Fall of the House of Paisley

Ian Paisley, firebrand Ulster Protestant preacher and politician, spent forty years denouncing compromise as treachery. Then, in March 2007, he agreed a power-sharing pack with Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Provisional IRA. The historic deal earned him plaudits from around the world and the top job in Northern Ireland's new devolved administration. His beloved son Ian Junior took up a ministerial post by his side. Yet within a year, this proud family dynasty had crumbled and collapsed. First Ian Junior resigned as a minister, after months of controversy over his links to a property developer. Then Paisley himself announced his retirement - despite having made repeated pledges to serve a full four years in office. In this hard-hitting book, award-winning journalist David Gordon pinpoints the structural flaws in the House of Paisley and shines an uncompromising light on the Northern Ireland political class.