Forging the link

OLIVE Logan beams with pride as she recalls the time a hungry Ian Paisley tucked into her steak and chips. The leader of unionism cleared his plate as a guest at her house near Ahoghill, Co Antrim, feeling completely at home in a room full of supporters.

It was once unthinkable that the Rev Paisley would be pictured sitting around a different table, the negotiating table, with Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams, but Olive and others in the hard-line Protestant village, are prepared to swallow hard. If "The Doc" says it's okay, it is good enough for them.

"Paisley's a wise man," says Olive. "I trust him to do the right thing. There's no other option. We have to try to come to some agreement, to live together, even if I don't know how it's going to work."

Her feelings will be echoed across much of Northern Ireland. Ulster has once again said 'yes' to the chance for democracy and change. But will it last this time?

The road to devolution has been littered with more rocks than can be found on the surface of the moon and, equally, many historic days. They include the IRA announcing a cessation of military activities in August 31, 1994 - only for the IRA to be locked out of peace talks after exploding the Docklands bomb in London on February 9, 1996, killing two people.

They include the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in April 10, 1998, establishing a power-sharing devolved assembly and paving the way for a military scaledown and police reform - only for the Real IRA to bomb Omagh town centre on August 15, the same year, killing 29 people and two unborn babies.

The dramas over devolution have seen paramilitary prisoners released under the Good Friday Agreement; the intervention of the President of the United States (Bill Clinton) and growing mistrust over the IRA's commitment to decommissioning weapons. It has seen more stop-starts than a learner driver in a supermarket car park.

On October 4, 2002, came a key destablising event - police raiding Sinn Fein's Stormont offices as part of an investigation into republican intelligence gathering. The IRA was accused of running a spying operation, adding fuel to the fires of mistrust burning within the hearts of many unionists. Ten days later, Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid suspended devolution.

And so it remained. The IRA stood accused of carrying out the £26.5m bank raid on the Northern Bank in Belfast and of killing Robert McCartney outside a Belfast pub in January 2005, prompting his sisters to launch an extraordinary publicity campaign accusing senior republicans of covering up the crime.

Even in September 2005, when the IRA said all its arms were now beyond use, without photographic evidence, the unionists remained sceptical.

But the British and Irish governments began to increase the pressure on resuming talks, setting a number of deadlines. On January 28 this year, Sinn Fein members voted to support policing in Northern Ireland for the first time in the party's history (having previously felt the police force was predominantly Protestant) - considered a key point for an assembly intending on running its own policing and criminal justice system.

In March, the Northern Ireland electorate went to the polls to elect 108 members to a new Stormont Assembly. Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party won 36 of the seats; Sinn Fein 28, the Ulster Unionists 18, the SDLP 16 and the Alliance Party seven.

Then yesterday came a sight which had never been deemed possible. The two extremes, Paisley and Adams, were pictured smiling and sitting at the same table - albeit slightly apart from one another. Yes, they would agree to power-sharing. It was, said Mr Adams, a "new era". "This is a binding resolution," added Mr Paisley.

"In many respects, we have seen so many historic days it doesn't seem like an historic day any more, but it is one of the same pieces of the jigsaw," says Dr Nick Randall, lecturer in British politics at Newcastle University. "Nobody would have ever thought that you would have two people who were avowed enemies stating that they are prepared to go into government together. What needs to happen now is for things to get down to normal."

And given their history, that will be a true test for the assembly. Each side has made compromises along the way - Sinn Fein recognising that a united Ireland is not on the agenda, the Unionists being in government with a party they see as supporting terrorism.

"There will be a variety of institutional obstacles," says Dr Randall. "Most of the key decisions will need the support of two parties and there will be many controversial issues over education, housing and economic development. They can't afford too many crises, to stop-start in the way that it has done. It's the next day of the rest of their political lives."

But there's a number of ways in which the power-sharing assembly can benefit Northern Ireland. The British Government will be putting in more resources with Chancellor Gordon Brown having promised an extra £1bn if devolution is restored quickly, on top of the £35bn pledged by the Government over four years. There will also be more 'normalisation' for the communities of Northern Ireland, the police and army presence will be reduced further.

According to Dr Randall, the two firebrand leaders of the main opposing parties could be the key to success in Stormont.

"In many respects, the fact that it is Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams who are taking these measures and making the compromises gives it more prospect of actually working," he says. "It is very difficult for those two to be influenced by anybody who's more radical because there is no one more radical. When the Ulster Unionist party was displaced by the DUP the more radical party won out. The SDLP was displaced by Sinn Fein. It is the two extremes which are taking this process forward which suggests there is some belief in the process."

The power-sharing will begin on May 8 with the executive comprising four DUP ministers, three Sinn Fein, two UUP and one SDLP. Mr Paisley will be declared First Minister on May 8. Martin McGuinness, the legendary IRA street fighter from Londonderry and still loathed by some of the Democratic Unionist leader's closest associates, will be sworn in as Deputy First Minister.

For many, including those in Ahoghill, the power-sharing deal has been a long time coming - and they have been here before. With a history of stop-start government, it is hardly surprising that they may be reticent in their celebrations.

"As long as they get everything sorted out like water charges, rates and get the business done, that would be a real success," says Darren Logan, Olive's son, who runs the family hardware shop.

The flags declaring allegiance to the Crown still flutter defiantly in the breeze around Ahoghill's Diamond area, months in advance of the traditional marching season. Some are less inclined to believe the power-sharing deal will be a success.

Inside the shop, a customer chuckles to himself at the thought of the fireworks between the DUP and Sinn Fein administration.

"Have they a boxing ring installed up at Stormont yet?" he says.

Which may not be a bad idea after all.