But the first question How you became, your first kind of knowledge of politics in the United States or oppositional politics in the United States or civil rights or left-wing politics, where did you learn about that and how did you think about it

I can remember some things, but I can't remember the time and the timeline on some of them.

My knowledge of the early days, my first knowledge of American politics was to do with Elvis Presley.

If anybody asks you what great significance happened in 1964 about the release of Heartbreak Hotel, the reason I say this, which is concentrating on politics, is that was political at the time.

And I can remember sort of in school, in St. Colm's College in Derry, you had to be careful what you said about Little Richard, about Elvis Presley, about Chuck Berry, and so on, because it was almost forbidden territory.

You know, I went to a clerical school, most of the teachers were priests, you know, and rock and roll was the word of the devil, you know, and much frowned upon.

So, it was a political act It was, and it would be known in the classes who were the Elvis fans.

Well, if it can be focused a little on the American-Irish thing, that would be good.

The pogroms last night that you saw, it must have had echoes for you of what happened in the North in the late 1960s, early 70s.

Oh, yes.

I mean, the parallels and just the similarities between the experience last night and the experience that I can recall from, oh, 50 and more years ago, I mean, in the same places, in Derry, exactly the same parts of town, where we saw riots and ructions and bitterness overflowing 50 years ago.

There it all was again in the last couple of days, and that From my point of view, and I think from the point of view of most people in Derry, that is the really depressing thing about it.

And in more general terms, I personally doubt very much whether any measures that are taken by government or local government broadcasting authorities, any of these measures, I don't think they're going to have a real impact.

I think that technology has outgrown our ability to control it.

And even if you try to control it, questions of freedom of the press and freedom of speech won't be easily erased.

But I imagine there is more to it than that.