Irish Examiner view: Shackled to indefensible atrocities

Sinn Féin consistently celebrates scarring events despite a growing understanding that the wrongs of the past must be challenged

Sinn Féin’s Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire  He endorsed a party tribute to Thomas McElweewho died on hunger strike  40 years ago after being sent to prison for manslaughter.

Democracy is empowering, cherished, and envied because it allows us to choose our governments and, in theory, the policies that shape society. 

That dividend is the positive side of the coin, but there is a challenge too. Democracy, especially through referendums, can bring change that alienates those who oppose it.