END OF AN ERA IN NORTHERN IRELAND

So the old bastard's going then.Sorry, forgot he's now a national treasure but the fact remains that Ian Paisley has not exactly always been a positive force in Northern Ireland. However, I must declare an interest here.
My view of the man is coloured by the fact that my grandparents were hounded out of the place because they had committed the cardinal sin of being of different religions. In the early 20th century, my grand-dad worked on the shipyards at Harland and Woolf and got the bus in every day from his home village of Portaferry. He lost his job when he married a Catholic. So they came to Manchester and built a new life.
In the 1960's, when the Troubles began, my granny was hitting 80 and she loathed Paisley with a passion. He was, in those days, a despicable bigot. A man whose irrational hatred of the Catholic community helped fuel the awful tribalism of the Orange Order. But I learn from those who have met him that the man can be a charmer and has a great sense of hunour. It's good that the world has changed and if Martin McGuinness can do business with him then we should be grateful. But the old man couldn't resist one last dig at his erstwhile opponents. Asked about the "succession" he stormed. "This is not the Church of Rome. It is not an apostolic succession....... Am I glad he's standing down? A heartfelt yes........in fact I shall be ordering a large Jameson's tonight in celebration