Gerry and the Peacemakers

Less heavy post today. I was just thinking of Ulster's great comedians and how Protestants and Catholics all manage to laugh at the same things (generally).

There's the "Hole in the Wall Gang", that cross-community band of laughsters which spawned Patrick Kielty (forgive the phrase, Patrick), there's Jimmy Young (for those of us old enough to remember), Frank Carson, Jimmy Cricket and a whole raft of others. What a talented bunch we can be. In fact, not taking ourselves too seriously is a much-needed safety valve, and we need more of it, not less.

Just as important is the tongue-in-cheek brigade. Like George Jones and Gerry Anderson. Gerry's a great guy because he can poke people in a cheeky-chappie sort of way, saying things that lesser mortals wouldn't get away with - especially in his newspaper columns. I remember one time last summer, when Orange parades were filling the TV with negative headlines, when Gerry made reference in his Belfast Telegraph column to "Irishmen and people who wish they were something else".

I remember this because it hit the nail of a very interesting bit of the Protestant psyche square on the head. Are we Irish? Or Ulster-Scots? And what on earth does it mean to be British? (Note to self: this warrants a post in its own right some time). But for now: most Protestants have come to feel less Irish than our Gaelic countrymen and some, unfortunately, feel quite OK with this. But Gerry's neatly phrased barb - aimed of course at Orangemen - gave me a feeling of comfort, namely that Ulster Protestants can be accepted as being fully Irish, even when some of their ethnic brethren are a bit less comfortable with it.

So, before I return to more serious mode, how about toning up our laughing muscles, locking our elected politicians up for a while, devolving power to Stormont and making Gerry Anderson and George Jones our "Joint First Ministers"?