TODAY HAPPENS TO be Groundhog Day and anyone watching politics in Northern Ireland for the past two years will understand what that means.

Power sharing in the north has been stalled for two years due to the DUP’s reluctance to participate. With the absence of any Stormont Assembly, Northern Ireland’s public services have suffered. There are many political challenges ahead.

But this week, DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson announced that the party’s executive had come to an agreement and voted in favour of restoring the Executive. On Thursday, two pieces of legislation contained in the UK government’s deal to resurrect devolution were fast-tracked through the House of Commons, while Stormont is expected to sit on Saturday.

With the endless cycle of discussions now over, what made everything change this week? And what are we likely to see in the coming months?

To answer these questions, and much more, we are once again joined by journalist and author — and current The Journal contributor — Brian Rowan to give his expert perspective on what turned out to be a wild week in Northern Ireland politics.

https://soundcloud.com/the-explainer-podcast/power-sharing-returns-to-stormont-how-did-we-get-here?si=cd5ad8255e454d5ebad38e993a7f067f&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

This episode was put together by presenter Laura Byrne, producer Muiris O’Cearbhaill and executive producer Sinéad O’Carroll.