Centenary of massacre is a reminder of republican hatred, which is undiminished

The 100th anniversary of the Altnaveigh massacre is a timely reminder of the true nature and face of Irish republicanism.

The brutality and cruelty of that infamous night in June 1922 must never be forgotten by Ulster Protestants. It stands as a bloody memorial to the inveterate hatred that Irish republicans bear to our country, our heritage and our way of life.

Kingsmill, Tullyvallen, Darkley, Enniskillen, Teebane and the Shankill Road stand as further reminders that 100 years on that hatred has not diminished.

That Sinn Fein/IRA, the perpetrators of or apologists for all these acts of terror, should be elevated to the heart of government in this Province is a monstrous obscenity and a scandalous betrayal of justice.

Those who enter such a sordid arrangement with IRA/SF do so by trampling underfoot the blood of the innocent.

Blood that cries out to God for vengeance. Blood that one day, whether in this world or that to come, will be avenged (Romans 12:19). Nor should we be so naive as to think that Irish republicanism in 2022 is more tolerant than their predecessors in 1922 or 1972. Under fair words and oily speeches is concealed the age old hatred of Protestantism and the Crown.

Sadly Altnaveigh and the succeeding massacres appear to have been largely forgotten by mot Protestants and unionist politicians today otherwise they may not have been so hasty in embracing IRA/SF in government.

Richard Ferguson, Dollingstown