The family of murdered Belfast man Robert McCartney vowed to dispel any romantic vision held by Americans of the Northern Ireland troubles when they arrived on US soil tonight.
Mr McCartney 's five sisters and his fiancee Bridgeen Hagans insisted their only motivation in going to the US, where they will meet President George Bush among others, was to seek justice for their brother's brutal killing.
As they arrived at Baltimore Airport, Catherine McCartney said: "We want the people in America to know that any romantic vision they have of the struggle should now be dispelled.
"The struggle in terms of what it was 10 years ago is now over, we are now dealing with criminal gangs who use the cloak of romanticism around the IRA to murder people on the streets and walk away from it."
The family received a warm welcome in the US, contrasting starkly with the isolation surrounding Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams.
Mr Adams, braced for a fierce backlash, has already been snubbed three times over St Patrick's Day events this week.
Catherine McCartney said their intention was to make influential congressmen and women aware that people could be murdered and as long as they did not belong to an organisation, no one was accountable.
"We are highlighting that this started off as intimidation and has now taken a sinister twist into an area of secrecy," she said.
"There is an implication that someone is pulling our strings but the only person pulling our strings is Robert."
Asked about the warning issued to the family by Sinn Fein chief negotiator Martin McGuinness to stay out of party politics, she said they would not be used as a political football.
The sisters said the only way their trip to the US would be made worthwhile would be if those responsible for the brutal murder of Mr McCartney outside a Belfast pub on January 30th were arrested during their trip.