Good Friday Agreement

You feel that elections are on your side.

You see the gap closing in terms of the possibility of a united Ireland to the point where the Secretary of State might be obliged a decade from here to call a border poll, legally obliged, according to the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.

Why on earth would you want to resort to violence? For loyalists, it's slightly more complicated.

But let's face it.

So we have two, we have the two options is either the kind of nationalist terrorist groups or yeah, the, the, the rise of Russian criminal gangs, but yeah, Ultimately, like the the issue gets solved.

I think the movie implies that there's like this is right before like Good Friday agreement type stuff happened.

So the movie ends, I think, with a news broadcasting like peace talks.

There was a peace talks between Sinn Fein and and the British government.

Again, situating it in a much different world than we live in where it seemed – I mean, there was an optimistic moment in the 90s when post-Cold War, it kind of seemed like maybe every conflict can be solved.

There was – looked like there was – It didn't really work out, but it looked like there was going to be some progress on the Israeli-Palestinian issues.

And obviously the Good Friday Agreement happens, which was a huge breakthrough.

And it was a time where peacemaking seemed like an actual possibility.

And also the remittances that went back to Ireland that also helped Irish people.

All of it, the support that came through the Good Friday Agreement, All of that is so important to acknowledge and to honor.

And also, we're also recognizing that we're in a different moment right now, that people are coming here for very different reasons.

They're choosing to come here for economic opportunity in a way that maybe we haven't seen in generations before that.

And where they go is absolutely critical.

So what I want to say is that I wish... that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil were having that debate whether they go together because there hasn't been a cigarette paper between them since the Belfast Agreement in 1998 in my opinion and basically the situation is that What they are focusing on is more goodies in the constituency, pork barrel politics, as opposed to giving a firm sense of leadership in the future of the country.

And I just hope.

And you asked me the question, is there anyone I look to in Lens Shares? Look, I work with and I know a lot of politicians, but I went through eras of McSharry, McCreevy, Hawhey, for Finnegan, John Kelly, John Bruton.

This is an early example of the diplomatic tightrope, is it not, that Andy Burnham is going to have to walk when it comes to Northern Ireland.

Yes, indeed, although I do think his remarks in Belfast probably reflected a certain degree of inexperience dealing with the language and terminology of the Good Friday Agreement.

There are ways of answering that question that would drive the answer into the sand, and instead he gave an answer that... led to further headlines.

I think he perhaps was more worried about leaving Belfast with a story that he'd raised questions over the future of the Union and Scotland than anything to do about Northern Ireland.

Would there not?

No, that would be totaling breach of what we're told is the very precious Belfast Agreement.

The Belfast Agreement is strand one.

The Irish government's a

co-contourer.

Sorry, the Belfast Agreement strand one is very emphatic that the internal affairs of Northern Ireland, that's what we're talking about, are matters for the politicians of Northern Ireland and the politicians of Westminster and no one else.

So let's not raise scare stories of that nature whatsoever.

But, you know...

Well, they're not.

No, that would be totally in breach of what we're told is the very precious Belfast Agreement.

The Belfast Agreement Strand 1.

The Irish government's

a cool

contour.

Sorry, the Belfast Agreement Strand 1 is very emphatic.

that the internal affairs of Northern Ireland, that's what we're talking about, are matters for the politicians of Northern Ireland and the politicians of Westminster and no one else.

But this year in particular, we've touched on, obviously, Eden Dork and all that stuff.

But, you know, you mentioned some Bridgets there, like a club that started, you know, months after the Belfast Agreement was signed.

And... you know, and, you know, not a traditional footballer, Hurling Stronghold.

DUP terminology there,