A new tone to SF under its leader but it will be met with scepticism

The Sinn Fein president has spoken extensively about her regret about the killings.

Republican leaders have always said they “regret” all Troubles deaths, which is very different from condemning them.

Regret, indeed, is a thing that they seem to be saying with greater emphasis, as was apparent when a Sinn Fein candidate repeatedly spoke of his regret about the murder of the lawyer Edgar Graham, but sidestepped the question of whether he condemned it.

A Sinn Fein mayor recently attended a Coleraine memorial to an IRA bomb. Some people welcomed it but others, including the reconciliation activist Trevor Ringland wanted to know, rightly, whether they condemned it.

The Orange Order wants Sinn Fein politicians to say sorry for IRA murders of its members before any meeting, and no wonder, given the tragic and needless death toll they suffered.

Ms McDonald’s interview with us is full of the word “sorry” but it sounds like sorry as in regret for unavoidable deaths rather than a republican apology for the wrongness of them.

The tone of Ms McDonald as a politician has been far preferable to that of Michelle O’Neill. Her friendliness — agreeing to an interview with this newspaper, for example, and not putting boundaries to question — is a welcome change of style, but must be treated with scepticism for as long as Sinn Fein defends the long IRA terrorist campaign.

When Arlene Foster has attended various cultural events, her critics have said gestures are not enough. But the DUP leader has never seemed to imply she is something she is not.

If the day comes when Sinn Fein politicians can condemn the IRA carnage as needless that will be a huge breakthrough. If they cannot do so, then they should just ditch the references to ‘regret’ and sympathy that in fact only underline their refusal to reject the conduct that caused the death and loss.