Murder and hate continue to haunt Northern Ireland. The killing of Mrs Elizabeth O'Neill by loyalist paramilitaries, as much as the heartbreaking searches for the remains of the "disappeared" victims of the IRA, reflects a continuum over 30 years. The pain suffered by the families which have gathered during the past week to watch members of the Garda Siochana attempt to recover the bodies of their loved ones must be truly harrowing. Assembled at isolated locations in the hope of being able to grant a Christian burial to the victims, they are now joined in grief by the family of Mrs O'Neill, whose crime was to be a Catholic, married to a Protestant. The savage inheritance of the Northern "troubles" and the inhumanity visited upon its people in the names of republicanism and loyalism have not gone away. And, for the families and relatives of some of the "disappeared", needless suffering has been heaped on their long-standing distress and loss. The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, has pledged there will be no letup in the search for the bodies. But, he conceded, in spite of the best efforts of honest intermediaries, the information provided by the IRA has not proved satisfactory. This desperate situation has generated enormous sympathy for the families and relatives of the dead and has focused public attention on the atrocities carried out by the IRA more than 20 years ago. In this context, the murder of Mrs Jean McConville, whose crime was to comfort a dying British soldier, stands out. This young widow from the Falls Road left nine children; the eldest, aged 15 years, attempted unsuccessfully to keep the family together. Since then, members of the McConville family and others have withstood threats and vile rumours and have refused to allow the memories of their loved ones to fade or to be tarnished.
Frustration over this state of affairs is not confined to the families. The politicians who voted special legislation through the Oireachtas and Westminster to ensure that criminal prosecutions would not follow recovery of the bodies are upset and angry. And they have begun to question the motivation and "bona fides" of the IRA in the whole affair. The former leader of the Progressive Democrats, Mr Des O'Malley, linked the issue to next Friday's elections and said that before people considered voting for Sinn Fein they should reflect on the relatives' lonely vigil. There is no doubt the events of the past week have damaged the election prospects of Sinn Fein in this State and more especially in Northern Ireland where it was seeking moderate nationalist support in the European Parliament elections and voting transfers from the SDLP. The political damage being done was recognised by Mr Gerry Adams, who has tried to explain away the fiasco. But, more important than these short-term political considerations is the impact it could have on the Belfast Agreement. A linkage is being made between the debacle over the bodies of the disappeared and the decommissioning of arms. If the IRA cannot deliver on a voluntary pledge to return the bodies of some of its victims, its critics say, how can it be trusted to hand over weapons? The looming crisis of Drumcree and the upsurge of loyalist violence now demand urgent attention from the political decision-makers. But the unresolved human tragedy of the "disappeared" will also have to be dealt with.