He said:

"In our new maturity in this State, we can surely admit that our self-awareness leads us to an understanding which lies between the Ulster Unionist Leader’s intemperate outburst and the knee-jerk defensiveness of some here. When a pendulum stops swinging equilibrium is restored at a mid-point of balance.

"Misunderstandings based on myths, or worse still founded on half-truths do still prevail in some quarters. The danger of half-truth is that it is peddled as truth, breeds suspicion, fosters fear and then we are on the slippery slope to hostility. As in any society, there are inevitable and residual traces of bigotry and sectarianism.

"I believe, we, in Ireland today, need to come to terms with a fresh and re-evaluated definition of our Irishness – the more so in the light of the arrival here of new and rich cultures. We have to accept that being Irish does not necessarily mean that a person is white, is Roman Catholic, or even Christian, or religious at all, or is married with children, or is heterosexual, or is nationalist or republican, or speaks Irish, or even English."

He called for the setting up in Cork of a meaningful ecumenical mechanism for dialogue between Christian churches, and an inter-faith forum for dialogue with those of other faiths who now play such an important part in our community.