An old Irish proverb says “keep a thing for seven years and you’ll find a use for it.” It’s been just five years since the Good Friday agreement ushered in a new era of power sharing in Northern Ireland, but it is already making a difference for the people of that divided land.
There are fewer bombs, and fewer killings, and half way into this year’s marching season, when Protestant loyalists parade through Catholic nationalist neighborhoods, life seems quiet. But where some see signs of peace, others believe deep sectarian divides remain, along with wounds that politicians alone cannot heal. A conversation with Paul Murphy, the British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on reconciling the past and marching forward.
Guests:
Paul Murphy, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and former Secretary of state for Wales
Noel Large, a loyalist former prisoner
Sean Murray, a republican former prisoner, both he and Noel are community activists in the mobile phone network in Springfield, Belfast.