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Edward Stourton celebrates great debates, with analysis by a panel of experts

Edward Stourton presents a series celebrating great debates, combining archive of rare discussions between key figures with analysis by a panel of experts

Head to Head: Series 3

Head to Head: Series 3: Episode 5: Northern Ireland

Episode 5

Episode 5: Northern Ireland

Series 3

Northern Ireland

BBC Radio 4 - Head to Head, Series 3, Northern Ireland

In 1980, conservative MP Michael Mates pits his wits against Irish nationalist John Hume.

In 1980, conservative politician Michael Mates pits his wits against Irish nationalist John Hume.

Edward Stourton continues to revisit passionate broadcast debates from the archives - exploring the ideas, the great minds behind them and echoes of the arguments today.

In the fifth episode, the issue of a united Ireland is up for question. In December 1980, John Hume was one of the most powerful voices of Irish nationalism. He met Michael Mates, a Tory MP with a military background in Northern Ireland, on a BBC Panorama programme recorded at the Cambridge Union.

Northern Ireland was far from the power-sharing agreement struck some 20 years later that assured Hume a Nobel Peace Prize. Direct rule from Westminster and British army presence kept a deeply divided province, Mates believed, from all out civil war. Hume wanted the British out and a lasting solution for the Catholics who for decades had disengaged themselves politically from the Unionist majority of Protestants. 

This period was a turning point in the Troubles. Belfast was a war zone and terrorism was a fact of life in England as well as the Six Counties. Heightening the emotional intensity was a group of Republican prisoners on the first wave of hunger strikes in the Maze prison. Margaret Thatcher stepped up and did what previous British Prime Ministers had tried to ignore, albeit with a hard line. And Hume was on the verge of the controversial secret talks with the political wing of the IRA, Sinn Fein. 

On to Ireland today - is Irish unity still conceivable? Has the power-sharing been a success and can other nations learn from bringing dissident groups to the debating table? The story of politics in Northern Ireland continues.

In the studio are Dr Michael Kerr from King's College London and Dr Paul Mitchell of the London School of Economics.


Producer: Dom Byrne
A Blakeway production for BBC Radio 4.

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Edward Stourton presents a series celebrating great debates

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