Behind the headlines that proclaim another political crisis, there are people on both sides – Catholic and Protestant, Unionist and Republican – determined to keep on talking Dublin’s Mansion House has a special place in Irish history: it is where the First Dáil assembled in 1919 to proclaim the Declaration of Independence. Last week another bit of history took place there when Uncomfortable Conversations, an initiative to encourage dialogue and cooperation in Northern Ireland, headed south for a grand reception. The panel of speakers included the British ambassador to Ireland, Dominick Chilcott; the former president of the Methodist Church in Ireland, the Revd Heather Morris; the Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams; and the party’s national (all-Ireland