The Lessons From The Peace Process Are

At Christmas, I Am Always Struck By How The Spirit Of Togetherness Lies Also At The Heart Of The Christmas Story. A Young Mother And A Dutiful Father With Their Baby Were Joined By Poor Shepherds And Visitors From Afar. They Came With Their Gifts To Worship The Christ Child.

What Were Once Only Hopes For The Future Have Now Come To Pass; It Is Almost Exactly 13 Years Since The Overwhelming Majority Of People In Ireland And Northern Ireland Voted In Favour Of The Agreement Signed On Good Friday 1998, Paving The Way For Northern Ireland To Become The Exciting And Inspirational Place That It Is Today.

[to A Woman Whose Cellphone Rang During A Formal Meeting:] You'd Better Answer That. It Could Be Someone Important.

To All Those Who Have Suffered As A Consequence Of Our Troubled Past I Extend My Sincere Thoughts And Deep Sympathy. With The Benefit Of Historical Hindsight We Can All See Things Which We Would Wish Had Been Done Differently Or Not At All.

I Have Behind Me Not Only The Splendid Traditions And The Annals Of More Than A Thousand Years But The Living Strength And Majesty Of The Commonwealth And Empire; Of Societies Old And New; Of Lands And Races Different In History And Origins But All, By God's Will, United In Spirit And In Aim.