So Michelle O'Neill is First Minister in Stormont!

[StephanieSuperpowers]

An era has ended in NI.

Wonder what's going to happen with the border now...

I think the electorate turning their back on the SDLP and the UUP after they brought peace is a tragedy and a disgrace.

But at least we have some semblance of a government. That is better than nothing.

If your decision is to vote for a party that think blowing up children was acceptable as there ‘was no alternative’ then I question your mentality

I met her recently and she was a breath of fresh air. I think she will do well. It is definitely a momentous occasion. Emma Pengelly seems nice too. All the ladies are coming together. Mary Lou could soon be Taoiseach in ROI. Good times.

Jeez janedoe82 take a break, you're taking over the whole thread 🤣

Employability programmes.🤣🤣🤣

I will totally go there as I don't believe in funding terrorism regardless of the colour of it.

TooBigForMyBoots i think you would be shocked at who is running a wide variety of charities in Northern Ireland who do all kinds of things.

I will always be grateful that the UUP and SDLP sacrificed their parties in the name of peace and prosperity for NI and UK citizens. They did what was best for the people and the country, not the party. Such integrity and intelligence is sorely lacking in today's politics.

I don't give two hoots about who is in charge, as long as they sort out our healthcare system

You think wrong. I am sadly too aware. And aware of the response the charity I worked for got when we asked a Stormount minister to intercede with an Ex-prisoner's "charity" who were demanding a "contribution" with menaces.

Stormont open and dominated by women, and Frank Kitson dead. Two good things in 2024.

I had no idea of the family of the deputy First Minister.
Interesting.
Father and husband.

Her husband wasn’t involved in paramilitary activity.

I didn't say he was.
Isn't he the Permanent Secretary in the Department of Justice in NI ?

Nothing much will happen with the border. At least for a decade as Michelle herself said.

Her co FM Emma Little Pengelly might be a breath of fresh air for the DUP as well. Emma's father Noel was a well known Loyalist paramilitary. But that's not her fault and the whole point of the GFA was to end all that stuff. Same goes for Michelle.

My grandad was an IRA man. Later a Garda. Leave it in the past and look to the future. Make the Peace Process work and let the border drift into irrelevance. As Lyra McKee * RIP put it ' the key word is Process'

Let's focus on the process and don't worry too much about the outcome. It might be joint sovereignty. Or a loose federation. It might just muddle along as it is ? But who cares as long as people are happy violence is at an end.

Emma's father Noel was a well known Loyalist paramilitary. But that's not her fault and the whole point of the GFA was to end all that stuff. Same goes for Michelle.

Exactly. This is where we are now. Moving on. I say that as someone who was born in the late sixties and knew nothing except the conflict ... until it stopped. We were all affected, some more than others, but if these two women from opposite poles can work together, then that's a reason for celebration and optimism.