Sir, – Although public paramilitary displays at funerals can cause offence, particularly to those who have been hurt by atrocities at Omagh and Enniskillen for example, they are just futile gestures from fringe bodies. They did not, however, come from nowhere.
What is depressing is that, too often, this is the sole form of political expression by communities excluded (or, more importantly, who perceive themselves excluded) from legitimate Irish society. While they behold certain parties getting continuous favour and riding roughshod over others with impunity (a new aristocracy based on cronyism and nepotism) there is, simultaneously, no mainstream democratic peaceful political party which deliberately reaches out to, say, young working-class men; and this means more than spouting the usual cliches about “outreach” and “social inclusion” – white noise which seems to emit from so many Irish elected representatives to justify doing nothing.
This means politicians driving into the housing estates and approaching the hooded youths to ask them what they want from life and what they would vote for. This means visiting the houses of people who are being abused or neglected by the organs of State which are nominally supposed to serve them. Until these communities are diligently taken in hand by the mainstream politicians, expect more paramilitary grandstanding at funerals. – Yours, etc,