There are many good things to say about yesterday, but The Sun newspaper captures the essence of what it means to some of this deals original ‘liberal sponsors’ in the UUP and the SDLP (the latter of which was completely airbrushed from Process™ history on the BBC’s Ten O’Clock News last night)… Owen Bowcott has assembled some of their past words:
Adams on Paisley:
If Ian Paisley isn’t going to share power with the rest of us, then we have to move on without him
August 4 2005, after a meeting in Downing Street with Northern Irish parties
He radicalised me … It was Ian Paisley who led me to wonder how a clergyman could stand up and threaten to go in and tell the RUC to take the flag out, and if they didn’t, he would.
Guardian, February 5 2004
Paisley on Adams:
Mr Adams would have to repent from his evil ways. I am here tonight by the grace of God, a sinner saved by grace
April 14 1994, response during a conference in New York as to whether he would shake Adams’s hand
I will never sit down with Gerry Adams … He’d sit with anyone. He’d sit down with the devil. In fact, Adams does sit down with the devil.
Independent, February 13 1997
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