Long Gallery War Revisited
The Assembly Commission has just finished meeting to try to iron out the war over the use of the Stormont Long Gallery for controversial occasions. This was sparked, of course by Sinn Fein's Jennifer McCann, who booked the room for a function tomorrow to commemorate the life of the IRA member Mairead Farrell. The Commission, which normally operates on a consensus, put the matter to a vote and Sinn Fein's Paul Butler was heavily outnumbered. The function will now go ahead in Sinn Fein's party office, but the Commission has banned cameras from being taken up the stairs.
So just like IRA decommissioning, we will be told it went ahead, but denied any photographic evidence.
UPDATE: No sooner did I file the above than a Commission source disputed the notion that this went to a formal vote. The source said new interim rules were approved without a formal vote, although Paul Butler registered his objection.
I'm 
