Ian Paisley will not be attending the funeral Mass for Michael McIlveen today, although he has just conveyed his condolences in the Westminster parliament this afternoon. In the same session, Mark Durkan also noted that the sight of Celtic and Rangers shirts imprinted with Mickey Bo (the dead boy’s nickname), was indication of a hopeful future in the midst of tragedy. Martin McGuinness will attend, as will the current DUP Mayor of Ballymena, Tommy Nicholl.
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
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