London has not fully defended its right to bring in direct rule

Plenty of people who were murdered during the Troubles triggered a wave of revulsion that was said to be a turning point, but was not.

The shooting dead of Lyra McKee generated just such a wave of condemnation and horror, one that was clearly genuinely felt across society, and even led to the ‘Free Derry’ landmark being temporarily painted, to say Not In Our Name.

But turning points are few and far between, and over the weekend it was apparent that dissidents are not feeling contrite in the aftermath of the 29-year-old journalist’s slaying. The apologists for dissident republicanism held a march in the very heart of Dublin.

Sinn Fein was quick on Friday to emphasise its support for the PSNI. While this is nothing less than any prospective party of government ought to be offering, it was nonetheless welcome — the alternative, a sense of ambivalence, would have been a major worsening of the political mood in NI.

It is perhaps unsurprising that Mary Lou McDonald yesterday called for joint authority to be imposed in Northern Ireland. Easter is after all an iconic time for republicans, and the Sinn Fein president was hardly going to announce that her party was suddenly jettisoning its all Ireland aims.

Even so, it is important that this sort of talk is stamped on. London has never properly done that, apart from junior ministers making occasional statements when pressed that they would not countenance such a thing.

While it is strictly true, as Sir Jeffrey Donaldson says, that Dublin has come out against joint authority, Ireland has also made clear that London-only direct rule is unacceptable. But London-only direct rule is, or ought to be, the only substitute for Stormont, if the alternative is bowing to SF blackmail. The latter course will guarantee political instability in the future.