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So much has been said here in the media that anything else might be superfluous. But here's a snippet, anyway. I stopped by a West Belfast chip shop on my way home last night and the death of David Ervine was a topic of discussion in the queue. Even in a staunchly Nationalist working class area, ordinary people were willing to voice their admiration of Ervine. I can't think of any other Unionist politician (or indeed many Nationalists either) who would get the same respect.

I think people realised that as, I think Peter Hain put it, that Ervine was perhaps the lone Unionist politician who focussed on finding a solution instead of just restating the problem. Would that Ian Paisley had Ervine's breadth of vision.

Ervine showed that the Protestant working class was more than the howling bigotted mob the media presented them to be. Perhaps, the greatest lost his death brings is an articulate advocate of perhaps the most inarticulate sector of NI society.

God bless David.

I am annon for reasons you probably will understand esp if you are local!!

My sympathy for David's family is immense as it is to the last road traffic victim, but in the interests of rationality -

There are many other N Ireland politicians particularly in the Alliance Party who have not been slow learners like David.
Why should it be a great quality to have been wrong for years and suddenly see the truth when others have been punching away at the futility and immortality of violence all their lives?
Life is VERY short and we should all try to maximise happiness for ourselves and others.

Does Ervine's death have any practical consequences for the political landscape or has the peace process already gone beyond personalities such as his?

Hi Mark,

There is a significant implication: working class loyalism has been left without a voice. The party David led, the PUP, is closely linked to the paramilitary group the UVF. That party may now fold, since David was the party's only MLA. We'll see.

A comment to Annon (sic):

Your comment is the only negative or stingy comment I've heard about David Ervine since his death. That the comment comes from an Alliance member is astonishing and disgraceful. You should be ashamed of yourself, and that you disguise your identity is fitting.

The Alliance party is not a slow learner: it's always been disconnected from working class culture in NI and that's why is a bankrupt movement. It's the part of the disinterested middle class of south belfast.

James Lee
You did read my preface?
So you think it's better to have been a terrorist and reformed than never to have been one?
Now before you criticise me - answer that question first!
That's the bottom line.

Further to my latest reality posts.

I class David in the same mould as other reformed para-militarists. I also know that they brought most of their comrades with them and I salute their conversion but the rest of the sane population who have never resorted to the bomb deserve just that little bit more respect - not just the Alliance Party, but also the SDLP and UUP.

The voiceless have lost their voice which was crying in the wilderness.

He cared

In Post 4 Mark wrote: "Does Ervine's death have any practical consequences for the political landscape or has the peace process already gone beyond personalities such as his?"

Mark: To put things in perspective - Ireland is about the size of New Jersey. Northern Ireland, the bit that hangs on to the UK, is about the size of a couple of counties in Northern New Jersey.

Now move Jerry Falwell into Bergen County, add the New York mafia with its drug business, bring in a couple of New Orleans jazz bands for an annual Mardi Gras without the sex, put the lot in a building bigger than the White House on the top of a hill, and ask them to govern.

Peace,
Maureen

So, does this mean that the peacemaking process is at an end and that "the troubles" will return? It seems to take one faltering step after another and I always wonder will it continue going forwards, will it go backwards, will it fall apart altogether? Will NI's population stand for a return to their violent past? What would they do to prevent it. Emotions still seem very raw and inflamed and passions are easily roused. How many years or generations will it takes until they cool down? Will they ever cool down?

Re 10:

Mark: In NI 'politics' is a 'blood' sport for the unwashed rabble.

The majority of the good people of NI just go on about their business generating wealth for themselves and their families while following their favourite soccer team (usually Manchester United from my experience).

The IRA and the UVF etc found that more money could be made dealing drugs and their 'principles' shifted to that rather quickly. Now it is just one big 'gang' fight over turf.

As I have said before 'we Irish have no principles, but we are prepared to die for them'.

Peace,
Maureen

Maureen #11
Radioastronomers should read your words. If they ever learn to decipher them and figure out what they mean, communicating with space aliens from other worlds will be child's play by comparison when they finally encounter them.

East Belfast has been fortunate in having representatives of the calibre of David Blakely, Oliver Napier and David Ervine, who could see a broader picture. David Ervine will be remembered for his contributions not his past. I wish we all could say the same.

David Ervine was someone I always wanted to shake hands with and just say 'well done mate!' He gave people hope and his integrity shone through, more than any other politician I can think of.
Yes he had a chequered past but its surely where people finish their journey that matters, not how they got there. That he should be taken at such a ridicuolusly early age is I suppose reflective of how hard he worked and the pressure he placed himself under.....