Farren says culture is key to North’s future

The North’s Finance Minister has said that progress in the North will not come about unless unionists and nationalists feel they are a part of each other’s cultures.

Sean Farren, a member of the SDLP, told the Parnell Summer School in Co Wicklow that cultural differences have been used to reinforce community divisions rather than overcome them.

He appeared to blame the IRA for preventing cross-community participation in Irish culture and said unionist culture still fails to properly address its sectarian dimensions.