first see the gap, then fling yourself full-length across the space".

Connecting communities and people

And the gaps are not just physical of course.

Important connections are being built across the island - supported through programmes such as the Shared Island Civic Society Fund and the Creative Ireland Shared Island programme - developing or generating, genuine and lasting relationships between people and communities North and South, at every level, from young to old, and from all backgrounds.

I had the privilege of experiencing the strength and warmth of those relationships for myself last November, during the Creative Ireland - Shared Island Conference in Croke Park that celebrated almost 50 projects that have fostered partnerships, creativity and friendships across the island since 2023. We will hear later a performance from the Isle of Song, young musicians from Derry and Laois brought together through the brilliant Music Generation programme.

One participant on the project spoke of how "gradually our tables got more and more mixed…a real-life example of how we have just started coming together".

They got it in one: fostering new connections and ensuring a space for exchange and conversation is at the very heart of the Shared Island Initiative.

Over the past 5 years, Shared Island dialogues have included large-scale civic discussions that have taken place in rooms like this one, to the deeply personal reflections we heard from well-known public figures in the Future Takes series.

Whatever the form or setting, there are clear principles we need for dialogue to help us keep moving forward on the road to full reconciliation.

It must be honest. It must be respectful. It should be about our common concerns - the opportunities we have and the challenges we must face.

For instance, the All-Island Women's Forum of the National Women's Council has done important work over recent years to develop women's role in peacebuilding and civic society. The women leaders have rightly put a strong focus on the need to do more at an all-island level to tackle gender-based violence. I discussed this also with Women's Aid representatives in Belfast last month, and will be working within Government and with Executive counterparts to agree what more we can do together to bolster and add to what each Administration is doing already, on what is a defining failing in our society that we must get beyond.

Similarly, I also want to see us all - in politics and in civil society - make clear that, whatever concerns or challenges may arise, there is no place and no tolerance for racism or xenophobia on this island.

And, as we deepen civic and political dialogue on how we grow and change for the better as an island, as the Shared Island Youth Forum affirmed, in 2024, we should bring values like compassion, solidarity, empowerment, creativity and ambition to the task.

Shared Home Place

The Shared Home Place programme, which I announced last year, is all about applying those values, and asking in open, inclusive ways:

What does it mean to share this island home place?

What does home place mean to each of us?

Do we really know, and are we truly comfortable with the layers of heritage, history, culture and community that we live amongst?

And maybe, most importantly of all, are there conversations we can have about this that will help us to create a home place that offers a better future?

The Shared Home Place programme invites us to think about what a home place represents for each of us now in the present, and in the context of building a shared future.

We are very proud to be working with excellent partners on this programme, aiming to give as many people as possible - including those who have left the island or were born elsewhere, but still call it home - the chance to get involved.

The Heritage Council, the stewards of our heritage, are developing all-island programmes with Northern Ireland partners to explore the wealth of our built, cultural and natural heritage. Local galleries, libraries, archives and museums, North and South, have a vital role to play in this, as do local authorities across the island, helping to ensure this initiative reaches as many people and communities as possible.

The media and creative sectors will also play a part here. Last year, I announced €14 million in funding to Coimisiún na Meán, Ireland's independent agency responsible for developing and regulating a thriving media landscape. And this support includes, in a funding round that is now underway, a call for proposals that reflect Shared Island and Shared Home Place themes.

Creative Ireland's new Shared Island programme will also include a number of Shared Home Place projects.

Our wonderful National Cultural Institutions, working with Northern Ireland partners have put forward a slate of very interesting applications reflecting Shared Home Place themes. I hope that I, together with Minister O'Donovan, will be making announcements on these very soon.

The new Shared Home Place Diaspora Voices, being led by our network of Embassies and Consulates abroad, is inviting our diaspora to join the conversation on what the island of Ireland as a home place means to them.

Our programme today is a chance to begin to explore these ideas further and I have no doubt that the conversation on this theme from our second panel today will be thoughtful and enriching.

I hope it is a conversation that you too will join.

Connection underpinned by research and data

Supporting connections in higher education, research and innovation has also been a major feature and success of the Initiative to date.

Over 65 multi-annual projects have been supported through the Higher Education Authority's North South Research Programme since 2021, with benefits of scale, capacity and reach on what this island can deliver, and 4 major inter-institutional programmes are now underway on Parkinson's Disease research; Cyber Security; Languages and Identities; and Art and Design.

I am also strongly supportive of the new partnership that will see Dundalk Institute of Technology become a University College of Queen's University Belfast, which the Government is facilitating through introduction of the All- Island University Group Bill. I look forward to seeing the benefits of this partnership realised for both institutions and their students and faculty, contributing to the thriving island-wide higher education system and economy.

My Department's Shared Island Research programme is continuing with a sustained focus on deepening understanding and analysis of the whole island in economic, social, cultural and political terms.

There have been over 50 publications so far, all now available on a new online research repository hosted on gov.ie, which I am pleased to launch today.

A major part of this work includes the Shared Island Research Programme with the Economic and Social Research Institute, which is focusing on strategic policy and cooperation considerations for both jurisdictions on the island.

As part of this work, the ESRI has commenced a new annual research series examining and analysing economic trends across the whole island.

And, earlier this month, the Central Statistics Office, implementing a Programme for Government commitment, released the first publication in a new all-island statistical series to provide comparable data on social and economic measures across both jurisdictions.

All of this research and data is building up a more comprehensive understanding of who we are across the island of Ireland today - similarities, differences, challenges, and opportunities and how we can work together in more strategic and impactful ways in the years ahead.

In overall terms, we are at a stage now - some six years in - where the continued development of the Shared Island Initiative, and the widespread participation it has garnered North and South, is enabling real, positive change.

People North and South have taken up the call - which I made back in 2020 - to bring their energies, ideas and interests to bear in building consensus on a shared future, underpinned by the Good Friday Agreement.

Collectively, we are achieving positive change in our systems, experiences, mindsets, and in mutual understanding across this island.

This is extremely encouraging.

The Shared Island Initiative is about growing cooperation and connections to enable us to do more, together, given our shared interests, North and South.

And it is about developing mutual understanding, so that we can acknowledge, and become comfortable with, and in, our differences. To be truly reconciled.

This is the promise of the Good Friday Agreement. It is our only path to a better, and genuinely shared, future for all communities.

We are making real progress. And we will continue the journey, together.

Go raibh míle maith agaibh.