The IRA has not gone away, you know

IN the 10 years since the first ceasefire, over two dozen mostly young men from nationalist areas of the North were murdered by the IRA.

Alleged drug dealers, former members who spoke out, and those who faced down senior IRA personnel have been shot or stabbed to death. 'P O'Neill's' revelation this week that the IRA offered to shoot those allegedly involved in the murder of Robert McCartney was met with amazement and outrage. But shooting people, killing or maiming, is what the on-ceasefire IRA have been doing for the last 10 years.

It's just that the killings have been denied, or done under a cover name, or the political will was missing to attack Sinn Féin or those murdered did not have Robert McCartney's five sisters. Most were sanctioned, some were not, leading to internal disciplinary measures taken against members. The numbers killed are far less than those in 70s, 80s and early 90s, and, until Robert McCartney was killed five weeks' ago, members had not been implicated in any death for about 18 months.