POLITICIANS in Dublin expressed strong condemnation and total surprise following last night's bomb.
There were urgent calls for constitutional politicians to rally and ensure all was not lost.
The Taoiseach said the resumption of violence, by whomsoever organised, was entirely unjustified. However, he held out hope chat the latest crisis could be "overcome, emphasising again the need for talks.
Confirming that he had not spoken to the British Prime Minister, Mr Major, in the immediate aftermath of the blast at Canary Wharf, Mr Bruton said he had conferred with the Opposition the SDLP and his security advisers. All agreed the way forward was through dialogue. Acts of violence would make it harder to achieve that.
However, imagination had to be applied to get people to come together and to break the deadlock, Mr Bruton said. People said the ceasefire would not happen and it came to pass. He was sure the present crisis could be overcome also.
Condemning the bombing "without reservation", he said the attack was damaging to the interests of all people in Ireland, and throughout the world, who had been working tirelessly to bring peace to this island. "I call on all who may have any influence on those responsible for this appalling act, to use that influence publicly as well as privately to ensure that no further acts of violence take place," he said.
The Fianna Fail leader, Mr Bertie Ahern, while describing the breakdown in the ceasefire as "an absolute tragedy" and unjustified, insisted that the failure to get all party peace negotiations started 16 months after the ceasefire was indefensible.
Mr Ahern called on the two governments, those in the republican movement and everyone else with influence to do their utmost to ensure the situation would not proceed any further down the path of violence.
"We are very, very sorry that the peace process has come to this after such valiant efforts by so many people in public and private life. It would appear that the best opportunity for ending violence for good after 25 years of awful violence has been wasted", Mr Ahern said.
Utterly condemning the bombing, he said this was a moment of crisis for leaders of all democratic parties in Ireland and Britain and only urgent action and intervention would prevent the shattering of the entire peace process.
Insisting that political violence achieved nothing, the Progressive Democrats' leader, Ms Mary Harney, called on the Sinn Fein leadership to condemn the attack "in clear and unequivocal terms".
The full facts were not yet known but, if this action represented the end of the ceasefire, it was "very regrettable".