The 26thJanuary 2019 may well be one of those dates that historians of tomorrow reflect upon as a pivotal one in Ireland. The media have seized upon the significance of the convergence of all shades of nationalism and republicanism in such numbers at the Future of Ireland conference at the Waterfront Hall. Even Unionist commentator Alex Kane has made it out to be something that unionists should learn from in terms of representing and making the case to their people.

Predictably, some unionists were scathing; some publically disappointed they had not been asked to contribute. However, given the genesis and agenda it is difficult to see what their contribution would be at this stage. The elected representation of unionism is, on the face of it, potently resistant to the matter of unfulfilled rights enshrined within the Good Friday Agreement, a fulfilment that is potentially jeopardised by Brexit, matters of deep concern to conference.

There is a mood, a consensus, and also a spirit of generosity in a movement of people who have been corralled into a cohesion not before seen due to the arrogance and the less than respectful attitude of unionism, particularly as represented by the DUP, as well as their failure to enter into the spirit and letter of the Good Friday and subsequent agreements.

Whatever goodwill moderate nationalism had towards a settled Northern Ireland since 1998 has been blown, and irrevocable change is underway. Unionism need point no fingers other than at itself.

As a Protestant, not a unionist, I attended this conference because I am interested in the future of this land. I am glad I did, for I have had a sense for many years of being a second-class citizen within my own ‘perceived’ community. Incidentally, that sense was been borne out by less than gracious remarks made by a certain DUP MLA on social media regarding my attendance.

Does not being a unionist make you a nationalist or, worse still, perhaps in the eyes of that certain DUP MLA and others like him, a traitor?

Today I am confident about who I am, where I am from, and where I am going. I am also confident about my national identity, I don’t need the tags of unionism, nationalism or republicanism, nor all the hatred, bigotry, mayhem, death, destruction and misery that has been associated with these labels through the decades. I am a proud Irishman through and through who yearns for a peaceful and united Ireland.

Some perhaps may raise an eyebrow given my family history, associated in the early 1900s with extreme unionism.  LT Col WEC McCammond, my great-grandfather, was actively involved in training the UVF and in gun-running (indeed as a child I have memory of boxes of rifles being removed from my grandfather’s house on the Antrim Road, Belfast in the 60s). He was also the commanding officer of the Portobello Barracks in Dublin at the time of the Easter Rising 1916 and was embroiled in the events around the unlawful execution of Francis Sheehy-Skeffington and others by Captain Bowen-Colthurst. He was the officer who ordered the ransacking of Countess Markievic’s home a few days later when an Gal Gréine, a banner of significance for republicans, was seized as a spoil of war.

Lt Col WEC McCammond was absent from the barracks on the night of the rebellion when Bowen-Colthurst committed his crimes. James W Taylor in his book Guilty but Insane, examining the life and character of Bowen-Colthurst, speculates that had my great-grandfather been present, Bowen-Colthurst would not have committed his crimes. Had the ensuing trouble around that not taken place, the next rebellion leader due for execution would have been so executed. That leader was Éamon de Valera.

My point here is that I do not have a narrow blinkered narrative in terms of my personal family history. My history has had consequences for others, indeed for the whole of Ireland. Ireland’s history is my story and it grants me a sense of belonging which has been denied to me and so many others since partition.

I have a family today which is cross-border, Protestant, Catholic and none, British and Irish. A family which is bonded in love, who enjoy each other’s company and culture freely.

I need look no further for a better template for the New Ireland that I envision.