Signatures 'mark outrage' over soldier murders

Around 1,400 people in Dublin signed books of condolence after two soldiers were shot dead in the North, it was revealed today.

Father Jerry Tahen said there was outrage when news of last month’s security force killings at the hands of dissident republicans emerged.

“There was horror amongst the congregation that this sort of thing could happen again,” he said.

“We put out books at one of our Sunday services and 1,400 people signed to say, first of all, that they were angry and totally abhorred at the atrocity of what had happened.

“It was cowardly, totally stupid, counter-productive and totally brutal. People across the community felt that, not just for the two young men but also for their families and for the army.”

Sappers Mark Quinsey, 23, and Patrick Azimkar, 21, were gunned down while collecting a pizza delivery at the gates of Massereene Barracks, Antrim, on March 7. They were due to deploy to Afghanistan.

Pc Stephen Carroll, 48, was shot as he attended a call to a distressed woman in Craigavon, Co Armagh, two days later.

Politicians and community members across the divide condemned the killings, with Sinn Féin branding the perpetrators “traitors” to Irish republicanism.

The books of condolence were signed by members of the parish of Malahide and Yellow Wall, north Dublin.

Brigadier George Norton, commander of the North's garrison, said encouragement and support from right across Ireland had brought a great deal of comfort.

“This moral force is exactly what our people need at the moment to reassure them that we should be forging on in pursuit of a normal existence,” he added.