I was one of the many kids in Northern Ireland who grew up in the countryside and had an idyllic childhood well away from the Troubles.

The reality of life in Northern Ireland is that if you were Protestant, you learned British history, and if you were Catholic, you learned Irish history in school.

A day like today is not a day for soundbites, really. But I feel the hand of history upon our shoulders. I really do.

It's an extraordinary thing, this tiny little province of Northern Ireland, where carnage happened. And I was part of it. I grew up in it.

Look at Northern Ireland and how long that is taking. Look at Sinai and Lebanon, and you see how difficult that is,

Anyone born and bred in Northern Ireland can't be too optimistic.