Ireland needs to do more on the legacy of terrorism — much, much more

Yesterday, the UK again allowed the irrepressible Irish foreign affairs minister Simon Coveney to co chair discussions at Stormont on legacy.

This is the man who the former secretary of state Julian Smith allowed to jointly author a deal to restore devolution that rewarded Sinn Fein’s three-year collapse of power-sharing, with both an Irish language act and the tearing up of the three strands.

Worst of all, Mr Smith allowed the New Deal New Approach agreement to legislate for legacy within 100 days.

Mr Coveney, who never stops telling off the UK, was at it the day before Friday’s Stormont legacy meeting. He penned a piece in the Guardian entitled: ‘British plans for a Troubles amnesty would breach international obligations’.

Mr Coveney said London’s proposals were not “compatible with the obligations of the European convention on human rights” and “would undoubtedly be tested in the courts”.

He is certainly right on the latter point: it will be tested in the courts, and it will be interesting to see how the UK responds if those court challenges are successful.

As Doug Beattie MLA says, though, the Irish government need to do more than they are doing now on legacy.

You bet they do. And that does not just mean co-operation in a small number of cases such as Kingsmill.

It means a thorough examination of the way that Ireland allowed its territory to be a safe haven for the IRA, and all the people, particularly along the border, who were killed as a result.

——— ———

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers — and consequently the revenue we receive — we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Ben Lowry

Acting Editor