President-elect Catherine Connolly embraces fellow candidate Heather Humphreys at Dublin Castle. The election of a new president gives us a chance to reset the debate on Irish unity. Photograph: Alan Betson / The Irish Times
The recent presidential election campaign holds many lessons for politics on the island, but one of the most significant may be that it has shone a light on the uncomfortable truth that the peace brought about by the Belfast Agreement has not yet become reconciliation.
Both Catherine Connolly – who will be inaugurated as president tomorrow – and Heather Humphreys expressed a strong commitment to Irish unity. But perhaps the most startling and depressing feature of the debate were the sectarian comments directed at Heather Humphreys.
The abuse – and there was abuse, even if there are now attempts to deny it ever existed – reveals that there is much to be done across the island on div
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