Activists' reaction: As he made his way around the homes of IRA members yesterday, Fr Aidan Troy sensed a feeling of bereavement as combatants prepared to formally turn their back on a way of life they have known for decades.
"There was one lady who took out cards she got in Portlaoise prison when her daughter was born, signed by all the prisoners, and put them on the table. She was also showing me memorial cards of people who were killed down the years," says the parish priest of Holy Cross.
"Now, this is a woman totally committed to peace, but there was a feeling that this was the end of an era. It was almost like walking into a house after a death."
While the armed struggle effectively ended several years ago, the formal direction to lay down arms this week means many IRA members face the difficult challenge of reintegrating into normal life.
Lawrence McKeown (48), a republican prisoner who served 16 years in Long Kesh and spent 70 days on the 1981 hunger strike, says many face a difficult period of adjustment.
"There are a lot of barriers out there, especially for ex- prisoners. Trying to get employment or getting a licence to drive a taxi can be very difficult because of their records, even though they were political prisoners," says McKeown.
He is now a research co-ordinator with Coiste, a republican umbrella group of former IRA prisoners.
While the IRA statement has clearly directed "volunteers" to lay down their arms, some observers have questioned whether other can turn their backs on criminality.
McKeown is confident the vast majority of "volunteers" will strictly heed the words of P O'Neill.
"Not everyone is squeaky clean. I'm sure there might be a few people who will end up in criminal activity. But when I was in prison, I can't think of anyone who ended up there for non- political activity and I've no reason to believe that that will change in the future."
Jim McVeigh (41), who spent 16 years in prison and was the last IRA officer commander in the H-Block, describes himself as an "active republican". He is also confident members will follow the directions of the statement which he says is genuinely historic.
"The establishment in the South mightn't like me saying it, but was there an upsurge in criminal activity after 1921, or in the 1930s or 1940s?
"We are moral, disciplined individuals. Some might do something wrong, but the vast majority of republicans will remain disciplined and get stuck into the political struggle."
Fr Troy, however, sounds a more cautious note. "Here on the 12th, there was a major Sinn Féin presence but, when they left, there were glass bombs being thrown. It happened very suddenly," he says.
"The big challenge is bringing in those people, who still might feel inclined to do something, into the middle ground."