Irish Examiner view: Here's hoping we continue to 'pluck the flowers of safety'

It’s hardly surprising the domestic terrorism threat level in the North should have moved up a notch from 'substantial' to 'severe'. Picture: George Sweeney/Alamy

Given the twin factors of the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, and the arrival of the American-Irish US president Joe Biden next week, it’s hardly surprising that the domestic terrorism threat level in the North should have moved up a notch from “substantial” to “severe”.

This is the second-highest rating applied by UK intelligence, and is the same level put in place before the Ariana Grande Manchester Arena concert six years ago. It is accompanied by warnings from the PSNI of potential attacks upon their officers from dissidents over this weekend.

These are stark reminders of the precarity of peace, and how precious was the concord which was reached all those years ago, on a date which is marked this Monday.

 Police have reactivated operational procedures which have been dormant for a number of years, involving the moving of more officers into the front line.

In February, PSNI detective John Caldwell was shot four times in Omagh in an attack attributed to the New IRA. It represented the latest stage in an escalation of hostilities which included the use of a mortar in Strabane in late autumn. A car bomb was left outside a police station in Derry in November.

The situation is muddied by the presence of criminal drug gangs, which are more common now than they were during the peace process, providing an unwelcome complication, not only to investigators but to community leaders as well.

The explicit warnings issued by the PSNI are consistent with new policies from UK security forces which regularly share high levels of background with the public, seen most vividly in the daily Ukrainian war briefings from the British Ministry of Defence.

It is a worrying time for those who care about the future, and for those who we entrust to guard us. 

It was Shakespeare who wrote: “From this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety.” Let us hope that this is the case during an important and historic week for us all.