As confetti cannons went off and the crowd raised their glasses, the performer ended the speech with, “Welcome to the history of Northern Ireland”.

On Saturday, just as Sinn Féin’s long-standing president Gerry Adams was preparing his keynote ard fheis speech, senator Kathryn Reilly rushed to the stage to make two key announcements.

Activists protested today at a school which suspended a teacher who is an active member of the BNP.