As he reflected ruefully on his own fall from grace, Albert Reynolds opined that it was the small things which bring you down. Which is only partly true -- there is generally some bigger thing lurking in the shadows. In this book, David Gordon, in a fine piece of investigative journalism, doggedly following his nose, taking advantage of freedom of information, and with good contacts in the DUP and Free Presbyterian Church (FPC), seeks to explain why Ian Paisley fell at what appeared to be the moment of triumph.

Gordon's diagnosis discloses a complex inter-action of political, religious and domestic factors. Having reviled republicans as spawn of the devil for the best part of four decades, up to the moment he sat down in government with a former leader of the IRA, Paisley did nothing to prepare his followers for the U-turn which was the price of office.

The first rumble of dissent came in the Church, which, like the Party, he had founded and dominated. There were those who believed that there should be no association with Sinn Fein. Others who might have tolerated pragmatic co-existence were appalled at the bonhomie between Paisley and Martin McGuinness -- quickly caricatured as the Chuckle Brothers. You might sup with the devil, but with a long spoon, and certainly with no sign of enjoyment.

There were other small things that showed the petty nature of FPC bigotry: attending Dana's book-launch, or a service for scouts at which a priest read a lesson -- a bridge too far for one who had excoriated Terence O Neill as a bridge-builder. The leader had to go.

Such is the symbiotic relationship between Church and Party that once deposed as Moderator, Paisley was seriously weakened in the Party -- not fatally perhaps, had the coup de grace not been provided by his son, his heir, his aide, his eyes, his mouthpiece, Ian Paisley Junior.

Gordon unravels the social and commercial linkages between Paisley Jr and a North Antrim businessman which first emerged in a spat over planning permission for a visitor centre at the Giant's Causeway. In a classic example of the Reynolds' theory, Paisley Jr destroyed himself by a throwaway remark on television in which he said he "knew of" the developer. In a biblical setting, this masterpiece of understatement would have been greeted by a cock crowing loudly.

In this and another case involving the leasing of a constituency office, Gordon dissects the links between Paisley Jr, the developer, his father-in-law and ultimately his father, which, allied to hubris and an abrasive personality, caused him to be not only an embarrassment to the Party, but a political liability.

As his ministerial colleagues drew aside, Junior was left as a scapegoat. He was blamed for the failure to win an otherwise inconsequential District Council by-election in Dromore where the DUP vote fell disastrously as disillusioned party members turned to Jim Allister and the Traditional Unionist Voice. Junior had to go.

Paisley Jr, in a long-running saga in the Assembly and the media, was alleged to have broken the Ministerial Code of Conduct by improperly lobbying Ministerial colleagues, from his base in the First Minister's office, to advance the commercial interests of a property developer. The DUP found it particularly reprehensible that he had used privileged access to the prime minister to advance constituency interests (including those of the ubiquitous developer) during important negotiations at St Andrews.

This was not a hanging matter, or even, in the political culture of the time, a resigning issue, especially since he had not had the opportunity to be heard. But neither had he availed of many opportunities to explain himself. There is, however, more than a suspicion that while it was the opposition in the Assembly who made the running, there were those in the DUP who were quite happy to see Junior brought down in order to hasten the retirement of his father.

Without him, the great Doctor was eyeless in Gaza. The Party was spooked by the Dromore result, the leader was seen to be fallible, the rank and file were restless, and a palace revolution led to a staged exit which saved as much dignity as possible for the Doctor. Ironically, he cannot take much comfort in the symbolism of having left the stage he had dominated for so long via the Giant's Causeway.

In his pursuit of Junior, Gordon shines a light into dark corners of Ulster politics -- the featherbedding of MLAs, paid for years whether they met or not, the generous allowances for travel and office expenses, the double, treble, and in the case of Jr, quadruple-jobbing, and the way in which, especially in the DUP, the employment of family members has turned politics into a cottage industry.

Many will wonder why a party with roots in calvinistic righteousness should succumb so easily to the temptations of pork-barrelling politics. There are signs that many in the FPC are scandalised, and that the Church is preparing to distance itself from active politics. The effect on the DUP core vote remains to be seen, but it could significantly alter the architecture of unionism.

The fall of Paisley had important political consequences. The Chuckle Brothers became the Brothers Grim, the chemistry changed, and the symbolism of leaders working together in harmony was lost. The DUP, spooked by Allister, have reverted to rhetoric, doing their best to denigrate Sinn Fein and deny them any political credibility. In doing so they feed the dissidents who threaten to destabilise society and turn the clock back. On Gordon's analysis, the future could be bleak.

Despite his career as a turbulent priest, an outsider to all the establishments, in his last departure, Ian Paisley played an important role in conflict-resolution and reconciliation. He did indeed do the state some service. There is another book to be written about who, from a rich cast of characters, played Iago to his Othello. David Gordon may be the man to write it.

Irish Independent