IRA walks off an empty pitch…

Interesting discussion of last night’s IRA statement on Morning Ireland this morning. Tommie Gorman implied that the IRA’s withdrawal of its offer was something of a political non sequitur, in that there had been no political table since all other players had long since resiled from any deal with them.

Update: Martin McGuinness is asked if this is just another twist in the IRA and Sinn Fein’s negotiation tactics (sound file)?

One section towards the end of the (in IRA terms) longish statement seemed to imply a renewed attempt to address criminality within its ranks:

We will not betray the courage of the hunger strikers either by tolerating criminality within our own ranks or false allegations of criminality against our organisation by petty politicians motivated by selfish interests.

An interesting description of the Taoiseach! From what Slugger hears from growing sections of the Taoiseach’s own party, the feeling is mutual. In the absence of any clear statement, speculation is likely to continue about the internal state of play within the Republican movement.

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