Earlier this week, months of talks to resolve the latest issues arising in Northern Ireland, ended without agreement.

All five major Political parties in Northern Ireland had taken part in the discussions chaired by former US diplomat Richard Haass.

Unfortunately, despite the talks running on until 5am on the morning of the deadline, only three of the five parties were able to signal agreement.

The talks were instigated after increased tensions emerged in summer 2013 in relation to three key issues. Firstly, the perennial issue of marches and parades from both the Unionist and Nationalist communities.

Then, the issue of flags. The Unionist community reacted badly to a decision by Belfast City Council to restrict the number of days when the Union Flag should be flown from public buildings.

And finally, the most sensitive and potentially divisive issue of all, how to deal with the legacy of decades of violence during the troubles and the investigation and prosecutions of so many deaths.

It is a shocking and revealing statistic to reflect upon, that of the 3500 people who were killed as a result of the troubles, some 3300 cases resulted in no prosecutions being brought.

The legacy of that suffering, the pain of those bereaved families, of those who seek justice and those who have escaped punishment, has come to define this divided society.

A division, beyond flags and parades, which separates both the Unionist and Nationalist communities, not from each other, but between those on both sides, who would seek to forgive, forget and move on - and those who want to see each case properly investigated, and where evidence can be brought forward against individuals, then prosecutions.

As with so many issues in this divided society, there is at least, some merit in both arguments. Just last month, Northern Ireland's Attorney General John Larkin, found himself in the middle of a hail of criticism, by articulating his view that troubles-related prosecutions should be brought to an end, and that immunity from future prosecutions for past deeds, should be considered.

Scotland, as a nation, has a huge historical connection with Ireland, from our shared Celtic Ancestry, to the Ulster Plantation of 1609. Scottish Protestant families were settled upon the confiscated land of the Irish Gaelic Nobility and... well, the rest is history.

The historical difficulties of Unionist and Nationalists have resonated upon Scottish shores for generations. Our culture of flag flying and our attitudes to marches and parades differ little from those of Ulster. Ulster Scots are a proud breed and the strength of the connection should never be underestimated.

As you drive through Unionist areas of Northern Ireland you will see the Saltire flying from every lamppost. Yet these people remain staunchly Unionist and will take no truck with Scottish Independence. At each Old Firm football match, thousands of Ulster football supporters, from each side, flock to the spectacle, importing the politics of Ireland, to the Scottish game.

With the politics of Northern Ireland playing out so obviously here in Scotland, with such deep historical connection and religious division, we would be naive to assume that events there, would not impact upon us here.

They have done so in the past, and they will continue to influence political association in Scotland. In particular, they will impact upon our Independence Referendum and will shape attitudes and opinion.

We must all therefore hope that 2014 will bring a calmness to Northern Ireland politics and that cool heads and common sense will prevail. Two nations, intertwined from centuries of migration in both directions, let's try to focus upon the shared culture, language, creativity and spirit that unites... rather than the doctrine of the narrow minded, which divides.

With a rousing rendition of Auld Lang Syne, (lyrics by Mr R Burns), most New Year celebrations around the World, give the last word to us Scots.

New Year itself has become a somewhat fabled, Scottish institution, as though we must have invented time itself.

Yet is a Scottish New Year a once in a lifetime experience to visitors to our shores, or a tired, sorry and over-rated festival, which has lost its way?

I think the latter. With the exception of Edinburgh and some other notable exceptions, most of Scotland doesn't know what to do at The Bells.

The passing of a second, appears to have foxed the organisers, leaving most of us with a feeling of anti climax and the hope of a better New Year, next year. If New Year is so special to us, let's organise it better. Firstly, let's stop being outside at Midnight, at the end of December, it's stupid, and it's not good for us.

Each town, village, city and community should organise a proper two-day festival, across our nation. With late licensing, staged at indoor venues and with families welcome, we could stage celebrations which would attract visitors from around the world. We could showcase all that is good about our country, from our music to our whisky, our culture to our poetry, the real Scotland, not the cold, shivering, pretend you're having a good time, Scotland.