Symbolic Politics in Northern Ireland Gerry OShea 102 years ago, James Craig, the first prime minister in the new statelet in Belfast, proclaimed that his parliament was designed to have a Protestant majority “in perpetuity.” The results in the recent elections in Northern Ireland shattered unionist hegemony because Sinn Fein easily outpolled their main rivals, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), by about 65,000 votes giving them the most seats in parliament. Symbols play an important role in life in Northern Ireland which was set up as a sectarian statelet. For instance, mention of 1690 and the Battle of the Boyne to loyalists or 1916 and the Easter Rising to nationalists is likely to elicit a powerful emotional response suffused with pride and visions of past glory. The results of the recent elections there may well have little impact on everyday life in the province. However, at the symbolic level it would be hard to overestimate their significance. The Sinn Fein