It is depressingly appropriate that a weekend which started on Good Friday was one which illustrated the shaky foundations of the agreement which brought a form of peace to Northern Ireland. Twenty three years on from that landmark deal, discontent among the Province’s unionist and loyalist community is beginning to mount.
Violence once again erupted on the streets of Derry last night. It was a repeat of the ugly scenes that played out over Easter weekend in Belfast’s loyalist Sandy Row area. Petrol bombs were flung and a total of 32 police officers were injured. The latest spark is mounting unhappiness among unionist pro-British groups at the Northern Ireland Protocol. But there is also cross-community anger and incredulity over the Public Prosecution Service’s decision not to prosecute elements of the Sinn Fein leadership, including Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill over their attendance at the Covid-regulation busting funeral of IRA man Bobby Storey.
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