IRA pub murder - Silence a blow to SF credibility

THE Mafia culture of omerta imposed on nationalists in Belfast by a murder gang led by a senior IRA member deals a major blow to the credibility of Sinn Féin leaders who are already under intense pressure over their alleged links with criminality.

It is a chilling reflection of the republican movement’s reputation for thuggery that not one witness was willing to come forward to give evidence about a murder that took place in a crowded pub.

According to the family of Robert McCartney, the 33-year-old father of two young sons who was fatally stabbed in a pub fight which began as a shouting match, there were 72 people in the bar at the time.