Sir, – The IRA, whether Old, New , Official , Provisional , Continuity, Real, or otherwise, was and is an illegal, underground highly secretive organisation that operates and conducts its business behind a maze of clandestine, opaque and covert camouflage.
It is therefore impossible for Gerry Adams, the president of Sinn Féin, who as we all know was never a member of the IRA, to say that it no longer exists, as he claims so authoritatively in a recent statement. Mr Adams after all got it wrong regarding the Northern Bank robbery and the murder of Gerry McCabe .
People might like to remember how long the so-called Official IRA lasted after its supposed winding up.
It is naive in the extreme to imagine that a wealthy criminal organisation like the Provos would simply fold its tent and go away while its members became community workers and politicians. Governments , political parties and police forces need to acknowledge this and take appropriate action. – Yours, etc,
HUGH PIERCE,
Celbridge , Co Kildare.
Sir, – I am sure that not all former UVF members are angels either. – Yours, etc,
COLM O’CONNOR,
Dublin 14.
Sir, – Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams is adamant that the Provisional IRA had no part in the murder of Kevin McGuigan. Evidently, he fully accepts whatever explanation or assurance he was given by a senior member (or members) of that organisation, be they current or ex-members. Of course, he was never a member of the IRA.
As a man who has been associated with the republican movement for approximately 40 years, he should know better than to trust the word of IRA intermediaries, especially on matters related to bombings or killings. The Provos (as they are better known) have form when it comes to obfuscation and denial.
Which brings us to the first sentence in your editorial (August 22nd): "The increasing fragility of political relations in Northern Ireland under a devolved administration should be a matter of concern to the Irish and British governments". Well I am quite sure it is. But that concern has more to do with the false notion that an agreement which allowed great wrongs to prosper on the back of expediency must be saved – regardless of the cost to common decency and the rule of law as we thought we knew it.
The authorities in both jurisdictions, along with the British government, were short-sighted in the extreme.
The real problems are only beginning to surface, with a politicised police force the main casualty to date. A precedent has been set and the winners will continue to demand more. – Yours, etc,
NIALL GINTY,
Killester,
Dublin 5.