Lyra Mckee

I think the apology is a far more insult than anything. To say basically ‘oh sorry it was a mistake’ is beyond evil.

I hope they loose all support although I guess they are stupid teenagers who don’t even remember the troubles.

Hopefully they can now be squashed by the authorities and shunned by their community

I am sorry but I feel that the politics of Brexit has absolutely nothing to do with the dreadful murder of this young woman.

People who insight violence and are violent just to force their own views on any issue on any person, whether it be politics, religion, race or way of life, are criminals. This happening in any other country around the world would immediately be condemned and it should be in this case.

Sadly organisations that believe they have the right to force their will on others without democratic choice attract the sort of person who enjoys violence and is very likely unabalanced in some way.

Shooting into a crowd of innocents is unjustifiable, just as waking into a nightclub in Paris, a Mosque, a Church or a concert venue and murdering other human beings is dispicable and abhorent behaviour. I do not care what so called cause you wrap yourself in.

Very well said Countrylife.

Annepl. Thanks I don’t normally get involved in this sort of discussion as it tends to upset and anger so easily but the thought of people hi jacking this poor woman’s loved ones grief for some personal gripe absolutely infuriated me.

?? Very well said Countrylife I agree with you and imagine lots of others on GN do too.

Countrylife, thank you I totally agree with your post ?

The new ! IRA was formed in 2012, how can brexit be used as a reason for this tragedy

I am sorry, this is not about 'personal gripe' FGS - refusing to see the connection is cruel. The talks about the border, re-unification, the GFA, etc- have triggered a new wave of fanaticisim- even if the New IRA was formed before the Ref.

Does someone have to explain it in words of one syllable? The extremists in N. Ireland have been prevented from recruiting by a number of things. The lack of a border between North and South being one of them. Brexit threatens to see the border returned, so the extremists are recruiting because of that. It isn't the only reason. The failure of power sharing, the return of N.Ireland to Uk administration and the rising power of the DUP have all contributed. The point is that there have always been extremists but they haven't been able to recruit until now.

Absolutely trisher. The lack of a border has led to a softening and improving of relationships between north and south so that the issue of a united Ireland was less available to the extremists.

British people just don't realise how centuries of interference in the island of Ireland has created problems that resonate still. The creation of Northern Ireland out of six counties was a British fudge built on the 1801 Act of Union when Ireland became part of the UK partly because the British were terrified that the French would invade Ireland in the wake of the French Revolution and revolt in Ireland itself caused by British policies. It's a tangle that the Good Friday Agreement delicately tried to unravel and until the 2016 referendum, things were massively improved. The future does not look healthy as others have said.

Maybe this terrible killing will deny their support though?

Sorry dent.

Former government advisor Jonathan Powell has said Brexit is contributing to sectarian violence in Northern Ireland, although he was careful to stress it was not the cause.

Jonathan Powell worked as Downing Street Chief of Staff under then prime minister Tony Blair from 1997 to 2007 and played a key role in the peace talks that led to the Good Friday Agreement.

He told the BBC's Today programme that Brexit was one of a number of factors leading to increased violence in Northern Ireland.

www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/brexit-contributing-to-sectarian-violence-warns-key-player-in-northern-ireland-peace-talks-38045241.html

The new! IRA was formed in 2012 , the referendum in 2016,
how could anyone say brexit is the cause

You are repeating yourself Annieb "The new ! IRA was formed in 2012, how can brexit be used as a reason for this tragedy" - and many have responded.

Well said, Countrylife. I prefer to listen to the views of people who live in the country under discussion.
In radio interviews, the priest who gave the Last Rites to Lyra, an Irish politician and an Irish journalist all said, independently of each other, that Brexit was not the cause of the present violence. The new IRA have been grooming young people to follow a violent path long before the referendum.
However, they will certainly be taking advantage of the political shambles in both the Irish and UK parliaments.

Agree Parsley and as the Irish parliment hasn’t sat for two years it is bound to cause even more problems

When people living on the mainland can’t even get the name of the Northern Ireland Assembly right there’s no wonder the Irish think we couldn’t care less about what happens over there. I’ve even seen ‘Southern Ireland ‘ on this thread

Stephen Farry, Deputy Leader of the non-sectarian Alliance Party, writes-

"BREXIT entails new divisions and barriers. Yet, as a divided society and a contested space, Northern Ireland can only really succeed based on sharing and interdependence.

There is an overwhelming case for a unique solution or special deal for this region. This needs to have cross-community support and be presented as a pragmatic response.

However, Brexit is increasingly viewed through the lens of identity politics, with unionists insisting on a one-size-fits-all Brexit for the UK as a whole, and some nationalists portraying any special deal or status as a stepping stone to a united Ireland.

We really need to focus on building a cross-community approach in Northern Ireland. Therefore, while I fully respect the right of various parties and people to argue for constitutional change, if we end up conflating the achievement of special deal for Northern Ireland with the pursuit of a united Ireland, it will be fatal to creating a cross-community consensus.

Much of the public debate has been around avoiding a hard border, either across the island of Ireland or down the Irish Sea. The only sure way to avoid either of these outcomes is for the UK as a whole to have a Customs Union with the European Union."

www.irishnews.com/news/2017/10/10/news/brexit-platform---stephen-farry-1157701/

annep1 and Countrylife thank you for bringing a NI perspective to the thread.

I try Caillistemon. It's not easy. But you do have to have lived here through it all to have an understanding. It is a complex problem. But no matter how complex, violence is wrong.

Not sure if the link will work. Perhaps cut and paste in search bar.
Anyway, what they said afterwards.

www.google.com/amp/s/amp.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/politics/arlene-foster-restore-assembly-now-and-hold-talks-38047803.html

I agree with what you say annep1 , maybe I still can't understand all the nuances of allegiances because I wasn't born here , violence is never the answer

It does work annep and anyone who reads it must ask why are these NI politicians not able to get together in Stormont?.

Why indeed.

And also this...(last post. I don't want to overdo it but this is interesting too.)

www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-northern-ireland-48053974

One despairs.