Previous | Next :: Republican Funeral The Troubles : Belfast : Northern Ireland UK | April 6, 2011, 8:28 pm

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Today I watched on TV the funeral of a Northern Ireland Policeman..........

In my lifetime I have watched many Northern Ireland funerals on TV................. and I have been to a fair few up in Belfast myself............. the one pictured above is for an IRA bomber killed by the British security services while on an operation in Gibraltar to plant bombs............... his controversial death led to much more violence and killing............ following an attack on his funeral............ the crowd above were walking with the coffin to Mill Town Cemetery.......... the Republican plot..............

This kind of Catholic....... Republican, Nationalist crowd could never have been at the funeral of a policeman........... The RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary) were the enemy............ Catholics certainly Nationalists/Republicans did not join the police............. but one of the successes of the peace process is to get members of both communities to join their police service.

Today a giant march from both Nationalist and Loyalist communities......... Catholics and Protestants.............. walked together to honor this young Catholic Policeman............. killed by Nationalists (Catholics) to warn young people to stay away from the police......... and certainly not join up.

Leading Loyalist and Nationalist politicians both attended the Mass held in Pc Ronan Kerr's honor......... his mother urged young catholics to go on joining the police............. very movingly.

A man accused of being involved in this murder by car bomb was arrested today too............ these bombers probably with the 'Real IRA'........... were accused of "waging a useless war against peace" ......... by Martin McGuinness previously himself a leading Republican identified with the IRA........ thought to have even been on the Army Council that ran the IRA............ he went on to say..... : "these terrorists are enemies of the people of Ireland".

The whole funeral was so terrible....... so sad........... but at the same time............ an indication of how far peace has come along in Northern Ireland.

Cheers Jez XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

www.jezblog.com

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