Republican patience with how unionism deals with the political institutions, and with key issues like equality and human rights, will be tested because, obviously, there will be a battle a day on these matters. So lets face up to all of this with our eyes wide open.

Meaning: The saying pictures agues arriving on horseback and departing on foot. It contrasts a rapid onset with a slower imagined recovery through two ways of travelling.

Meaning: Unpleasant early weather is linked with a pleasing later display of flowers. The sequence can express hope that present conditions help prepare a later benefit.

Meaning: The saying asks for steadiness when conditions become less favourable, rather than enjoyment only when things go well. Its complaint about deserving a good market should not imply that suffering earns success or that someone must tolerate an unfair arrangement.

Meaning: An imperfect resource is compared with losing the underlying capacity altogether. The saying can encourage appreciation of what remains useful, but its bodily comparison must not become a demand that someone accept inadequate support or feel grateful for hardship.