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The evolution of Martin McGuinness – from high school dropout and IRA man to political leader seeking an end to violence and, finally, his emergence as Northern

Credit: Joe Giddens /PA SIR – There may be benefits to both employers and employees of spending fewer days in the office (report, May 11), but what about customers? I have had odd phone calls with people working from home. One had to put me on hold to deal with her dog, which was barking so loudly we couldn’t hear each other. A second apologised for the crunching noises, explaining he was eating toast while finding my details on the computer. A third failed to make promised return calls and couldn’t understand simple details – the slurred speech was what really concerned me.

  In June 1972 British secretary of state for Northern Ireland William Whitelaw told Cabinet colleagues that, after three years of conflict and almost 400 deaths, ‘it was inescapable that some understanding would have to be reached with the “Provisional” IRA; no solution seemed possible unless their point of view were represented’. The IRA leadership too apprehended from an early stage that the conflict could only be ended by a negotiated compromise; in 1975 key intermediary Brendan Duddy told his interlocutor from Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) “[I...

A hunger strike in which 10 IRA prisoners died was a watershed in the Troubles, says Peter Taylor.

Colonial powers carved up land between them, dividing age-old settlements, tribes and indigenous peoples. A map of Africa can tell us that. Other maps show boundaries, the result of partitions by Britain that remain a cause of violent conflict in the Middle East, Asia — and the United Kingdom. This year, 3 May marks the centenary of the creation of Northern Ireland, made up of six of Ulster’s nine counties (widely but wrongly referred to as “The Province”). It is not a time for celebration, even by Unionists, who support the UK.  Two books have now been added to the voluminous librar...