North in Crisis: A genuinely serious issue has been exploited by certain parties

Cormac O’Keeffe writes that amid the heat and noise of the last week, trying to determine if — and to what extent — the IRA continues to exist has been like trying to grab a wet bar of soap.

From the off, there has been selective and slanted interpretation of emerging information and the conflation of two issues: paramilitary behaviour by the IRA and criminal behaviour by the IRA.

Thrown into the mix has been a campaign in certain quarters attacking Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan.