pieces

But whether or not this is How It Was, it’s easy enough to accept that it’s How It Might Have Been; the production and set pieces feel right, the dialogue is more speech than speeches.

At the same time, because it takes place over many years, with much elided, the series can sometimes feel abstract, especially when it moves away from Dolours — a history lesson in bits and pieces, rather than living history.

Mr Botman said they had been communicating with the miners by notes written on pieces of paper.

“It’s a question of the prime movers, the director, the star. There are so many heavy pieces that have to be lifted and put into place, and if one of them isn’t ready, then it’s going to have to wait.”

While the treaty itself is not enshrined in law, its principles have been adopted over time into various pieces of legislation.