Unionism won

Cartoon by Ian Knox (@ianknoxcartoon), see more here.

Peter Taylor said:

"Who really did win the war? Viewed through the prism of the present, it’s clear that the British and the unionists won, because the Union is secure and the IRA is no more… I wouldn’t be surprised if at some stage in the long years ahead a United Ireland did emerge."

Ed Moloney said:

"The Republican Movement that [Ian Paisley] went into government with is not the Republican Movement that was resisting Unionist rule and trying to overthrow the British for the best part of three or four decades… They [the DUP] basically were saying: Unless you do these things – which one would argue – anyone who knows what Irish Republicanism is all about… these are the defining characteristics in the sense of the IRA and Sinn Féin of the past… So I think that sort of puts – in a proper context – Ian Paisley’s transition. And it’s not really a transition in that sense - he’d [Ian Paisley] won.You know you could argue that the reason why Paisley went into government with Sinn Féin was because the Unionist side won! And he was claiming his spoils." 

Paul Bew said:

"The IRA is too intelligent to admit that they have lost and the Unionists too stupid to realise they have won."

Anthony McIntyre said:

"[The Good Friday Agreement] constituted a British declaration of intent to stay in Ireland when the IRA’s objective had been to secure a declaration of intent to withdraw."

And also said:

"Let us collectively defy anyone to honestly name just one IRA or INLA volunteer who died so that their colleagues could become micro ministers in Britain’s rubber stamp parliament. We gather here today to honour every one of those volunteers who most assuredly died in pursuit of anything but micro ministries."