Banbridge, Northern Ireland, U.K. 28 August 2018. Protests have taken place across Northern Ireland to mark the longest period a democratic nation has not had a functioning government, 589 days. The Northern Ireland Executive collapsed in January 2017 when Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness resigned due to rows between Sinn Fein and the DUP. Since an election in March 2017, Sinn Fein has refused to nominate an MLA for the DFM position at Stormont until there are agreements on issues such as equal marriage and an Irish language act for N. Ireland.