Partition 100 Years On: James Craig – an ordinary man with an extraordinary career As part of his series of articles on the Partition of Ireland, historian Cormac Moore outlines how, despite his undoubted strengths, Sir James Craig guaranteed a sustained reluctance by Catholics to recognise the legitimacy of the state he was instrumental in founding As a Down-born unionist, Sir James Craig, the first prime minister of Northern Ireland, had none of the doubts surrounding partition that the Dublin-born Carson had. Picture from The Bystander Cormac Moore 24 February, 2021 01:00 On becoming Ulster Unionist leader, Craig appeared to be mindful of governing for the nationalist minority but as 1921 progressed, his openness dissipated. Picture from The Sphere