Archbishop Diarmuid Martin calls for end to ‘chain of hate’

The Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, called for the chain of hate and evil to be broken yesterday in the wake of the capital’s latest gangland killing.

Dr Martin said the tears of families who had once again lost loved ones would not be compensated for with more violence.

“Hatred and evil easily become a chain and those who resort to such violence feel that they are the strong ones. We need to form a strong alliance of all those who oppose violence on our streets,” he said.

“We cannot abandon the good, honest men, women and children of parts of our inner city. The elderly live in fear. Their children are exposed to carnage on their streets.”

Dr Martin said everyone had a responsibility in bringing violence to an end.

“Those who cultivate violence thrive on our silence. We have to unite to undermine them and their business and not close our eyes to what we know.”

Fianna Fáil justice spokesman Niall Collins condemned the killings and called for renewed efforts to defeat organised crime gangs before the situation escalated even further.

“We need a crime policy that’s ahead of the curve. We can’t allow this gangland feud to spiral further. Efforts to defeat it must be intensified,” he said.

Sinn Féin deputy leader and Dublin Central TD Mary Lou McDonald said the "carry-on and thuggery" of gangs that styled themselves "dissident republicans" had nothing to do with politics or republicanism.

"I don't like the term 'gangland crime' it glamorises this thuggery. Taking his life was wrong, it is a crime, there's no justification for it," she told RTÉ radio.