ARLENE FOSTER has gone out with a bang by treating those at her last official engagement as First Minister to her rendition of Frank Sinatra's That's Life.
When asked by a journalist to sing her favourite Frank Sinatra song at the British Irish Council summit, the Stormont political leader did not shy away from the challenge.
Considering the turbulent few months that she has had, which included stepping down as leader of the DUP, the song lyrics were particularly apt.
She sang: "That's life. That's what all the people say. You're riding high in April, shot down in May."
The Irish and British politicians in attendance all seemed to appreciate the moment of brevity, and laughed while clapping for the minister's performance.
During one of her last official engagements as Northern Ireland First Minister, Arlene Foster broke into song at the British-Irish Council summit with a line from her favourite Frank Sinatra song, 'That's Life' | https://t.co/iuLCtbwVds pic.twitter.com/uSnBrLg7ax
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) June 11, 2021
Mrs Foster resigned as DUP leader earlier this month and will step down as First Minister next week.
Addressing the British Irish Council summit, she said: "I think it's a good way to end my political career at the British Irish Council meeting in Fermanagh because it has absolutely encapsulated the totality of relationships and I am pleased everyone is here.
"I definitely don't feel like Norman-No-Mates because my colleagues are all with me here today and we have had a very good meeting.
"The value of the British Irish Council is that we are all equals and that brings a balance and all the administrations share their experiences and we all listen and engage around all of that."
Mrs Foster was praised by Taoiseach Micheál Martin, who said:"I want to warmly thank Arlene for her contribution to public life over the years, not just as First Minister and in the DUP but over many years.
"It takes politicians of courage to build bridges to develop effective, shared government.
"Throughout the journey of building peace on the island, there will be many ups and downs, there will be many twists and turns, but as political leaders we have to make that commitment to the fundamentals of the Good Friday Agreement and the frameworks of that agreement.
"In that context, I think the imperative is for us, all of us, to make sure that we protect the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement, preserve them and ensure they're effective and working for the people of Northern Ireland, for the island of Ireland and for all the islands that are represented on the British Irish Council.
"We've had a very good engagement this morning. So I want to thank Arlene for that contribution."
