ADAMS, McCONVILLE AND THE TRUTH ABOUT IRELAND.

The saga of Northern Ireland's troubles continues despite the best efforts of assorted political figures to resolve matters.

We all know that the likes of Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness were, at the very least, closely allied to the IRA for many years. Their more recent incarnations as respectable politicians should fool no one; they are both dyed-in-the-wool republicans who see the ultimate reunification of Ireland as their only goal. Both remain, at heart, terrorists.

Whether or not Adams was involved in the abduction and murder of Jean McConville, he undoubtedly was a party to many brutal acts in the past. It seems quite probable that he and McGunness will continue to support, surreptitiously or otherwise, those who commit acts of violence in pursuit of their republican ideals.

Some appear to believe that the 'Irish question' can be treated in the same way as problems in other parts of the world, with 'truth and reconciliation' arrangements or something similar. In believing this, they fail to understand the nature of Ireland's problems and the degree of hatred that has existed there not merely for a few decades but for centuries. The brutality exercised by the terrorists on both sides of the divide has been such as to render simple forgiveness impossible.

There is only one answer to Ireland's difficulties and that is both simple and fraught with its own problems. The country must be reunified regardless of the bigoted religiosity of its population; only by giving up the divisions of the past can true peace ever come to this tragic place.