Another step towards reconciliation

Political Reporter Fionnán Sheehan finds the IRA's apology to its victims was a valuable gesture.

IN the prime of their lives, William Irvine, 18, and Stephen Cooper, 19, were killed instantly when a car bomb exploded outside the Ulsterbus depot on Oxford Street in Belfast on July 21, 1972.

Thirty years later, the IRA has apologised for the death of William Irvine, and offered condolences to his family. It stops at acknowledging the grief and pain of the family of Stephen Cooper.