Madam, - If sincerity and passion were enough to convince the world of the righteousness of a cause, we would all be living under the tyranny of fanaticism - perhaps that of the IRA or some branch of al-Qaeda or Hamas, for example.
For the disciples of Bobby Sands, Osama Bin Laden or al-Zarqawi can always drive passion to its illogical conclusion, taking their own or others' lives in an attempt to bend our will to theirs.
The act of violence itself is meant to be all the proof that is needed. The rationale becomes embedded in the deed, eliminating the need for further elaboration. The violence is meant to be sublimated in the sacrifice, which then automatically takes precedence over logic or compassion.
That's why the Irish Republican movement (Sinn Féin-IRA) has run into such an awful cul-de-sac in the past couple of weeks. In attempting to justify its 35-year campaign of violence, it has looked quite ridiculous, claiming that the murder of a mother of 10 children was not, and could not be, a crime. Nor that of Garda Jerry McCabe. Nor that of Stephen Restorick. Nor any of the civilians it killed, nor any of the RUC officers who were sworn to protect them.
The IRA was always big on passion but very short on compassion. And, in the end, it lost the war. That must be very hard to swallow.
Though I cannot in conscience condemn Bobby Sands's sincerity, his fanaticism holds no attraction for me. As for the IRA, nothing will convince people of good will retroactively to bless their campaign of violence by accepting the Republican movement's latest attempt to stamp its authority on every vestige of our society.
We just can't afford to give in to its blackmail or its very pagan world view. - Yours, etc.,
RICHARD DOWLING, Mountrath, Co Laois.
Madam, - Both Eddie Holt (Weekend Review, January 22nd) and Tom Russell (January 24th) find it objectionable that Michael McDowell called Bobby Sands a "criminal". But Mr McDowell has no choice but to do so. He is Minister for Justice in a sovereign state where the acts of Bobby Sands were, and still are, a crime by statute law. If he spouted equivocations like those of Mr Holt, what signal would it send? What effect would it have on young men now on the fringes of the IRA?
I just hope other Government Ministers demonstrate the same spine as Mr McDowell. - Yours, etc.,
TOBY JOYCE, Navan, Co Meath.
Madam, - To be a "good" robber one must steal something negotiable. The idea that the IRA "masterminded" the Belfast bank raid only to end up with large-denomination new notes of one of Europe's most localised currencies is unbelievable. This might yet become known as the Great Waste Paper Robbery.
Before Christmas it was absolutely essential to the peace process that the IRA make a statement to forgo any involvement in crime. Now when a statement has been made denying involvement in this particular crime it does not seem to carry much weight, particularly with those who requested a statement in the first place.
A successful Sinn Féin is a greater danger politically to Fianna Fáil than to any other party. Is it going to take "big men" to put peace in Ireland ahead of other political considerations. Intelligent discussion rather than outrage or political point scoring is going to be necessary. Let us hope we have put the right people in place to do this. - Yours, etc.,
DONNACA KENNEDY, Corryolus, Carrick on Shannon, Co Leitrim.
Madam, - Following Mitchel McLaughlin's comments on Questions and Answers last week, the people of Ireland now really know what Sinn Féin stands for, if they didn't know already. Shooting an unarmed, innocent, widowed mother of 10 in the head, hiding her body, denying all knowledge of her whereabouts, and forcing 10 children to grow up as orphans, all for the humane and decent act of providing assistance to a wounded British soldier, is not apparently a crime. Crimes cannot be committed by the IRA.
According to this way of thinking, the IRA, as it is the lawful government of this country, can legitimately carry out any act without it being "criminal", and any number of bloodbaths and robberies are authorised by the people, based on the 1916 Proclamation.
This is a disgusting and deluded viewpoint, based on notions about the State of Ireland and reality in general that bear no relation to the country we actually live in. Who invented this warped viewpoint that is now called republicanism? This is not republicanism, it is naked terrorism that aims to overthrow the legitimate government of this country and establish some sort of green fascism. Shame on these people.
I for one must say loud and clear, so that Mitchel McLaughlin and his colleagues can understand, that the IRA Army Council is not the real Government of this country, not now and not ever. This State and Government has been mandated by the people, something the barbaric acts of the IRA will never be. Read the 1916 Proclamation. It does not mandate you or your murderous activities. Get the point, and try to live in the real world for a change. - Yours, etc.,
PHILIP RYAN, Turloughmore, Co Galway.
Madam, - I am beginning to suspect that Sinn Féin/IRA has no interest in signing up to any future power-sharing deal. I, like many others, was willing to accept that circumstances were never quite right since the suspension of the Assembly but that the breakthrough would come eventually.
However, the recent Northern Bank raid and the Republican movement's continued refusal to decommission its arms, put an end to criminality and sign up to the new police service have made me believe that Sinn Féin intends to play the people of Ireland for fools. While pretending to adhere to the terms of the Good Friday Agreement and support the democratic process it actually plans to remain outside the process (continually playing the victim and blaming others for the perpetual failure of devolution initiatives), undermine the state of Northern Ireland, and provoke an eventual British withdrawal through sheer frustration.
This cannot be allowed to happen. The two governments have a duty to the people of Ireland, north and south, who ratified the Good Friday Agreement, to take control of the situation, stop allowing Sinn Féin to dictate progress and force it to honour the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. The alternative is chaos or worse. - Yours, etc.,
TOM DANE, Mountsandel Road, Coleraine, Co Derry.