The all-party Northern talks move to Dublin on Monday and, as happened at Lancaster House in London two weeks ago, there is fear that the agenda will be dominated by who should and should not be there, given the recent upsurge in killings. Nonetheless the Dublin Government is determined to put on a good welcome for the Northern visitors as the last time the unionists entered Dublin Castle was in 1992.
There will be a reception for the participants on Monday evening, hosted by the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and a buffet dinner afterwards in the US embassy residence in the Phoenix Park. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, David Andrews will host a dinner on Tuesday night. David Trimble is due to visit the Dail earlier that day. The Northern Secretary Mo Mowlam and her junior, Paul Murphy will be in attendance from Monday to Wednesday as will George Mitchell, and Bertie is due to call in on the first day to greet them and wish their deliberations well.
Meanwhile, Quidnunc hopes that Ken Maginnis has calmed down after last week's spat with Mo. It will be recalled that in Dublin in 1992 he led the charge against the alleged unwillingness of the Irish government to say it would change Articles 2 and 3, in the event of an agreement, as opposed to they could.