The group of Irish journalists who accompanied the Minister for Defence, Michael Smith, to Kosovo last weekend were amused to see a symbol of their own religious and political differences in a local bar. After a day's travel and work the journos, as is their wont, visited the Kukri bar in central Pristina, which is popular with the huge multinational peace-keeping force. On the ceiling of the Kukri bar in Pristina was a large Ulster flag - the red cross of St Patrick with the crown and Red Hand of Ulster in the centre. The proprietor, a returned ex-patriate who had worked for years in Britain, explained that the flag came "from the RUC guys".
The small contingent of RUC serving with the UN civilian police force is based in a village on the outskirts of Pristina. There are no symbols of Irish nationalism to compete with this symbol of loyalism, as the Irish military contingent is not allowed to socialise inside the area of conflict.