Northern Ireland

Pat Rabbitte: NI result is a historic and symbolic shift, but signifies little real change

The election victory of Michelle O’Neill and Sinn Féin was a momentous one, but the centre ground in the North remains a prisoner of polarised politics

Michelle O’Neill’s Sinn Féin emerged from last week’s Assembly elections as the largest party in the North. Picture: Press Eye

The Loughs Agency, the little-known north/south body that manages the expanse of water in the Foyle and Carlingford areas, is unlikely to preoccupy Michelle O’Neill, putative first minister of Northern Ireland, in the months ahead.

For several years, O’Neill and I shared ministerial responsibility for the governance of plans to husband and develop the area’s fishery resources and grow marine tourism. Our responsibilities were not too onerous, or at least not as onerous as the ...