Okay, here’s the results of the quiz on Brian M Walker’s political history of the two Irelands… (there’s a tie breaker to follow before I can announce the actual winner). :
1. Which Catholic church in Fermanagh was part of the local Remembrance day ceremonies until the 1980s?
A. Sacred Heart, Irvinestown. (It was not a trick question.)
2. When was divorce first made illegal in the south?
A. Divorce was first made illegal in 1926. It was only later given constitutional status by Dev in 1937. Sean Donohoe adds Seanadoir WB. Yeates opposed it very vigorously in the Seanad
3. Where was Dublin’s temporary cenotaph placed after the First World War?
A. On College Green in Dublin John O’Neill adds, “at the front of what is now the taxi rank. (it was also the site of a temporary round tower for the Eucharistic Congress in 1932).”
4. Which unionist politician in 1965 warned his colleagues that the unionist gerrymander of Derry City was no way to ‘maintain Ulster’?
A. Dr Robert Nixon, Unionist Party MP for North Down.
5. Who wrote: “when we say the Irish are much influenced by the past, we really mean that they are too influenced by Irish history, which is a different matter”?
A. ATQ Stewart.
Winner to follow in the comment zone…
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty