Long Kesh Park takes another step forward

[Maguire01]

Whilst this is, on the face of it at least, a bad news story, I have a few questions.

Is there really any point in building a peace centre if (at least a significant proportion of) one side in the conflict is opposed to it? Does that not seem ludicrous to anyone else? I think the history of that site should definitely be preserved, but there's not much point in building a peace centre without some broad consensus.

On what basis were all these jobs going to appear on this site? Were there investors lined up? Or was it all just 'potential'?

[AQMP]

Personally I'm with Maguire and Tonto here, not on political or moral grounds, but because it would have been a colossal waste of £18mill.

As for the alleged job creation, it appears to me to be a version of pseudo-Keynsian economics where you pay people to dig a hole and then pay others to fill it in.  In fact maybe we should build the Peace Centre and then pay people to knock it down.

[Rossfan]

I suppose ye'll have to have 3,000 more parades next year to mark another great victory for ye're  "Kolthor"

Actually no idea what you mean by Kolthor.  Is that...erm an Gailege?

Aye - like "Fleg" and "Why is he bein arrested for" 

[stew]

G Tonto we thought u had went MIA,

He skulks in when it suits him, trolls the rest of the time, a sad bastard really!

[Myles Na G.]

A peace and reconciliation centre is a sound idea, but the maze isn't the right place. Why? Because it puts the hunger strikers at the centre of the 'story' and thereby puts a republican slant on the narrative of the troubles. Would republicans agree to the centre being built in or around some other notable incident of the recent past - would they agree to it being built on the site of the waste ground in west Belfast, for e.g, where the two army corporals were thrown out of a taxi and shot? The prison hospital and the other buildings should be preserved, as they are of historical significance, but the idea of building a peace and reconciliation centre around them is a nonsense.

[Dougal Maguire]

The Maze site had been identified as the location for the centre years ago. That Cnut Mike Nesbitt reopened the debate for politician reasons. He should be ashamed of himself. David Trimble made great sacrifices for peace when he was UUP leader Nesbitt is just a smarmy opportunist

[qubdub]

The fact is the DUP renegaded on an agreed programme for government for fear of Jim Allister, Willie Frazier and a crowd fleggers. All they are/were worried about is votes from the loyalist working class, and the worst thing is they will probably get them.

The MLK site may well have been the wrong location, but the DUP agreed to it. Personally I think it's prime for development. In any case that's £18 million gone and the Unionists are over the moon.