Mr. McGuinness? I think not.

The sage of the tribes writes in today’s Sunday Independent, (hat tip to Ciarán)

Twenty years ago, that was a revolutionary speech. And it did not fall on deaf ears. The Irish Times reported one: “The retiring president of the Workers’ Party, Mr Tomas Mac Giolla, was given a parting accolade yesterday by Mr Ken McGuinness, the Official Unionist MP for Fermanagh-South Tyrone.

“Mr McGuinness said that in his summary of the Protestant principles of private conscience, rebellion against Rome, and industriousness, coupled with his appeal in his final speech to the ard fheis for Protestants to use these truths to ‘confront hypocrisy’ in Ireland, Mr Mac Giolla ‘has been keeping the good wine to the last’.”

Tomas Mac Giolla did two states some service.

And in time historians will acknowledge it.

Now in fairness… sort of… he’s repeating a quote from the Irish Times, but given that he has eaten out on his links with unionism, he might think that it’s…er…not… Ken McGuinness.