Old heads and old habits hold sway in North

Whatever chance there was to put all the pieces back together has passed. Too much has been said, publicly and certainly privately, for either side to gather itself to try to drive an agreement through

DUP leader Arlene Foster with deputy leader Nigel Dodds at Stormont. Pic: Getty

The golden age of Queen Elizabeth’s ‘Uachtaráin agus a chairde’ effort has faded. Those warm cheers that sounded as her fine clipped tones broke with centuries of history ring hollow now as Anglo-Irish harmony sinks to a new low. It was only seven years ago, but the harsh accusatory language in Belfast this week, adding to the stresses of Brexit, is straining the bonds between the two islands that were finally settling into ...