Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Step forward An Taoiseach Micheál Martin, TD for the Rebel County of Cork, inheritor of the mantle of Easter Rising veterans Éamon de Valera and Seán Lemass.

Like them, Martin sees himself as a champion of the Irish people. Champion my foot.

Martin’s view of the world is seen entirely through the prism of his own self-interest.

And his comments on Drumcree at the weekend reflect only his parochial battle with Sinn Féin, and say little about his concerns for nationalists in the north.

Patricia Mac Bride: Garvaghy Road residents have won the battle for hearts and minds

Concerned Protestant voices should be heard over Drumcree - The Irish News view

It is a matter of history that the War of Independence victors sold out their fellow countrymen and women in the north.

They acquiesced with partition, and for most of the period of unionist misrule looked the other way.

While the south began the long slow process of repairing damage caused by centuries of colonialism, in the north nationalists were subjected to state terror, discrimination and the relentless diminution of their human rights.

Yes, things have changed – not least in the decades since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement – but little has altered.

Irish tradition and culture is denigrated, and supremacist........

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