The two giants of Northern Irish politics, Sinn Feins Gerry Adams and the Democratic Ulster Unionists’ Reverend Ian Paisley.
Both men, bitterly opposed to each others beliefs, stamping their unmistakable personalities throughout the history of the recent troubles. In the Jean Claude Delmas picture, Paisley denounces Pope John Paul II during the Pontiffs speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg for which Paisley was expelled and dragged out of the assembly by stewards and other members. In Mike Browns picture Adams does what he does best, captivating a large crowd, this time at Vinegar Hill in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford at a commemoration of the Irish rebellion of 1798.

In Dan Chungs picture Adams the master photo opportunist plays football outside a polling station in 1998, guaranteeing his picture in the next day’s paper and simultaneously putting a huge grin on every waiting photographers face. Paisley, in this picture I shot at the recent local assembly elections, is just as adept at giving the ever present photographers that little something to brighten their file.

Now that Northern Ireland appears to have a much brighter future, the real picture every photographer wants is the two men together. As Paisley once said I will never sit down with Gerry Adamshed sit with anyone. Hed sit down with the devil. In fact, Adams does sit down with the devil.. Independent, February 13 1997. 
This has made our job even more difficult and so every opportunity there has been over the past 15 years to photograph both men even in the same vicinity as each other has been seized, with varying degrees of success. That Crispin Rodwell managed to get both men in the same frame in the above pictures, was an achievement in itself.

Paul McErlane then succeeds in shooting a picture during peace process talks that shows both mens faces clearly and that they are almost within touching distance of each other. Then only a matter of weeks ago the Press Associations Paul Faith is given the pool opportunity to shoot Paisley and Adams sitting together at the Parliament Buildings at Stormont. But for some this is not enough. Having taken this long for history to get these two men together, appetites will not be satisfied until there is a handshake.

As David McKittrick of The Independent eloquently stated Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams did not shake hands yesterday: they had no need to, since their manner of signalling they are ready to go into government together produced an even more telling and forceful image.

Kieran Doherty is a Senior Photographer working in London