There is an alternative for peace in the North

IN his speech to the Sinn Féin Árd Fheis last weekend, Gerry Adams was reported as saying: "No matter how daunting, tedious and frustrating this process may be for the governments and the rest of us, there is no alternative way forward."

But there is the ÉIRE NUA programme adopted by the Árd Fheis of Sinn Féin in 1971 and jettisoned by Mr Adams and his supporters in 1981/'82 on the grounds it was "a sop to unionists". The way had to be cleared for them to enter Stormont, Leinster House and Westminster and convert a revolutionary movement into a constitutional party.

However, one section remained steadfast in its continued rejection of British rule in Ireland, and it reorganised under the banner of Republican Sinn Féin.