Northern Ireland Enters New Power Sharing Era, Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness Sworn In

You'll find no news of this momentous event here at LTA.  We recommend Slugger O'Toole for coverage:

Slugger O'Toole

Comments

[Jeremy]

"You'll find no news of this momentous event here at LTA"

Am curious: why not? No thoughts on the matter?

[Jett Loe]

Oh sure I've got plenty of thoughts; interpreting the events of the day in a manner political, aesthetic, humorous, etc. It's just that the normal space and time I allot for blog posts does not permit me to address the manner with the scope I'd like - it's something that I'd normally reserve for the Podcast.

[Phil]

I think the accord can be summarized quite succinctly:

Captain Planet

[Jeremy]

Well, fine. It just seemed, reading the original post, that you didn't really care or were being sarcastic. I'm fairly sure that neither is the case, but you know how these things can read sometimes. It was indeed a very big day for our wee country.

[Jett Loe]

I can never win.

[Brabazon]

I'm also guessing it's partly because the rest of the world is scarcely bothered.

But having said that, at a time of increasing racial and religious intolerance around the world, Norn Iron actually bizarrely manages to appear like quite a progressive little place for once. Other larger nations could perhaps learn from us.

I almost feel a little proud...

[Jeremy]

I feel proud, too. Of course there will be long-term difficulties and differences which will never be reconciled, but good God, look at how far we've come. I particularly related to Mark Simpson's piece about growing up during the Troubles - ah, the old bag searches...

And no, yesterday will not have been headline news in the rest of the world (read: particularly the US), which is why it's surely incumbent upon Belfast-based blogs to provide commentary on the significance of May 8th, 2007.

[Jett Loe]

Actually, yesterday's events were headline news across the US: CNN/Fox/NY Times etc. (don't know about the old 'big 3' evening casts) - but I agree with Jeremy re: hopefully Belfast blogs can provide important commentary / stories from the ground that will outlast and provide deeper value than just the reporting of the bare facts of the day.

[Phil]

Yep - it was in the local papers and everything here. Not front page, but still prominently reported on.

And who was responsible for brokering the peace accord in 1998? Hmmmmmmmmmm..............

[Jeremy]

To clarify, I didn't mean it wasn't reported, just that it wasn't given the prominence or weight of significance that it deserved. NYT and the Boston Globe, for example, had a small 'see inside' headline on their front page below the fold, the Washington Post hid it on page 10, etc. Am gonna guess that the LA Times and WSJ were much the same. It was ever thus with foreign reporting in the US, with the exeception of foreign stories that *involve* the US. I suppose Ted Kennedy's appearance at Stormont didn't count in that regard ;)

[Jett Loe]

Don't know about the print versions - but in the online world it was the main story on the NYT + CNN + Fox - but of course that environment is fluid - those stories may have only been placed there momentarily awaiting more Paris Hilton news.

+ Phil - wasn't it Clinton?

[Brabazon]

When I said the rest of the world wasn't that bothered I didn't mean to imply that the American media (for example) was choosing to ignore us or were ignoramuses or anything, it's just that in terms of the big picture we're really not that big a deal over here, despite what local people may think. If American news networks have us as a footnote then that's probably about right for a country of only 1.6 million people. I don't profess to pay much attention to the conflict in Darfur for example, and on quick inspection it appears to be considerably larger than Northern Ireland and has more than 3 times the population. I've long thought that Northern Ireland gets far too much media coverage considering the size of the place anyway. But the inward looking provincial nature of the people here and the importance placed on certain events can sometimes hoodwink you into believing that this is the centre of the universe... ;)

[Jeremy]

Clinton was very conspicuous by his absence on Tuesday, I felt. I mean the guy was totally hands on during the original negotiations, taking calls from the party leaders in the middle of the night and generally playing, in my view, a crucial role in the whole thing. But no sign of him, although I believe he was invited. Probably too busy with his crosswords. You'd think he could at least have compiled a couple of clues for the Belfast Telegraph puzzle.