Bunhill: Railing against Dublin

THE Reverend Ian Paisley will be sleeping a little easier in his bed tonight.

Despite the deal between the British and Irish governments over Ulster and the involvement of Sinn Fein in peace talks, one aspect of Northern Irish life will remain free from Fenian influence.

The Reverend is known to be concerned about the possibility that RTE, the Irish state television company, might swoop on Ulster TV, as it is allowed to do from 1 January under the new takeover regulations. He was so concerned about this that he raised the issue in Parliament - sending Peter Brooke, now Heritage Secretary but previously Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, scurrying through his papers to check this was indeed the case.

When not railing against the IRA, the Taoiseach and, most of all, the dastardly John Major, Mr Paisley was calling for little Ulster TV to be protected from the attentions of Gay Byrne and his crew.

Calm down Mr Paisley: RTE tells Bunhill that it has no plans - and never will have plans - to form a marriage with Ulster TV.

(Photograph omitted)