Secrets, secrets. I shut my ears to the bell.
Head hugged. Eyes shut. Leaf ears. Don’t tell. Don’t tell.
Sequence VI, Station Island, Seamus Heaney
Trevor Ringland has a statement out this morning, in which he makes a modest proposal to Gerry Adams and his offer to talk to the PSNI:
“Mr Adams says he is prepared to talk to the PSNI about this terrible incident”, Trevor explained. “However, many people are understandably sceptical about the likelihood of the Sinn Féin President providing an honest account, given that he still maintains he wasn’t even a member of the IRA. He should set an example to other members of his party, take some responsibility for his movement’s violent past and volunteer everything he knows about Jean McConville’s murder to the police.”
“If we’re to overcome the legacy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, it’s no good having a process where some people are seemingly exempt from the truth. A mature attitude to dealing with the past, from Sinn Féin, would involve cooperating with efforts to provide justice for victims, even if it were to mean that senior members had to go to gaol for two years. The Jean McConville murder was one of the most disturbing incidents to happen during the Troubles and a good start by republicans would be complete honesty about who was involved.”
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
