“He’s covering up for them.. he knows them..”

As well as the report on the aftermath of the killing of Paul Quinn on BBC’s Newsnight last night, journalists at RTÉ are also paying attention – despite the apparent blindness elsewhere. As the Prime Time webpage notes – “major technical difficulties” prevented the full programme going to air, but the clips which should have gone to air are now available online – although the second clip still seems to be truncated. Intro report by Claire Murphy here.. and an interview with Paul Quinn’s parents here [RealPlayer files] Updated below the foldUpdate A report from the Irish Times on the recent meeting in Cullyhanna [subs req]

The chairman of the group, Jim McAllister, who was a local Sinn Féin leader before becoming disaffected from the leadership, said he “felt ashamed” for not speaking up against such incidents. There were people who felt similarly, he knew. “If people had spoken up much sooner than now maybe we could have saved the life of Paul Quinn. But we are speaking up now, and that is very important,” he added.

There were no Sinn Féin representatives in the hall. Local SDLP Assembly member Dominic Bradley, pledging his support, repeated his comment that the people who killed Paul Quinn were “no ad hoc” group.

He said Sinn Féin’s attempt to portray the murder as part of a criminal feud was an attempt to blacken Paul Quinn. “But I think that lie has been exposed for what it was.”

Another speaker said campaigners were portrayed as “somehow enemies of the peace process. I want to make this very clear right now that nobody in the Quinn family and support group has the slightest interest in bringing down Stormont, or anything else, except murder. We are not enemies of anyone or anything, except those who murdered Paul, and those who want to provide cover for his killers.”

Yesterday the Quinn support group issued a statement, which it said would permit Sinn Féin “to retreat from its increasingly ridiculous and isolated position on the Paul Quinn murder without further loss of face for the sake of the peace process. We say to the governments and to the DUP, let Sinn Féin continue in government, but let them tell the truth. Let us simply all agree that the killing was not sanctioned at any organisational level which should have political consequences at Stormont. Let us also agree that we have a murder machine in our community and it must be dismantled for ever.”

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