Donal Fallon: Remembering Tony Benn, unlikely supporter of a united Ireland who knew the value of discussing differences

In August 1969, the British government deployed troops on the streets of Northern Ireland. This decision was taken by a Labour government, led by Harold Wilson, who insisted the measure was temporary. The British army was initially welcomed by besieged nationalist communities, with civil rights activist Eamonn McCann recalling that “at Butcher Gate, William Street and other army positions at the edge of the Bogside, women squabbled about whose turn it was to take the soldiers their tea”.

It would not take long for relations to sour..