Leaders should take a leaf out of Patrick’s shamrock and negotiate

The responsibility of High Chieftains Kenny and Martin is not just to the legacy of the men who died in 1916, it is to at least 1,800 years of slow social progress, writes Victoria White.

THERE were as many as 183 “kings” in Ireland when St Patrick arrived sometime around 460 AD, according to the archaeologist, Michael Gibbons. He has compared them to “Afghan warlords”.

“That’s close to the number deputies in the Dail”, commented my husband. The symbolism of relative order coming to relative chaos struck me this week as we began to celebrate the coming of Christianity to Ireland.