The Cruiser showed great moral courage, but he was no politician

CONOR Cruise O’Brien would probably have been proud to think that his passing this week would mark the end of an era.

For more than half a century he was possibly the most articulate spokesman in relation to the partition issue.

At some stage everyone might have considered that he articulated his or her views on the problems of Northern Ireland, but that would depend on when he was talking because at different times he took stands that ran right across the political spectrum.