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

In this collection of new and published material, landmark interviews and unrivaled 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 a solution. Author Frank Millar’s interviews 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. He was 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: A Triumph of Politics – now available in paperback – chronicles a vital chapter in Irish history as it happened, by the people who made it.