The image of Gerry Adams carrying the coffin of Thomas Begley, the young IRA man who was one of those responsible for the Shankill bomb of October 1993, has become one of the enduring symbols of the Northern Ireland Troubles.
For the unionist community, it evokes the same kind of reaction which the pictures of Father Edward Daly waving a white handkerchief over the body of one of the victims of Bloody Sunday still arouse in nationalists.
These are primal emotions of anger and grief which have little to do with reconciliation. Yet, if the peace process is to succeed, these deep wounds and the still raw feelings of the victims will have to be dealt with in a way which gives both communities some way of coming to terms with the past.
Michelle Williamson lost her parents in the Shankill blast. The IRA bomb was an attack on a vulnerable and ageing community which represents the working-class heartland of the unionist tradition. It also symbolises much of what that community has lost over the years - jobs, a certain swagger, confidence in the future.
These people were attacked as they went about their day's business. Not surprisingly, Michelle Williamson finds it extremely difficult that the man who was responsible for her parents' murder will be released from prison next July. She is particularly hurt that the early release of prisoners should be continuing when, it seems to her, the events of the summer - the murder of Charles Bennet, the importation of arms - have made a mockery of the IRA's ceasefire.
On Monday she succeeded in the first stage of her challenge to the Northern Ireland Secretary's ruling that the ceasefire remains "intact". One would need a heart of stone not to sympathise with Ms Williamson's loss and sense of betrayal.
Many people, on both sides of the Border, share a deep unease about Dr Mowlam's decision on the IRA ceasefire. But both governments and the the majority of politicians know that if the Belfast Agreement is to bring a lasting peace, then the settlement must be inclusive. To try and engineer the expulsion of Sinn Fein, by publicly supporting Michelle Williamson's case that the IRA ceasefire has broken down, may have helped David Trimble within his own party, but it is not serious politics. A political agreement is the only way to ensure tragedies like the Shankill bombing never happen again.
It sometimes seems that whenever important negotiations are due to take place, an event occurs which causes such offence to one community or the other that the whole process is imperilled.
The mistrust caused by IRA activity over the summer is just one example of this. The increase in sectarian attacks on nationalist homes is another. The publication of the Patten Report has been described as classic bad timing in relation to Senator George Mitchell's review. But all of these are symptomatic of the much deeper problem and underline the urgency of reaching a compromise which will enable all the parties to "jump together" as quickly (and safely) as possible.
On Monday, while David Trimble was at the High Court with Michelle Williamson, an impressive section of Northern Ireland civic society came together at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. It included Inez McCormack of the ICTU, Chris Gibson of the CBI and Jacqueline Irwin of the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action. They were there to launch a poster campaign, to coincide with Senator George Mitchell's review, under the slogan "Politicians Negotiate Solution! - That's the Headline we all want." One of those present said it was not their intention to lecture the politicians, but to assure them of support and to beg them "Don't give up. Get the deal done."
There is substantial evidence from recent opinion polls that, despite the alarms of the summer, a majority in both communities still wants the Belfast Agreement to work. It is for the politicians, who have been elected for the purpose, to devise a strategy for overcoming the present obstacles in the way of progress.
Writing in this newspaper yesterday, David Trimble emphasised that he and his Assembly party remain robustly committed to the formation of an executive on an inclusive basis. He also said he was willing to be flexible in looking at ideas for "sequencing" to overcome the present impasse over decommissioning.
These are hopeful words, coming as they do at the same time as the Ulster Unionists' first face-to-face meeting with Sinn Fein since the debacle at Stormont in July. It may even signal that Mr Trimble agrees with Gerry Adams's view that both the Ulster Unionists and Sinn Fein must accept that the present leadership of each party offers the other its best hope for the future.
We must not forget or ignore the sufferings of the past. Experience has shown that if we do not deal with the anger and the pain which still exist in both communities, they will return to poison the hopes of progress in the future. At some stage it may be necessary to set up a Commission for Truth and Reconciliation which will help each side to understand the experience of the other. That is what happened in South Africa, but there are serious reservations as to whether Northern Ireland is ready for such a traumatic inquiry into what has happened over the past 30 years.
The immediate and most urgent task is political. On the first page of the Belfast Agreement, headed "Declaration of Support" the political parties recognised what has to be done. Section 2 reads "The tragedies of the past have left a deep and profoundly regrettable legacy of suffering. We must never forget those who have died or been injured, and their families. But we can best honour them through a fresh start, in which we firmly dedicate ourselves to the achievement of reconciliation, tolerance and mutual trust."
Much of what has happened this summer - the anguished reaction to Patten, the renewed anger at early prisoner releases - underlines how difficult it is to deal with the legacy of the past. It is the task of the politicians, to which they signed up in the Belfast Agreement, to create the fresh start which will make it easier for the victims to lay the images of old grief to rest.