Like many great paintings, it was the striking contrast of colours that made the picture

THE crimson red of the Gaelic football shirts; the bottle green of the police uniform.

Side by side, young nationalist sportsmen from the Beragh Red Knights GAA club stood with PSNI officers to pay respects to a teammate and colleague who wore both colours with equal pride.

The dissident republicans who snatched away Ronan Kerr’s life hoped to drive a wedge between the Catholic community and Northern Ireland’s new look police service.