One final note from David el Gnomo, received 8 December, 2008:

"This thread was started, by me, in the hope that peace talks in the North of Ireland would be better understood. I am very disappointed that it degenerated into a slanging match which neither helped that process nor helped people outside the province understand what is going on there. To dredge up old arguments about the troubles is bad enough. To use the thread to prolong old arguments on Mudcat is cynical in the extreme and unforgivable. I hope those concerned are ashamed of themselves. Dave."