ABSTRACT
This chapter demonstrates that McDowell and Reiss's more forceful approaches were not appreciated in London or in some quarters in Dublin. It shows that Reiss and McDowell's emphasis upon policing and IRA criminality helped to bring about the conditions that allowed Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to share power in 2007. The DUP's opening move appeared to narrow Sinn Fein's room for prevarication, and it appeared to be further reduced by the Irish government's greater public concern over increased paramilitary activity, the gravity of which was later outlined in the IMC's inaugural report. The British government's approach to ongoing criminality, however, was less robust than McDowell's. Moreover, Sinn Fein's current position was also continuing to reap dividends: in Northern Ireland the party gained a seat in the European Parliament (EP) and its Dublin candidate, Mary Lou McDonald, was also elected to the EP in June.
