Terrorist funeral - No room for ambiguity

The images from the funeral of Alan Ryan in Dublin on Saturday will send a shiver down the spine of anyone over a certain age on this island.

The pictures of masked men and women in paramilitary-style clothing were reminders of murderous times before democracy replaced terror.

Just as those deluded, dishonest men and women who celebrated Ryan as a fallen republican ignored the fact that a 32-county vote has decided this island’s future, all of it, will be decided by democratic and political means they choose to ignore the fact that when he was shot Ryan was on bail facing criminal charges over an extortion racket. He and his associates have been implicated in several murders. They, whether they like it or not, represent a lunatic fringe without a mandate. By all means let them strut and play pretend soldiers but if they threaten the security of the State, our neighbours, or policies endorsed at the ballot box they must immediately feel the full, uncompromising force of the law.