Matt Cooper: Nesbitt speech explains how our words matter in talking about Ireland’s future

Last weekend, more than 5,000 people attended the 3Arena in Dublin for an event organised by a group called Ireland’s Future which has committed itself to pursuing a united Ireland.

I attended the event both as a participant and as an interested observer. My role as participant was as an interviewer, talking to the actor Colm Meaney, someone who has long spoken of his Republican sympathies.

Meaney played Martin McGuinness in the feature film The ...