Actually I'm not that interested in getting into blame games and want to point a way forward. The "slow learners" bit was an ironic reference to Seamus Mallon's famous quote about the Good Friday Agreement being "Sunningdale for slow learners". This was a caustic reference to Unionists taking 30 years to agree to power sharing which finally gave us peace. I was trying to draw a parallel with the Republic - also taking some time to realise that you have to share power with Europe if you want to achieve peace and prosperity.
Obviously I need to make that reference more explicit, "It's a mystery to me - the game commences, For the usual fee - plus expenses, Confidential information - it's in my diary..."
