Many people see the IRA as "freedom fighters" who "suffered greatly" during the Northern troubles, the Sinn Féin president, Mr Gerry Adams, said yesterday.
Mr Adams made his remarks when defending the sale of merchandise which celebrates IRA violence on the Sinn Féin website.
Sinn Féin's revamped website is offering T-shirts bearing the logos "IRA: Undefeated Army" and "Sniper at Work" for €15 each. The site also offers IRA lapel badges.
"Sinn Féin is not part of any process of offending anyone," Mr Adams said, adding that reporters "had a cheek" raising the sale of what Sinn Féin calls "Irish republican merchandise" at a press conference highlighting collusion between British state forces and loyalist paramilitaries.
However, asked again if he thought it insensitive to have a party advertising T-shirts celebrating particular deaths at the hands of IRA snipers, Mr Adams said: "We cannot ignore the fact that the IRA was a factor in the conflict. For those who were victims of the IRA, the very name is a matter of offence.
"But there were others who saw the IRA as freedom fighters, as people who suffered greatly, as people who had members killed on active service. You have to get some sense of proportion about all of this."
He continued: "There is memorabilia which, in my view, deals with those who see the IRA in that context. For others, I can tell you there is no intention to cause offence."
Mr Adams said he looked at the website. "There is certainly no celebration of people's death.
"There may be a degree of people wanting to express support for, sympathy with, people who were in the IRAor with family members, friends or comrades who were killed as members of the IRA.
"We have to see all of this as being relative and not just in the context of those who may have been offended, but also in the context of those who are actual supporters of the IRA. Let's not get away from this; the IRA has had, and has, considerable support."
Earlier, the SDLP's Mr Eugene McMenamin said it was "depressing to see Sinn Féin using their official party website to sell merchandise glorifying some of the worst atrocities over the past 30 years". During the Northern troubles, the IRA was responsible for nearly 1,800 deaths, including those of more than 600 civilians.