Chasm of distrust remains between both communities

World of Politics with Harry McGee

If you look at the text of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement you will find that the bulk of the most bitter, the most divisive, and the most contentious issues were not really dealt with.

They were ‘parked’ to be dealt with at a later date. The biggest issue, of course, was decommissioning. That took seven long, exhausting and arduous years to sort out. But sorted out it was in 2005 when Séanna Walsh read out a statement from the IRA saying it was standing down.

Many of the other disputes have never really been sorted out – flags and emblems, the Irish language, North-South institutions – and are still ‘live’. Politics in the North is still defined by identity and the Tribe, with the preponderance of people voting along green or orange lines (although in less volumes with each succeeding election).

So many things have not been sorted out. There is still a chasm of distrust between both communities. Brexit has exacerbated divisions.

All those fudges are now almost a quarter of a century in existence without being sorted. Yes, it is imperfect. But it’s still infinitely better than what went before.

I had a quick check back to see the last time I wrote a substantive piece about the North in this column. It was April 2020, a full two years ago, and that was to mark the passing of John Hume, a colossus figure in Northern politics. The situation may be imperfect but that trumps violence every day of the week.

The Assembly elections this week might result in a historic shift in the North. For some that should have meant the end of sectarian-driven politics and a politics-as-usual scenario, where day-to-day issues such as cost-of-living, health services, education and infrastructure were debated.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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