Ian Paisley wants Independence for Northern Ireland, 1974

DUP leader Ian Paisley has announced a policy shift from integration with Britain towards the possibility of an independent Northern Ireland.

Democratic Unionist Leader Rev Ian Paisley spoke about an independent Ulster in an interview with London Weekend Television’s Weekend World programme on 27 January. He admitted that his views on an independent Northern Ireland were against everything he had stood for. He then called for a referendum to be held so that people in the United Kingdom could decide if they wanted Northern Ireland to stay in the UK. Ian Paisley’s policy shift has received mixed reactions in unionist circles.

In this ‘Seven Days’ report, Stephen Preston journalist with the Sunday News Belfast discusses Ian Paisley’s new stand for an independent Ulster.

Describing Ian Paisley as a warm-hearted and fun individual, he says,

His public image is certainly very different from his private one.

Stephen Preston says he is not surprised by Ian Paisley’s new stance for an independent Ulster or anything that any loyalist or protestant says in Ulster.

He is talking about an independent Ulster.

This episode of ‘Seven Days’ was broadcast on 1 February 1974. The reporter is Brendan O’Brien.