Northern Ireland, A Triumph of Politics: Interviews and Analysis 1988-2008

Description

In this collection of new and published material, landmark interviews and unrivalled analysis, the award winning London Editor of The Irish Times chronicles the slow triumph of Anglo Irish diplomacy over the counsel of despair about a Province long perceived as a problem without solution. Millar’s interviewees include John Hume, Bishop Cathal Daly, Patrick Mayhew, David Trimble, Seamus Mallon, Gerry Adams, Ian Paisley, Peter Robinson, Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern.

In the face of widespread indifference and sometimes hostility during the years of political impasse, many journalists and broadcasters helped foster an understanding of the conflict and those trapped in it. Insiders attest to the role played by Millar and the Irish Times, by their insistence on speaking to politicians who at times refused to speak to each other. As early as 1989 Millar was talking to John Hume and Cathal Daly about dual referendums, the legitimacy of the Northern state and the vexed question of policing. Millar remained ahead of the game at St Andrews in October 2006, the first journalist to divine that Sinn Fein’s endorsement of the PSNI would see the Rev Ian Paisley form a power-sharing government with Martin McGuinness. Northern Ireland: The Triumph of Politics chronicles a vital chapter in Irish history as it happened, by the people who made it.

Table of Contents

1. Defining the Problem – John Hume, 1988-1989
2. Catholics and the State: Obligations and Entitlements – Bishop Cathal Daly, 1989
3. Desperately Seeking an Alternative – John Taylor, 1989
4. Looking to the Other Side of the Hill – Peter Brooke, 1991
5. In From the Cold – Gerry Adams, 1994
6. New Labour, New Irish Policy – Tony Blair 1995
7. Trench Warfare: The Good Friday Disagreement – Seamus Mallon, Chris Patten and David Trimble, 1988-1999
8. Suspension – Seamus Mallon, Jeffrey Donaldson, Gerry Adams and David Trimble, 2000
9. No More Itsy Bitsy – Tony Blair, 2002
10. Heir Apparent – Peter Robinson, 2002
11. Guns and Government – David Trimble, 2004
12. Back to Stormont – Dermot Ahern, Gerry Adams, Peter Hain and Ian Paisley, 2006
13. American Intervention – Mitchell Reiss, 2006
14. ‘Dr. No’ Says Yes – Ian Paisley, 2006-2007
15. Ireland at Peace – Bertie Ahern, 2008
Epilogue: Tony Blair’s Irish Peace

About the Author

Frank Millar has been London Editor of the Irish Times since 1990. In 1998 he was named Irish Print Journalist of the Year, for his coverage of the negotiations surrounding the Belfast Agreement. He is the author of David Trimble: The Price of Peace (2004) and ‘Tony Blair’s Irish Peace’ for Blair’s Britain, edited by Anthony Seldon (2007).