| It was sunny but stormy outside Houston McKelvey's funeral in Portstewart on Wednesday, but calm inside the packed Agherton church, with multiple clergy among the mourners. The Very Rev Dr McKelvey was a much valued contributor to our Thought for the Week - indeed he was due to file one of his always interesting essays this very weekend. Here is an obituary to the former dean of Belfast, and this is a tribute from Billy Kennedy. This week was also the funeral of a former lady mayoress of Belfast, Greta Rodgers. It was sunny again in Northern Ireland yesterday, as it was last Saturday, as it had been in Washington DC that preceding week (albeit far colder than here). I was there for the St Patrick's Day events, significant this year given the 250th anniversary and the News Letter's history of reporting on 1776. The nationalist-Alliance boycott of the White House left the way open for unionists. I thought they pulled off a diplomatic triumph. with Gordon Lyons in particular pushing the Scots Irish historical link. Before flying to the US, I attended the Gerry Adams trial on the Monday. With its collapse, the legacy imbalance against state forces will get worse. At the TUV conference last weekend Danny Kruger MP of Reform UK got a warm reception, as did the party leader Jim Allister MP. And a member of the Women's Right Network gave thanks for the party supporting their stance on women-only spaces. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and your reading,
Ben | 
