We are all diminished by what happened on Saturday. The riots and the injuries suffered, and the damage to tourism and property are just external manifestations of a more serious assault on our basic civil liberties.
Republican sympathisers and local thugs were determined that the victims of IRA violence in Northern Ireland would not be commemorated on the streets of Dublin. In embarking on that course of action, they rejected the freedoms of our democracy and the terms of the Belfast Agreement that seek to establish partnership, equality and mutual respect on this island.
The Democratic Unionist Party MP Jeffrey Donaldson sounded almost smug when he said the violence emphasised that some people in the Republic "did not want a unionist about the place" and had no intention of accommodating them in a united Ireland. This is a view that must be confronted, for there is no denying that Saturday's events have handed loyalists a propaganda advantage that will feed into future controversies over the right to march in disputed areas of Northern Ireland. Some small comfort can, however, be taken from the fact that the Northern group was transported to its planned speaking point outside Dáil Éireann by the authorities and was facilitated in making its views known there.
The right to free speech and to protest in a peaceful way is fundamental to a democracy. There can be no doubt that the street violence on Saturday involved an element of careful planning and orchestration. Garda reports of the use of petrol bombs, the stockpiling of missiles on Friday night, the dousing and torching of cars in Nassau Street and the use of mobile phones to direct and co-ordinate attacks on police and property all suggest an organised conspiracy. No matter that the greater number of those eventually involved were young hooligans with no formal links to republicans, the scene had been set and exploited by experienced agitators.
Failure by the Garda authorities to anticipate and respond quickly and effectively to the violence which flared at various locations has become the subject of an internal inquiry. That is right and proper. For while the anxiety of the authorities to adopt a low-key approach to a contentious parade was understandable, a lack of good intelligence concerning plans by republicans to prevent the march taking place left many citizens and an over-taxed Garda force dangerously exposed. Individual gardaí nonetheless showed exceptional bravery in the face of sustained attacks.
There can be no excuses for what happened. Families who lost loved ones to IRA violence were given official permission to draw attention to their bereavement in a peaceful march. Republicans and other anti-social elements determined that their voices should not be heard. They cannot be allowed to impose a dictatorial agenda. Street cameras and video footage should now be used to identify all those involved in the disturbances. And the law should take its course.