Ian Paisley says he had no alternative but to do a deal with Sinn Fein "for the good of Northern Ireland"
Speaking to Stephen Nolan for BBC 1's Nolan Live, he says he had many sleepless nights prior to 26 March with things on this mind ranging from the burning of his father's home in Rostrevor by the IRA to "the numerous funerals of innocent victims" he has attended over the years.
But when it came to the crunch, he said he was prepared to "step out of the class of the coward into the class of the man who is prepared to sell himself and his reputation for the sake of this country".
"We were told if we didn't do this then it was going to be curtains for our country," he says.
"How would I have faced my people if I had allowed this country to have the union destroyed and the setting up of a joint government by the south of Ireland?"...
Dr. Ian R. K. Paisley | 3/18/2009
