Ruth, Gerry and Ian

Picked up both these articles on Ian Paisley on nuzhound. Very much a case of compare and contrast. The first is by Ruth Dudley Edwards, a one-time Trimble supporter and no friend of Sinn Féin in the Daily Mail; the second is by Sinn Féin president, Gerry Adams, in The Guardian.

Dudley Edwards – rightly – pulls no punches in her assessment of Paisley. She writes: “Even by the standards of politicians, there has been an unusually widespread outbreak of hypocrisy following the announcement that Ian Paisley intends to resign after a year as First Minister of Northern Ireland. As political leaders in Britain and Ireland fell over each other in their anxiety to praise this great peacemaker, they sounded like abused wives piteously thanking their brutal husbands for having finally put away the stick.”

She comments: “It was Paisley who became the biggest hurdle to a peaceful accommodation between Catholics and Protestants, nationalists and unionists. He denounced as traitors those unionist politicians who wanted to react constructively to the predominantly Catholic civil rights movement of the late 1960s. It was out of this movement that the Provisional IRA was born, and who knows what bloodshed could have been avoided if only Paisley had not prevented unionists from responding sensibly?”

And: “And is it not commendable that Paisley is leaving office voluntarily rather than clinging on? I hate to rain on an old man's parade, but Ian Paisley deserves a torrential downpour. What made him change his tune was a longing for power, fame and adulation, but then his whole career has been driven by his colossal ego and craving for the spotlight. When the DUP and Sinn Fein emerged as the two biggest parties after elections in 2003, Paisley was still saying “No” to any power-sharing deal, but he knew he had a simple choice.”

And: “The truth is that Paisley's modernising colleagues wanted him out and he knew his time was up. With Peter Robinson in charge, Sinn Fein will be kept at arm’s length, and the mainstream DUP will try to reach an accommodation with the moderate Ulster Unionists. Shed no tears for Ian Paisley. He did what he did for Paisley. Not for peace.”

Dudley Edwards also writes that the occasion “more piquant was that among the laudatory chorus were Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness”. Right on cue, Adams has a piece entitled “A fascinating gracious man”. Adams gives a potted personal history of Paisley and politics while conveniently reducing the peace process and the Good Friday Agreement to being like more than an adjunct to the Saint Andrews’ Agreement – the real deal it would seem for Adams.

Adams writes: “Of course I could not be certain that he [Paisley] would come on board, but in fairness, when he did it was with grace and good humour. That humour and his civilised accord with Martin McGuinness went against the grain of those who had been reared in the image of the old Paisley…

“I think that's only part of the story. His wife, Eileen, and his family undoubtedly played a big role in his decision, and I think his willingness to reach out and to work positively with Sinn Féin was a genuine endeavour to make things better for the people who live here…

“Will I miss him? Well, maybe I can get to know him better now that he is retiring to the backbenches. I would like that. He is a fascinating figure, with many facets to his character. In my dealings with him I have always found him cordial, good-humoured and respectful.”

Have to say that I think Dudley Edwards’ assessment is more forceful and telling than that of Adams’ – though I would dispute her statement regarding Civil Rights and the IRA. Her words reflect more accurately the feelings of many ordinary nationalists and unionists who lived while Paisley was afoot in the dark days.

Both articles are on www.nuzhound.com