IN THE Manchester suburbs of Openshaw and Rusholme the "regret and sympathy" expressed by Mr Gerry Adams in the hours after the bombing does not count for much.
It is here, where the Irish community is predominant, that some people have turned from support for Sinn Fein's inclusion in the talks process to, in their own words, "a hatred and revulsion for all that the bombers stand for."
The overriding fear is that all the Irish community will be a target for abuse. It is an understandable reaction, they say, but one which ignores the obvious reality of the situation. If, as everyone believes, the IRA was responsible for the bombing, "it won't be nice to be Irish in this city for the next week".
At the Royal Oak Pub in Openshaw, Mr Liam Sweeney, of Ballymahon, Co Longford, said that, even though it was inconceivable that any of the Irish people in the city would support the planting of bombs, there would be "a lot of tension and snide remarks aimed at us". In the hours following the bombing he had thought about the obvious repercussions for the peace process and had come to the conclusion that Sinn Fein should have been allowed into all party talks.
"Only talking will solve this problem", he said. "I think the significance of this bomb is that it is a reminder to the British government that the IRA are still here and have the weaponry available to them to use."
It was a timely reminder not only to the British government, but also to the Irish Government, and it has thrown open the whole question of whether Sinn Fein should have been brought into all party talks and whether this would have prevented Saturday's bombing. Both governments had much to answer for, according to Ms Bernadette Ryan, of Malin Head, Co Donegal, who was adamant that Sinn Fein "must be part of this process".
"Sinn Fein should have been let into the talks even without the IRA declaring a ceasefire", she said. "If they had been allowed in, it would have made all the difference today, there wouldn't have been a bombing.
"Yes, the unionists have a point when they say they are wary that, even though the guns are not being pointed across the table at them, they are behind the backs of Sinn Fein. But nothing will ever be achieved if they don't talk to everyone."
Others in Manchester's Irish community were not so sure that a "compromise approach" from the governments would have made any difference. One commented "I don't think bringing Sinn Fein into the talks would have stopped the IRA. They are simply murderers and they don't care what they do or who gets hurt.
"But I do believe that if they had been bombing the streets of Britain for 25 years, instead of the streets of Northern Ireland, then the government and the people of this country would not be in this situation. The army would have been brought in and the terrorists would have been sorted out within five years."
Many people drew a distinction between the IRA and Sinn Fein. "Whatever the tactics of both organisations", one person said, "the talks must go on."
A man who did not wish to be named said he believed that in the end it didn't matter how many people were killed, or by whom the talks should continue. "Even though I think the British and Irish governments have a lot to answer for, for not doing some thing about bringing in Sinn Fein during the 18 months of the cease fire, this bombing should make no difference at all."
However, across the city in Rusholme, one man volunteered his personal method of "sorting out this bloody mess".
"I'm sorry to say this", he said, "but the only solution I can see is that there needs to be a bloodbath to get rid of them all. Talking won't make any difference, because what hasn't been addressed are the years of prejudice and hatred between the two communities. That is what needs to be talked about, what needs to be written about.