Ex-Irish minister O'Brien waves Union flag
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Conor Cruise O'Brien, veteran Irish diplomat, politician and newspaperman, could become a unionist member of the Northern Ireland Forum, writes Paul Routledge. At the invitation of its founder, Robert McCartney MP, he has entered the "regional list" of the United Kingdom Unionist Party - the top-up instrument that will bring 20 extra members to the bargaining table, including the "hoods in suits" from the Loyalist paramilitaries. Mr O'Brien, 78, could win a seat on the body choosing negotiators to find a lasting settlement of the Ulster question.
The "Cruiser's" odyssey from nationalist to unionist has been a long one, he told the Dublin Sunday Independent, but "I feel more at ease with myself now, as a United Kingdom Unionist, than I ever did as an Irish nationalist." The Protestant-educated former member of the Irish Labour Party and minister of posts in the Dublin government of the mid-1970s has thrown his intellectual weight behind a party that believes Northern Ireland should remain part of the UK. "The more 'successes' are achieved by the nationalist attempt to impose a solution, the more likely we are to have a civil war," he argues. Leading article, p20
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments