Defence Forces in crisis: Is Ireland prepared for terror attack?

There appear to be few doubts about the involvement of Islamic State (IS) in the Easter attacks on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka. Some of the terrorists had been in Syria and Turkey; the materials in the bombs resembled those preferred by IS for mass killings; and the targets were Christian worshippers and hotels favoured by Western holidaymakers.

Perhaps it was a sickening answer to the mosque murders in New Zealand and, also very likely, IS telling us that although it has lost the hell-on-Earth that was its caliphate, it retains its determination and ability to strike at targets thousands of miles from the Middle East. Despite warnings, Sri Lanka — a soft target — was clearly unprepared for such an attack. Can the same be said of our country?