Ian Paisley’s current bitterness and anger about the end of his career are “rather poignant”, but his politics had a “malign influence on Northern Ireland”, according to NI Conservatives’ co-chair, Trevor Ringland. Trevor made his comments after the second part of an interview with the former First Minister, which was screened last night.
“When I listened to Ian Paisley and his unrepentant bluster and when I hear Gerry Adams, it is hard not to be struck by some similarities and it’s hard not to feel a bit sorry for them, because they’re both yesterday’s men and they’re both caught up in a web of denial and conceit”, Trevor commented. “Here are two figures whose politics blighted a generation in Northern Ireland, they both did a huge amount of damage, and although they ended up in a better place eventually, neither will face up properly to their pasts.”
“Paisley seems to be a bit selective about what he remembers. Unlike Adams, he wasn't involved directly in campaigns of violence, but some of the remarks which he made about Catholics and nationalists were filled with hatred and contempt. There were times when his actions and the things he said were downright inflammatory. Yet he refuses to apologise, or to face up to the damage which he was responsible for and he obviously feels wronged and is extremely bitter about it.”
“The internal wranglings of the DUP are their own business, however unseemly they might seem to those of us looking on from outside. What is clear, is that the people of Northern Ireland should never again look to a similar figure to Ian Paisley. We need always to be careful that the voices of some of the extreme elements in our society aren’t magnified.”