Does Nobody Understand?

With all the concentration on the possibility that the Irish Republic might elect its second basically foreign terrorist as President, there has been rather less on the possibility, if anything rather greater, that she might elect her third member of the Church of Ireland.

Neither Sinn Féin nor the IRA would split as a consequence of the election of Martin McGuinness. But the Church of Ireland probably would if the election of David Norris made him by far its most prominent member.

Norris perfectly embodies the extremely liberal C of I in the Republic. He is utterly abhorrent to the organ of Conservative Evangelicalism that is the C of I in Northern Ireland, where it maintains close ties to the Orange Order that it founded.

This one has been simmering away for decades now. The election of President Norris would bring it to the boil.