The comparisons with the 1921 meeting of Michael Collins and Lloyd George may be overstated but there is no mistaking the significance of yesterday's Downing Street meeting between Mr Tony Blair and the Sinn Fein delegation. The sight of Mr Adams, Mr McGuinness et al crossing the threshold of No 10 Downing Street, and passing into the epicentre of British political power, marks a dramatic alteration of the political landscape in Northern Ireland. The Prime Minister himself has acknowledged this. He said yesterday that it was hard to imagine progress being made to this point even seven months ago.
Mr Blair's decision to meet Sinn Fein will still rankle with many - with those who have been widowed or orphaned by the Provisionals, with those who have been subjected to IRA beatings or intimidation. But Mrs Rita Restorick, whose son Stephen was the last British soldier shot by the IRA, spoke for many when she expressed the hope in her encounter with Mr Adams in Downing Street yesterday that he was sincere in his commitment to the peace process. It is significant and remarkable that both she and Mr Colin Parry, whose son, Tim, was murdered by the IRA bomb at Warrington, expressed support for Mr Blair's decision to meet Sinn Fein.
Mr Blair has taken a necessary - and well-calculated - risk in the hope of entrenching the peace process. The 55-minute meeting was more noteworthy for its powerful symbolism than for its content. From what is known, both Mr Blair and Mr Adams staked out their different positions. Mr Blair reaffirmed his commitment to the principles of fairness and equality in Northern Ireland; Mr Adams repeated his support for the peace process.
For his part, Mr Blair would have forcefully reminded Sinn Fein that its participation in the process is contingent upon an ongoing commitment to the Mitchell principles of peace and democracy. Mr Adams would have reaffirmed his commitment to the "unfinished business of Irish unity". Mr Adams is correct when he describes yesterday's meeting as an "engagement" with Mr Blair. But he will know that the litmus test for Sinn Fein's commitment to the peace process will come, not before the cameras outside Downing Street, but in the meeting rooms at Stormont. Sinn Fein's firm, unambiguous commitment to the principle of consent remains critical; Mr Adams says that this is one of the matters which "we and other democrats have to continue to discuss". There will come a point in the negotiations when Sinn Fein will have to define in more precise terms what it means by consent. There will come a point in the negotiations when they will have to cede as well as gain ground. But the party still faces what Mr Blair termed a choice of history; "between violence and despair or peace and progress."