An interview with Nationalist Party leader, Eddie McAteer at his home in Derry. He talks ahead of the Nationalist Conference at which the party would lay out its plans to be an inclusive and representative party. The Nationalist Party had only recently been formed as an organisation, having previously been the umbrella name for a number of politicians.  

Mr McAteer would like to see Prime Minister Terence O’Neill take further steps to improve community relations. The spectacular gesture he speaks of is O’Neill’s meetings with Taoiseach Séan Lemass.  

Eddie McAteer was first elected as an Nationalist Party MP in 1945. He would hold various seats in the Derry region until he lost his Foyle seat to John Hume of the SDLP in 1969. 

The Nationalist Party did not become one political party until 1966. Before that, candidates stood under a Nationalist Party umbrella. Prior to Eddie McAteer, Joe Devlin was its most successful politician. In 1965, the Nationalist Party agreed to become the official opposition party in the House of Commons and thereafter became heavily involved in the Civil Rights movement.