North meets South
Sinn Fein’s approach to Northern Ireland can be understood only in the light of its political ambitions in the south
IT WAS, said Martin McGuinness, a “joyous occasion”. As one of two Sinn Fein ministers in the new Northern Ireland government, Mr McGuinness was present at the first meeting on December 13th of the North-South ministerial council, which links the governments of the Irish republic and the new devolved administration in Northern Ireland. Mr McGuinness was not alone in greeting the inauguration of the council with hyperbole. Bertie Ahern, the Irish prime minister, who came to Northern Ireland for the meeting with all 15 members of his cabinet, declared that this was “a day quite unlike any other”.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “North meets South”
Britain December 18th 1999
From the December 18th 1999 edition
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