Ian Paisley needed to win in order to change

The death of Ian Paisley brings back memories of a difficult time on this island, writes Fergus Finlay

DID he change, or did he just win? That’s the question that historians will have to answer if a rounded judgement is to emerge about Ian Paisley.

His was a remarkable story that stretched over many decades. Through most of those decades he practised a form of hate politics that succeeded in polarising public opinion in Northern Ireland. But in the end, his transformation made a sustainable peace possible.