Political influence and political will matter. Sadly for him, it involves football, not normally a topic you imagine gets Peter going. Strange it may sound, but it is this column's belief that football could play a fundamental part in a healing process. No other cultural activity has such popular crossover potential. Firstly, football matters.
Most people follow some team, Irish or British or both, no matter how distantly.
There is huge interest. Secondly, a large slice of those who ardently follow frontline clubs like Linfield and Dundalk tend to be the ones who hold the fiercest political opinions, unionist and nationalist. To coin a phrase, if ever there is to be peace and understanding, these people need to talk. It used to be called the working class. This may be too Gusty Spence for some, but they fought the war, they must create the peace.