Life after Good Friday: Pride in sport gladdens the Northern soul

This week is the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

While the current impasse at the Northern Ireland Assembly appears to reflect badly on its legacy; in contrast, the success of the current NI Commonwealth Games’ squad shows the post-Agreement North at its very best.

A creative ambiguity marks the Good Friday Agreement. The idea was to replace the old “zero-sum” approach to Northern Ireland politics — if the other side are gaining; we must be losing — with one based on tolerance and mutual respect.