Negotiations
How are people ever going to face up to their responsibilities as elected representatives
It’s refreshing to see the Irish Times give some space to the not inconsiderable political intelligence of Stephen Collins to think about the phoney production which may be grinding its way back to a curiously inconclusive end. He points to a Seanad order of business debate in which Northern Ireland comes up. It’s a reflection [...] more »
“And still we waited..”
On the local evening news yesterday Sinn Féin’s Conor Murphy denied that there had been a “wobble amongst republicans” as Mark Devenport suggested. Interestingly, the Irish Times’ Gerry Moriarty clearly heard similar reports Conscious of mistakes made in previous negotiations, both the DUP and Sinn Féin were anxious not to be wrong-footed. Some sources spoke [...] more »
Still on duty…
Peter Robinson says a deal can be done: He said:”It is perfectly possible if everybody was prepared to move that little bit further.” Conor Murphy says there is no deal. He said it has been “a defining day.”"It shall have to be called soon.” He added. Adds: The nastiness seems to be clearing. Adams said [...] more »
“enhance the framework governing parades and related public assemblies”
As Brian said, both the DUP and Sinn Féin are protesting “good faith”, but giving nothing away. And remember, “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed”. So, what’s everything this time? From Gordon Brown and Brian Cowen’s joint statement yesterday [pdf file] We believe there is now a firm basis for the parties to: • [...] more »
Nuclear options
We’re not at this point yet – not even close, truth be told- but shall we have a natter about the nuclear options?Previously unionists have been threatened with Joint Authority, effectively co-rule by London and Dublin. It’s extremely unlikely that Gordon Brown would pursue such a strategy so close to a general election. If it [...] more »
“in truth there’s the whiff of failure around Hillsborough Castle”
BBC NI political editor Mark Devenport queries the direction of the governments’ “pathway” and relates a “brief comic interlude” ahead of the press conference at Hillsborough. [Do we have the video? - Ed] Not yet… Adds It’s below the fold. We were summoned into a room inside the castle not far from where Tony Blair [...] more »
Quote of the day…
From a friend in the Ulster Unionists (whose party line, incidentally, is that The Plough IS a better eatery than The Hillside): Inside sources indicate that the only delivery at Hillsborough Castle today will be a Dominos Pizza… The same source further suggests we start a sweepstake on what hour Sinn Fein will walk out… [...] more »
“part of the political fabric”
The US Secretary of State is heading to London. Not to save The Process™ here, but to attend two conferences. Tomorrow it’s Yemen. And on Thursday, Afghanistan, where a familiar strategy is being discussed – as an short Irish Times report noted on Saturday On a 24-hour visit to Pakistan, [US defence secretary Robert] Gates [...] more »
Unionist unity is an opportunity to shift baggage in BOTH parties…
Inter party talks involving the Conservative Party in Britain, the Ulster Unionist Party and the Democratic Unionist Party are set to escalate in the next week to ten days. This follows the disclosure that last Sunday, Northern Ireland’s likely next Secretary of State, Owen Paterson, held secret talks with Peter Robinson, Nigel Dodds, Sammy Wilson [...] more »
“That’s simply not how negotiations work.”
Northern Ireland Acting First Minister, the DUP’s Arlene Foster, MLA, responds to the comments by Sinn Féin vice-president Mary Lou McDonald – noted by Eamonn earlier. Video courtesy of UTV And some quotes from the UTV report “The sort of deadline that has been given by Sinn Fein is very, very unhelpful and we may [...] more »
Ritchie: “If the other parties (SF & DUP) go the other way, they will pay a heavy price…”
For those of you worried we’ve been obsessing too much on the wrong things, I should say it is part of our plans to attend the SDLP annual conference in Newcastle this year, in light of the fact they are about to change leaders… It remains to be seen whether that will have any effect [...] more »
Now just a quick question for those at that meeting last Sunday…
Well, we have it from the Tories… and we have it from my esteemed colleague Owen Polley that the meeting in London on Sunday (when the DUP members left their Sinn Fein colleagues dangling in the P&J talks on basis of taking a break for the Sabbath) that there was nothing to the meeting other [...] more »
Policing and Justice talks entering shaky ground…
Inter party talks are on shaky ground tonight. Deputy First Minister Martin Mc Guinness will address Sinn Fein’s board of officers tomorrow. There is no ‘product.’ In a sentence then Mr. Mc Guinness is going to talk with party officers with one hand as long as the other. This is ominous. more »
The DUP: From individual tragedy to an 18th Century Irish farce…
What follows here was triggered by a flashback to my schoolboy recollection of ‘ A School for Scandal‘ by Richard Brinsley Sheridan who was writing in the second half of the eighteenth century. I am in no sense true or faithful to the original text in my portrayal of the main character at play ‘Confidence.’ [...] more »
“You can also buy a bar of Stormont fudge.”
In his Irish Times sketch piece Deaglán de Bréadún appears to suspect there’s confectionery in the air. The devolution of policing and justice from London is not an issue that keeps any ordinary citizen in Northern Ireland awake at night, but it is a deal breaker for Sinn Féin, who could pull the whole house [...] more »
As the dysfunctional semi-detached polit-bureau wends its way into history…
One of the things, I guess, that will be taxing most of our new readers from elsewhere is why does a crisis around one political leader potentially threaten the nature of the whole settlement? In an op ed for the London Times today, I’ve sketched the outline the plot of the political power play that’s [...] more »
How can Shaun Woodward speak of possible success being just around the corner?
Shaun Woodward who is coming back to Northern Ireland later today wants an urgent meeting with Peter Robinson. Officials in the Northern Ireland Office are in touch with sources close to Mr Robinson to try to arrange a meeting. A spokesman for Peter Robinson has said his boss is remaining at home this week attending [...] more »
Governments have between the 4th and the 8th of January to save the entire political process…
Many Northern Ireland Assembly members still sucking the bones of the turkey have no idea that within less than two weeks their careers as politicians may be finished. When Monday dawns the British and Irish governments have just fours days to shore up the entire political process. A Sinn Fein team has been beavering in [...] more »
Adams: Safe at home, vulnerable away…
Worth noting in passing Squinter’s straw poll of sentiment in West Belfast suggests that Gerry Adams’ support is undiminished in his own political heartland… It’s a point I made myself on GMU last Thursday (about 8.20)… It, I would suggest, indicates there is no immediate threat to Adams in the Westminsters (the SDLP are nowhere [...] more »
Clinton: There are scabs and abcesses and Northern Ireland is a scab…
Nicely jaundiced quote from Bill Clinton in Bill Runciman’s article in the most excellent London Review of Books: “Peacemaking quests came in two kinds: scabs and abscesses. A scab is a sore with a protective crust, which may heal with time and simple care. In fact, if you bother it too much, you can reopen [...] more »
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Books
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Hearing the Other Voice from the Grave: Why Should we Listen to David Ervine’s Stories?
Ed Moloney’s Voices from the Grave: Two Men’s War in Ireland has received considerable attention in the press and in the public realm since its publication earlier this year. Although the book relates the experiences of the Provisional IRA’s Brendan Hughes and the PUP/UVF’s David Ervine, much of the discussion has focused on Hughes’ stories [...] read our review » -
A New Vision for the Catholic Church – Book Review
The oft-quoted verse from the book of Proverbs, ‘where there is no vision, the people perish,’ (chapter 29, verse 18) opens a new book by Gerry O’Hanlon, A New Vision for the Catholic Church: A View from Ireland (Columba Press, 2011). That verse could be considered an apt summary of the current state of the [...] read our review »
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Of the Old North and other Vanished Kingdoms..
I’m currently trawling through Norman Davies’s fabulous new tome – “Vanished Kingdoms” – Five stars in the (London) Telegraph’s review from Ben Wilson: All the nations that have ever lived have left their footsteps in the sand,” writes Norman Davies. “The traces fade with every tide, the echoes grow faint, the images are fractured, the human [...] read our review »
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