HAD William Faulkner been an Irish writer instead of a Nobel laureate born in Oxford, Mississippi, in 1897, he might not have left us his famous line: “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”

US president Barack Obama has hailed the North and its peace process as a "story of perseverance" and urged future leaders to forge a "new identity".

Even at the time, it must have seemed like a truly bizarre idea.

New Selected Poems 1988-2013

Britain pledged to devolve corporation tax setting powers to Northern Ireland as soon as next year but only if Belfast can break a political deadlock on budget cuts, a condition described as “breathtakingly arrogant” by nationalist Sinn Féin.

In the North, Traditional Unionist Voice Jim Allister has said he expects the Stormont Executive to collapse.

Van Morisson’s incantations and repetitions, admonitions, yearnings and folk-music prove that people walked this earth yearning for a heaven elsewhere. Thomas McCarthy on a selection of Morisson’s lyrics.

Unionist leaders must tell the public whether or not they back the outcome of the Haass peace issues talks, Martin McGuinness has said.

THIS weekend, justice was done. Sam Bailey won X Factor, Munster had a thrilling, last-gasp victory over Perpignan to keep Heineken Cup hopes alive, and we exited the bail-out, heads held high. All in all, highly satisfying.

Political parties have been asked for their views on a new flag for Northern Ireland.

It would have been unthinkable even a decade ago for a leading Unionist politician to salute the GAA. Even a “snaking regard” of the organisation and the sporting skills of its members would hesitate to heap praise on the organisation in private, let alone in the public eye.

Obituaries and eulogies in tribute to the life of the Nobel laureate, the poet Seamus Heaney, were as generous as they were deserving.

A Unionist MEP from Northern Ireland has called on the European Commission to take action against Republican parades.

Potential investors in the North have walked away because of the street violence, business chiefs have warned.

The North’s political leaders have held a marathon special meeting to discuss the loyalist Union flag protests.

Peter Robinson has signalled his intent to lead the DUP into the next Assembly election and beyond, insisting he has not contemplated a life beyond politics.

A contentious Unionist parade that passed a Catholic church in Belfast went off without incident, but residents have accused the marchers of breaking rules.

THE tension in Ireland over seizing Unionist hostages in the North was raised considerably on Feb 11, 1922, when the IRA in Clones, Co Monaghan, clashed with a group of 19 Ulster Special Constables (USC), travelling from Belfast to Enniskillen by rail.

Martin McGuinness has said he has no knowledge of discussions which are reported to be underway around an IRA statement of regret and apology over the Troubles.

A disgraced political adviser accused of offering ministerial access for sex has said he is now undergoing psychiatric treatment.

I WAS completely underwhelmed by Matt Cooper’s piece on December 17.

UNIONIST leaders in the North have formally objected to the ESB’s planned takeover of Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE); a deal which was initially announced back in July.

IT’S 125 years old this year and if some reports are to be believed, the Orange Card is still the one the British Tories feel should be played. It was Sir Randolph Churchill, Winston’s father, who coined the phrase in the aftermath of the 1885 election and it continues to have a chilly resonance for nationalists.

Talks on saving the North’s power-sharing government have ended without agreement, Sinn Féin said today.

The North's politicians should accept the British government's financial package to transfer policing and justice powers from Westminster to Stormont, Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said today.

The North’s political parties are today under growing pressure to agree a deal on transferring policing and justice powers from Westminster to Stormont after a package to fund the move was brokered in late night talks in Downing Street.

Rank-and-file police representatives today called for an urgent security review after a gunman shot dead the first PSNI officer in the North.

The Ulster Unionist Party tonight agreed to form an electoral pact with the UK's Conservatives.

Elements of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) hark back to the days of unionist rule and hope to undermine Northern Ireland's power-sharing government, Sinn Fein claimed today.

A senior Ulster Unionist was tonight replaced as chief whip amid claims from the DUP he was sacked after clashing with his party’s would-be partners – the UK's Conservative Party.

Unionist demands for further proof that the IRA is gone for good may not be answered, Northern Ireland’s police chief signalled today.

A by-election is to be held in Fermanagh after a UUP and DUP stand off, it was revealed tonight.

PLANS for an All-Ireland League have received a major thumbs down, with Northern Ireland’s top club Linfield saying that the concept is a ‘non-starter’.

A drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre on the border has been forced to close its doors because it could not address health and fire safety concerns, it emerged tonight.

A prominent Unionist member of the Northern Ireland Assembly has revealed he is in the early stages of preparing a takeover bid for Rangers.

Lady Sylvia Hermon today became the first Northern MP to declare she will donate a day’s salary to families affected by the collapse of the Farepak Christmas Savings Scheme.

It is now “game on” for a power-sharing deal in the North, Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams said today.

NORTHERN Secretary Peter Hain last night bluntly warned squabbling Unionist and Republican leaders to cut a deal before Tony Blair loses power.

British MPs were debating a Lords change to the Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill today which sought to remove “permissible donor” provisions from the legislation.

IF there is anything consistent on the political landscape of Northern Ireland, it is the incidence of deadlines and their passing without achieving their objective.

Another Ulster Unionist has defected to the UK's Conservatives, it emerged tonight.

The North's Assembly members will gather at Stormont today for the first time in three and a half years as part of a new bid to secure devolution.

Sinn Féin’s National Chairman has said that the announcement that the Progressive Unionist leader is to join the UUP’s assembly group in Stormont needs to be examined.