DUBLIN, Ireland—The murder of two British soldiers last week and the subsequent killing of Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officer Stephen Carroll has sent a shock wave throughout Ireland and Britain. These tragic events have had the opposite effect to that which the terrorists intended, they have pushed the public and political parties closer together instead of apart.
Ever since the signing of the Good Friday agreement in Belfast on April 10th 1998 the reality of peace in Ireland has been a precarious affair. As recently as last year, politicians were in a political stalemate over the police service, thankfully they worked together to stabilise the power sharing and thus guaranteed the existence of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Addressing the Northern Assembly with respect to the Continuity IRA murders, Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams MP said “Here we are republicans and unionists united, in an effort to make politics work ... setting aside divisions and differences ... in an ongoing process to build peace based on equality.”
“This assembly is united in its solidarity... Saturday night’s incident was a deliberate and calculated attack on the peace process, it was wrong, let there be no ambiguity about that.” concluded Mr Adams.
Northern Ireland First Minister, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Mr Peter Robinson commenting on the Antrim attack during his address to the houses of parliament in London said “There is no such thing as a mindless terrorist attack, every terrorist attack has a purpose and the purpose of this attack was to drive our community apart, to cause division, to drag us back to the bad old bloody days of the past, those terrorists can never achieve this unless the people of Northern Ireland allow them to.”
Mr Robinson paused, then concluded that the people in Northern Ireland are saying loudly and clearly “we are not going back.”
The terrorist attacks have galvanised the resolve of all parties involved in the peace process and indeed the public too. In the past when a stumbling block was encountered a culture of rhetoric and blame would soon follow. The past week has shown a new united political force in Northern Ireland.
The premier of the Republic of Ireland, Taoiseach Brian Cowen met with a Sinn Féin delegation led by Gerry Adams in Dublin on Thursday. They were in the capital to discuss the latest situation in the North. All were in full agreement on the need for everyone to stick together in the
face of recent attacks.
Commenting on the attacks earlier in the week Mr Cowen said “As with the murders in Antrim, this callous crime is an attack on the Irish people and the peace we have all worked so hard for.”
The official response by the Irish Government following the meeting with Sinn Fein said, “All were heartened by the united response to the attacks and determined to press ahead with the development of the democratic political institutions in Northern Ireland.”
The funeral of PSNI Officer Stephen Carroll, the PSNI officer murdered in the course of his duties in Craigavon on Tuesday, will take place on Friday in his home town of Banbridge, County Down.
Many politicians from both north and south Ireland will pay their respects at the funeral of officer Carroll. Irish Opposition party Fine Gael will be represented at the funeral by Justice and Law reform Spokesman, Charlie Flanagan. Mr Flanagan said in a statement, “The murder of Stephen Carroll, a guardian of the peace carrying out his duties, was a cowardly act of the most despicable kind... the actions of the perpetrators of this horrendous act will not be tolerated.”
Co-operation Between Police Services
Political and judicial bodies have shown a united front in the past week. The Commissioner of An Garda Síochána (Republic of Ireland Police force) Mr Fachtna Murphy and the Chief Constable of the PSNI Sir Hugh Orde met on Thursday at Police Headquarters in Belfast. They discussed a range of policing issues including security matters.
Speaking after the meeting Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde said,“The relationship between both police services is excellent. The Police Service of Northern Ireland working alongside our colleagues in An Garda Síochána and the Security Services is determined to bring those responsible for these despicable murders over the last week to justice.”
Republic of Ireland Police Commissioner Fachtna Murphy said, “I spoke with Sir Hugh on Monday evening when I received the news about Constable Carroll to express my condolences to both the family and the Police Service and to assure him of our continued support in tackling and frustrating this small group of criminals.
“An attack on any police officer is an attack on the whole of society.” The Commissioner commented on the growing co-operation between both police forces and how they will continue to work closely with each other in the future.
Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy and Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern are to attend the funeral service today (Friday). This will be the first time a Government Minister from the Republic of Ireland has officially attended a funeral in Northern Ireland for the police service.
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