Where have you gone, Mrs. Robinson? Sex scandal hits Northern Ireland, endangering peace pact
The Ticket does not normally reach out to Northern Ireland for political news, but a sex scandal there is rocking the country -- and raising eyebrows internationally.
It seems that Iris Robinson, the glamorous 60-year-old wife of leader Peter Robinson and a lawmaker in her own right, maintained a sexual relationship with then Kirk McCambley, then 19 years old, in 2008. Then, according to reports, she helped him open up a coffee shop by giving him money secretly lent her by a pair of property developers.
As Times reporter Henry Chu reported from London, the affair could knock Peter Robinson out of office -- and endanger the province's fragile peace pact between Roman Catholics and Protestants.
Apparently there was lots of public sympathy for Peter Robinson when he first disclosed his wife's affair last week. But then the BBC reported that Robinson knew his wife had solicited loans from business types to help her young lover open a coffee shop, but failed to report it to authorities.
Now, well, everyone's watching to see how the movie ends.
-- Johanna Neuman
Left photo: Iris and Peter Robinson. Credit: Associated Press. Right photo: Kirk McCambley. Credit: AFP / Getty Images
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I guess if men can do it so can women. Times have changed.
Posted by: ONO | January 11, 2010 at 03:03 PM
Bravo Iris! i couldn't but applaud, knowing how warm, tender and passionate mature women can be; i wish there were more like her! i only pity the husband because he probably does not get some of this warmth.
Posted by: andre | January 12, 2010 at 01:12 AM
No times have not changed. Things like this just come to light much more quickly then they have in the past when people kept their dirty little secrets to themselves. If you study world history you will see that even Queen Elizabeth the 1st kept lovers back in victorian days, Kings put chastity belts on their wives knowing full well when they were not around the men would come sniffing around.It is a sad commentary on human lives when this comes to light, and shows how weak we truly are in resisting adultery but even Mae West would keep an enterauge of young muscular men around her even to her dying day.
Posted by: Ruby | January 12, 2010 at 04:56 AM
The darkest aspect of this story is that Mrs Robinson first had an affair with Kirk's father when he was alive, and promised to look after his son. In the context of this promise, she has behaved like a sexual predator with no respect for appropriate boundaries. Of course Kirk would have been delighted to pleasure such an old woman, but it was the responsibility of Mrs Robinson to clarify the boundaries. It is deeply saddening to see such moral poverty.
Posted by: Brian | January 12, 2010 at 06:13 AM
I wonder how this is going to affect the peace process in Northern Ireland. I am glad the DUP is supporting Peter Robinson at this time, and hope the best for the government in Northern Ireland and the Robinson Family
Posted by: Business Bill | January 12, 2010 at 09:07 AM
Considering Northern Ireland, she IS of the generation that said "Make love, not war". Now we know what happens when these people get older. Hide your children!
And now she's supposedly in intensive psychological counseling - to figure out what's wrong with her, that she's still with the old guy.
Posted by: Duffek | January 14, 2010 at 09:38 AM