Ever since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement there has been talk about reform of the Stormont institutions. As the accord prepares to mark its 25th anniversary next April, Political Correspondent John Manley looks at where each of the parties stands – as laid out in platforms carried by The Irish News over the past week
Power is shared by the Stormont executive’s participants in a forced marriage
John Manley
27 November, 2022 21:00
Political correspondent John Manley
IT’S a truth universally acknowledged that the north’s power-sharing institutions could function better.
The ability of the largest party in either the unionist or nationalist designation to collapse the executive or veto its establishment by refusing to nominate a first minister is often cited as the key flaw in the current arrangements.
The mandatory coalition model was set up in 1998 in a way that ensured the majority rule that had characterised the first 50 years of Northern Ireland’s existence was not repeated.
The option of opposition has been available since 2016 but for those in government, power is shared in a kind of forced marriage.
Circumstances have changed over the quarter of a century since the accord was signed, with the pace of transformation seemingly accelerating in recent years.
Unionism lost its majority in 2017, Sinn Féin became the assembly’s largest party in last May’s election, and Alliance has strengthened the so-called middle ground.
There is now no majority bloc, yet under current arrangements, a party that received little more than half of unionism’s popular vote in the assembly election can veto devolution.
There are those who agitate for change and a move towards voluntary coalition, which would enable a ‘government of the willing’ rather than the present necessity to include the largest party in the two main designations.
Last week, The Irish News asked each of the parties how they would make devolved government more stable.
Deputy first minister designate Michelle O’Neill said “people across Ireland [are] demanding real change”. Notably, however, that change does not extend to altering the workings of the institutions, for the meantime at least.
“I believe reform at this stage equates to shifting the goalposts agreed by the people in referenda north and south, and no fundamental change should occur without their consent,” the Sinn Féin deputy leader said.
Ms O’Neill believes Stormont’s Assembly and Executive Review Committee is the “established and appropriate forum” for any discussion about changes, perhaps a pre-emptive response to any notion the two governments may have about initiating reform.
“To discard the Good Friday Agreement safeguards and protections or governance arrangements would be a mistake,” she said.
“Carefully and painstakingly negotiated, they represent a political accommodation, and while nothing is ever permanent, now isn’t the time to assist the Tories or DUP in unravelling it.”
With Sinn Féin’s acquiescence, the DUP was previously successful in changing the agreement’s power-sharing template at St Andrews.
Under the new rules agreed in 2006, the first and deputy ministers would be automatically chosen from the ranks of the largest party in each designation. In the time since, both parties have consolidated their respective positions as each designation’s largest.
The DUP has yet to furnish this newspaper with a platform outlining how it would make devolved government more stable so it’s been necessary to consult the party’s manifesto from May’s election.
Beyond a resolution of its concerns around the protocol, the DUP said it wants to see politics and government at Stormont “normalised”.
“We have had a long-term objective of seeing government established by those who can agree to govern together,” its manifesto states.
“We remain convinced that a voluntary coalition represents the best long-term option for government in Northern Ireland.
“We believe this should be on the basis of a concise agreed coalition plan that can subsequently be augmented by a more comprehensive Programme for Government and supported by a weighted majority in the assembly.”
According to Alliance leader Naomi Long, reform is the only way way to break what she terms the “cycle of crisis and collapse”.
“The agreement was a historic milestone but the ‘ugly scaffolding’ of its binary system has unintentionally handed the two largest parties the ability to collapse the institutions and hold the people of Northern Ireland to ransom at will,” she said.
Alliance advocates amending the process for nominating first and deputy first ministers so that if a party refuses to nominate, the entitlement passes to the next largest party.
“This would enable those who wish to form an executive to deliver government – any party entitled to an office or ministry would retain that right – it is for them to decide whether to opt out, so no-one is excluded unless they choose to be,” the East Belfast MLA said.
Mrs Long’s party also supports replacing the assembly’s current parallel consent in cross-community votes with a weighted majority.
“This would ensure the support of unionists, nationalists and, crucially, others, whose votes are currently ignored, without giving anyone a veto,” she says.
The SDLP’s Matthew O’Toole said he acknowledges the agreement and associated institutions’ role in embedding peace, yet believes “no-one could credibly argue that they are operating properly – when they operate at all”.
“The question is how to reform them without jeopardising the fundamental principles of power sharing and mutual respect,” he said.
He characterised the rule change at St Andrews in 2006 as “tragic” and “designed to promote tribal vetoes and victories”.
The party advocates that the first and deputy first minister’s titles are ‘equalisesd’.
“They [Sinn Féin and the DUP] have both profited from prioritising victory and veto in a system designed for partnership,” he said.
Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie is likewise lauds the agreement’s achievements but too laments the 2006 amendment – “vandalism” that has been “facilitated by both the Irish and UK governments”.
Like the SDLP, the party that too has seen its star continue to fall since 1998 wants a return to the agreement’s “factory settings” and “the principles on which power-sharing was established”.
“Returning to the first minister coming from the largest designation, with joint election of first and deputy first ministers, would remove the charade we see every election time,” said Mr Beattie.
Arguably the most strident and consistent critics of mandatory coalition is TUV leader Jim Allister.
He says those who “meekly accepted three years of Sinn Féin boycott” have only recently become interested in reform.
“None of the parties have to agree about anything before going into government together – hence, the inevitable crises and collapse,” he said.
He argues that with no party big enough to govern on its own, coalition is inevitable.
“As elsewhere, for it to work, it must be a coalition of the willing,” he said.
The TUV leader also advocates a weighted majority vote to approve the new government and its programme and budget.
Meanwhile, People Before Profit’s Gerry Carroll would welcome reform of the institutions to allow for a voluntary coalition but said it “would only be a stopgap measure” and would “not cure the sectarian rot at the heart of the northern state”.
“After 25 years of failure, illusions in the ability of Stormont to truly deliver are quickly waning,” he said.
“It’s like Christmas for Americans”, was how one Irish person described Thanksgiving. A time when families and friends come together.
As you know Thanksgiving is not celebrated in Ireland. A holiday rooted in British colonialism was never going to take hold in Ireland.
But I think the idea of giving thanks should be part of all societies; an acknowledgment that good times and hard times are transient. We experience both throughout our lives. A celebration of our common humanity and experience.
An occasion to be grateful for what we have and remember those suffering.
So here is my short list of things to be thankful for:
Family; immediate and extended, biological and non-biological. The people that make the place called home. A warm, secure, and welcoming home free from pretense and full of acceptance.
Friends; the people who you might not see for a year but can pick up a conversation where it was left off. The ones that can fill an hour with joy and laughter or be comfortable in your quiet company. Free with support and advice and always with your best interests at heart
Comrades; being part of something bigger than oneself. A community that is bound together by a common aim and a shared struggle. Creating a space for debate, decision-making, and common action. Always there with support in the hard times with a mixture of good humour and solidarity.
Opportunity. The backdrop to my first thirty years was the conflict in Belfast. At times it moved center stage with devastating effect. We now have an opportunity to resolve differences and build a new and united Ireland through peaceful and democratic means. We must always be thankful to those that made that possible and mindful to safeguard the progress that we now enjoy.
We face many challenges in the months and years ahead to realize the opportunities which we have been gifted. But this weekend let’s be grateful for what we have. To my family, friends, and comrades that have welcomed me throughout the US and Canada, I thank you.
Have a great weekend.
Is mise,
Ciarán
Ciarán Quinn is the Sinn Féin Representative to North America
The Cavern Club, Penny Lane, Strawberry Field – Liverpool locations which will forever be associated with The Beatles.
But although they hailed from Merseyside, the Fab Four have strong Irish connections which a new podcast argues makes them at least adopted sons of the Emerald Isle.
Give The Beatles Back to the Irish begins on Sunday on Radio Ulster and begins by exploring the deep Irish family roots of the band.
Here are six other lesser-known facts to support the theory that Ireland can claim at least a little of The Beatles’ success.
Oliver Cromwell is responsible for the Beatles
Sounds far-fetched? Maybe, but bear with us here.
The Beatles have deep-rooted Irish family connections.
John’s great-grandfather James was born in County Down and his great-grandmother Elizabeth Gildea was from Omagh in County Tyrone.
Paul’s family was rooted in County Monaghan. His grandfather on his mother’s side was Owen Mohan from Tullynamallow.
Image caption,Gardaí (Irish police) had to hold back enthusiastic Beatles fans in Dublin in 1963
Ringo is the most English of the band but there are still family lines traceable to County Mayo.
George’s family was originally from County Wexford and were landowners until stripped of their land by Oliver Cromwell.
The family subsequently emigrated to Liverpool. The rest is musical history…eventually.
Indeed in 1963, John Lennon stated in an interview upon landing at Dublin Airport: “We’re all Irish!”
Back in the RUAS…They played their biggest UK/Irish gig in Belfast
Image caption,Ringo and Paul play with children’s Christmas presents backstage at the King’s Hall in Belfast in 1964
The band’s appearance in the King’s Hall Belfast in 1964 had the largest audience The Beatles ever played to in the UK and Ireland.
As Beatlemania swept the world, they performed two shows on the same day at the home of the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society with a total audience of 16,000.
It was an arena gig before the term was even coined. The highest ticket price on the day was a whopping £1.
The band played three famous gigs in Ireland – one in Dublin and two in Belfast – but did you know they also almost played Drogheda and Portstewart? All is revealed in the series.
With A Little Help From Their Irish Friends
The Fab Four had connections with some very interesting showbiz figures down the years.
Many of these were Irish. From “old man Steptoe” Wilfred Bramble, who was actually a Dubliner, to Irish talk show legend Gay Byrne – who Lennon dismissively referred to as Grey Burke.
You may recall Bramble played Paul’s “very clean” grandpa in Hard Day’s Night.
The band, especially Paul McCartney was close to the Irish socialite and Guinness heir Tara Browne who was at the centre of the swinging London scene.
Image caption,Tara Browne (left) was a leading London socialite and friend of The Beatles
Browne’s life was cut tragically short in a car accident, later to be immortalised in the classic Sgt Pepper’s album song A Day in the Life.
As the song went, “nobody was really sure is he was from the House of Lords”, in reference to Browne’s aristocratic father.
Baby You Can Drive My Car (with a slightly dodgy Irish driving licence)
Well not so much dodgy, but certainly convenient.
From a local newspaper in 1963: “McCartney who had two previous convictions for speeding this year was told by Alderman W.O. Hanford presiding: ‘It is time you were taught a lesson.'”
Anyone could get an Irish driving licence simply by applying for them in the early 1960s.
According to Jason and Stephen in the podcast, Paul had been stripped of his UK driving licence for repeated speeding offences and Ringo simply wanted to get a fast-track but legal means of getting back behind the wheel of his car.
Image caption,Paul may or may not have still had an Irish driving licence by the time this photo was taken in 1967
In the Republic of Ireland in the early 1960s, anyone living there could get an Irish driving licence simply by applying for one.
A Dublin “home” address was even provided for the paperwork. Beep beep, beep beep, yeah!
Arthur Fields forever – George immortalised in Dublin as a child.
The Beatles guitarist visited Ireland several times as a child to see some of his many cousins.
A tarapicture captured by legendary Dublin street photographer Arthur Fields on the streets of the city in the 1950s is astonishing.
Walking across a bridge with his mother, George stares down the camera lens just like he would later for Fab Four photoshoots, even though he’s a tiny kid, aged seven.
Arguably the coolest Beatle, even then.
John and Yoko bought an Irish island to retire
In the 1970s several Beatles flirted, with varying degrees of controversy, with Irish politics and The Troubles in song.
Give Ireland Back To The Irish went to number one in Ireland, but less predictably, also in Franco’s Spain.
John Lennon went even further than singing about Ireland, buying Dorinish island off the west coast intending to retire there with Yoko and his family.
He sent a beautiful old psychedelically-painted gypsy caravan to the island by helicopter in 1967.
While Dorinish had subsequently changed hands from hippes to farmers, Lennon was apparently still interested in finishing his plans which had received local planning permission.
Sadly, Lennon’s dream of an idyllic Irish lifestyle would never materialise as he was murdered in New York in 1980.
As he admitted himself in song: “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one”.
One can only imagine how differently Lennon’s life would have panned out had he lived and eventually became an Irish resident.
Give The Beatles Back To The Irish will be broadcast on BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Radio Foyle at 18:30 GMT on Sunday and on BBC Sounds.
The Hollywood star, Maureen O’Hara, at Camp Pendleton, in 1945. USMC ARCHIVES / FLICKR
Maureen O’Hara, in what was likely her last interview, gave all the credit for her success to her mother’s inspiration. The Quiet Man star, also revealed who her hero was – Eamonn De Valera, Founder of the Fianna Fail Party and a deadly enemy of Michael Collins.
The interview with Maureen O’Hara is from the book “Celebrating the Irish”, which fell foul of Ireland’s economic recession back in 2010 but has now been completed by Noreen Taylor, a respected journalist, author, and portrait painter. There are 60 or so short interviews as well as a portrait of remarkable Irish achievers.
O’Hara told Taylor: “My mother was very beautiful, someone I wanted to emulate. She sang in opera and for a long time I wanted to follow her footsteps.
“Fame did not turn my head, nor did I believe I’d come a long way for the simple reason that I always thought I came from a great bloodline and a great country. We’ve produced men like my great hero Eamonn de Valera, people who have gone out and conquered the world. So how could I not be proud.”
2
The late great Maureen O’Hara.
As for Hollywood, she never doubted she could make it.
“I knew I was going to be a top actress. I was ambitious, determined to be successful in life. We were all high achievers in my family. We delighted in being winners but we didn’t boast, we shared in each other’s success. But I’d have been walloped if I started to show off. One brother, Charles was a top barrister, another brother Jimy won the Leinster 400 (athletic race) and my sister Margaret was a dressage champion.”
Her father, Charles Fitzsimons was a successful businessman, while her mother Marguerita, was a trained operatic contralto, who ran a fashion business.
“I’ve always been proud of coming from Ireland… during all the years away I dreamed of it and wanted to come back.”
Which indeed she did to spend her final days there.
