Ian Paisley had a good time in Cork over the weekend, as evidenced by his decision to put his signature on a copy of the Good Friday Agreement, as reported elsewhere on this website
In the Great Hall this morning, he reminisced about a previous visit to Cork, 60 years ago, when he was just 22 years old. He told us how he and a friend had taken a driving holiday in the south in an old Austin. All went smoothly until the two got to Tipperary, when the Austin broke down, and they had to wait three days for a spare part to arrive from Dublin.
The days when you could stroll up the hill, then straight up the steps into the Assembly building are over. From today we have a new security booth on the east side of the building, through which visitors and staff must filter before gaining entry. It's a permanent monument to Michael Stone's unexpected appearance at the rotating door back in November 2006.
The new booth had only been up and running for a couple of hours before the doorkeepers discovered a knife in the bag of a visiting schoolboy. The old checks would probably have revealed the weapon, but Ian Paisley Jnr. sees the incident as a vindication of the tighter security regime.
In the chamber it's been a relatively unremarkable day, although Education questions got typically heated (Iris Robinson's glares across the Chamber at Caitriona Ruane had to be seen to be believed). Unionist MLAs did not even wait until the vexed question of academic selection came up - the tennis playing Education Minister lectured Sammy Wilson about interrupting her as she tried to explain the need for children to acquire "fundamental ball skills".
Tomorrow the Victims Commission Bill is due up for consideration. As I write there is still no sign of any resolution to the differences between the DUP and Sinn Fein over whether or not a Chief Commissioner should be appointed.
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