Out in the cold – the very people it was all about

THE exclusion of institutional abuse victims from the Ryan Commission’s press conference, and the use of gardaí to expel them, served as a stark reminder that Ireland has yet to accept the implications of that horrific legacy.

The sight of those innocent men and women standing in the rain outside the hotel while the state’s representatives briefed media inside was shameful and revolting.

These were not just uninvited guests who turned up announced. They were victims of a crime against humanity in which that same state colluded. They had more right to be there than anyone else.