The Troubles: Ireland's Ordeal 1966–1995 and the Search for Peace

by Tim Pat Coogan

For a moment it appeared that the broadcast had worked. Craig was one of the few in Cabinet to put his head over the parapet to venture a criticism. Borne up by a tide of goodwill, O’Neill promptly sacked him. The parliamentary Unionist Party supported O’Neill on the issue by a majority of 29–0, with four abstentions. In Belfast, the Belfast Telegraph, then the most influential paper in the province, ran an ‘I’m backing O’Neill’ coupon which was eventually signed by 150, 000 people. This, in percentage terms, would have represented more than five million people in Britain. In Dublin, the Sunday Independent voted O’Neill ‘Man of the Year’. More importantly, the civil rights leadership in both Belfast and Derry agreed to call a halt to marches for the time being. For a moment a pie crust of optimism formed over the bubbling, poisonous northern stew.