"How true are the words of Holy Scripture, 'We know not what a day may bring forth.'

"If anyone had told me that I would be standing here today to take this office, I would have been totally unbelieving.

"I am here by the vote of the majority of the electorate of our beloved Province.

"During the past few days I have listened to many very well placed people from outside Northern Ireland seeking to emphasise the contribution they claim to have made in bringing it about.

"However, the real truth of the matter is rather different. If those same people had only allowed the Ulster people to settle the matter without their interference and insistence upon their way and their way alone, we would all have come to this day a lot earlier.

"I remember well the night the Belfast Agreement was signed, I was wrongfully arrested and locked up on the orders of the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

"It was only after the Assistant Chief of Police intervened that I was released. On my release I was kicked and cursed by certain loyalists who supported the Belfast Agreement. But that was yesterday, this is today, and tomorrow is tomorrow.