Peace talks fears after Donaldson's murder

The gardaí faced heightening demands today to find the killers of British spy Denis Donaldson amid fears that the new Northern Ireland peace initiative could be doomed.

With the announcement of fresh proposals to be made in Armagh tomorrow aimed at restoring the suspended Stormont Assembly, London and Dublin believe there is virtually no chance of getting a deal unless the top Sinn Féin official-turned- informer’s murderers are brought to justice.

Even though the IRA has denied any involvement, disillusioned members of that organisation who either held a grudge against Mr Donaldson or who want to wreck the fresh political strategy remain among the chief suspects.

The victim, who once ran Sinn Féin’s offices at Stormont but who was unmasked last December as an MI5 and police Special Branch agent of 20 years’ standing, was killed at his primitive County Donegal hideaway.

The road outside Glenties which leads up to the run-down cottage remained sealed off by gardaí today.

Mr Donaldson was shot once in the face and in the arm, apparently as he tried to shield himself from the assassins.

The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, and British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, are still going ahead with their initiative, despite the murder.

Although many are blaming the attack on Mr Donaldson’s legion of enemies within the republican movement, Sinn Féin MP for Newry and Armagh Conor Murphy did not rule out the involvement of British intelligence with whom Mr Donaldson worked for two decades.

He said: “There are many people who had motives to murder Denis Donaldson, people in the past who have used and abused him to try and create trouble for the peace process and bring down the democratic institutions and try and frustrate attempts to create political change.”

New details on the killing are likely to emerge after gardaí hold a special briefing session in Glenties this morning.

As bright sunshine bathed the remote Donegal hills where Mr Donaldson’s cottage, without either electricity or running water, is located amid forestry, State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy is also expected to carry out an examination of the body.

The murder shocked locals, who were unaware that Mr Donaldson had been living in their midst until it was revealed by a Sunday newspaper last month.

In Paddy’s Bar in the centre of Glenties, they theorised about who was to blame and stressed that, regardless of his perceived crimes, no-one deserved such a fate.

One 50-year-old man, who broke off from playing pool to watch the latest news updates on the murder, said: “We didn’t even know he was here until two weeks ago.

“But he had as much right to live here as anywhere else.”

His playing partner, who also refused to be named, added: “The murder should never have happened. A death is a death and it’s wrong.”

Both men also speculated, however, that the culprits may not be as obvious as many believe.

“It could have been any of the boys he helped put in jail, or someone from intelligence that was involved,” the second man added.

But regardless of who carried out the hit, it seems Mr Donaldson over-estimated his chances of escaping the ultimate punishment in the post-Good Friday Agreement climate.

Many republicans from Belfast are drawn inexorably to the wilds of Donegal by the promise of rugged beauty and its idyllic Atlantic coastline.

But Mr Donaldson was lured by his survival instincts – a ploy which proved fatally flawed when his enemies discovered his dilapidated hideout.