My mother was a remarkable woman but the most extraordinary thing she did was rescue a terrified boy from an orphanage and provide him with the chance to reboot his life

For all the anger in unionist/loyalist circles over the protocol and framework, the assembly won’t be collapsed on that basis

Maybe Sinn Féin needs to face the reality that it has failed and is continuing to fail to sell the unity project to many voters outside its core base.

25 years ago, when Martin McGuinness was appointed education minister, the institutions were still wobbly - and they remain so today

All ministers around the executive table must be ministers for everyone

I have huge problems with the LCC, but being seen to abandon loyalism could make an inconvenient situation worse

This is not simply a case of Sinn Féin’s misfortune being unionism’s opportunity

Unionism is shifting towards the realisation that demographic and electoral change require a significant shift in long-term thinking

Unionism has a long and unhappy history of being surprised by British governments

Trump and Farage have damaged politics at a national and international level

Difficult to avoid the conclusion the LCC is hindering the very change it was set up to deliver

A new vehicle led from the centre rather than by Sinn Féin presents a much more difficult challenge for unionism

Inevitable that Executive would be told there is no more cash to keep show on road

The Brexit referendum-calling former Tory leader fuelled and facilitated the rise of new-generation nationalism and populism

Half a century after he left Armagh to live in Belfast and study at Queen’s University, Alex Kane recalls a week that shaped the rest of his life