Ireland’s newest political weekly, the Village, launches with big coverage of the DUP’s trip to Dublin and is decidedly more upbeat about it significance that most other publications, Irish or otherwise.”Not quite the road to Damascus but the road to Dublin is a significant journey for us”, one senior DUP source tells Suzanne Breen. There’s even a claim that the Dublin visit should be a confidence building measure for Nationalists. And later, “we’re showing we aren’t inflexible bigots. We’re deadly serious about a deal. Ian likes Bertie. There’s a rapport there. They can do business”.
And editor Vincent Browne goes back more than thirty years to the night in the Europa, when Paisley told RTE man in Belfast then Liam Lourican, that “…if the people in the south really want the protestants of the northn to join them in a united Ireland then they should scrap entirely the 1937 constitution and ensure that the Roman Catholic hierarchy could no longer exercise an improper influence on politics”.
There’s also a piece from Gerry Adams on what he sees as the passive hold of Unionists on British political action.
Unfortunately, there’s very little on the website yet, so you’ll have to shell out for the content. This week at least it’s good value for northerners. And worth the price. But the question many will be asking is, can they keep it up?
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
