Remembering La Mon, one of the worst horrors of the Troubles

Weeks ago it was the 30th anniversary of Enniskillen, the bombing of civilians at a remembrance service. Earlier this month, Barry McElduff jokingly balanced a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head on the 42 anniversary of the atrocity at Kingsmill.

In a few months it will be 45th anniversary of the crime against humanity in the heart of Belfast, on Bloody Friday.

At La Mon, on this day in 1978, 12 Protestants were burned alive at an Irish collie club dinner.

It has not been proven which IRA mass murderer ordered the bomb. If the godfather behind such an attack had been a Serb he might already have been jailed at the Hague.

Among the unpalatable recent developments in Northern Ireland is the fact a party once inextricably linked to the IRA, Sinn Fein, has made demands on how to deal with historic issues before it will let Stormont resume.

There has been so much attention on language that it is barely noticed that Sinn Fein is close to getting its legacy inquest red line. The News Letter last year scrutinised the inquest lists and found that more than a third of the dead whose cases will get such funding were terrorists.

As we remember La Mon victims, we can only hope that one day their relatives will get truth or justice.