Sir, - Following the manslaughter conviction in the McCabe trial, there are depressing signs of an urge by some to return to old agendas. The suggestion that the state or society in Ireland was seriously threatened or challenged as a result of the IRA killing of Garda McCabe cannot be sustained. Indeed, stability has been and remains one of the hallmarks of the political system here. IRA standing orders (prohibiting armed actions against the forces of this state) recognise this out of pragmatism, if not principle.
The reactions to the convictions has challenged democratic principles in ways that the disowned and renounced killing could not. The refusal of the Taoiseach, political leaders and many commentators to accept the manslaughter conviction is a direct challenge to the courts and legal system. Whether or not there was a possibility of a murder conviction, there are ample grounds to believe manslaughter was a valid outcome, including the general acceptance that this was "a robbery gone wrong", IRA standing orders, and the (disputed) statements of some of those convicted. The repeated insistence of the Taoiseach and others that this was not manslaughter, undermines the integrity of the judicial process in favour of calculated political advantage.
The attempt by the Garda Chief Superintendents to use this atmosphere to bolster their wish to retain the non-jury Special Court, at a time when its continued existence is open to question in the context of the Good Friday Agreement and the ceasefires, is opportunistic and cynical. Whatever one's view of the Special Court, jury trial is a hallmark of all democratic societies.
Finally, the McCabe trial and its outcome have been used by politicians, the media and others to resurrect the old propaganda line that IRA violence and republican supporters bear sole responsibility for the last 30 years of conflict. The structure of the talks process and the equal participation of all parties in it, as well as the nature of the Good Friday Agreement, clearly refute this. Trying to resurrect old agendas and go back to the failures of the past, has nothing to offer to bringing the conflict to an end and finding a democratic way forward. Nor does it do justice to Jerry McCabe and all those who have died as a result of that conflict. - Your, etc.,
Finbar Cullen, Main Street, Maynooth, Co. Kildare.