Fionnuala O Connor

You may view a Stormont election as pointless, and still notice with interest the variety of hopefuls competing for a place in it - even before the emergence of something like an SDLP splinter. The multiplication of labels adds pepper to an over-familiar stew, plus the spice of mystery. Who could want to spend time somewhere so insistent, against the evidence, on its own importance? It seems that 276 do, though 168 of them will escape by missing a seat. For a few, fighting on platforms well clear of the mainstream, the unlikeliness of winning almost vanished last time out. People Before [...]