Ireland - I am not explaining away Omagh - that was the work of the Real I/R.A. Sinn Fein are not the political wing of the Real I.R,A, nor the Dissident >I.R.A. or any other splinter group by whatever name. You can't put the Omagh tragedy at the feet of Sinn Fein anymore than we can put the atrocities carried out by U.D.A. at the feet of the U.V.F. or any other loyalist group.
You are trying to give the impression that the I.R.A. have been armed and waiting for years and years for a chance to cause mayhem,when that is so far from the truth. I was born and bred in North Belfast, the area most affected by the troubles. Up until 1967 I would not have known how to go about joining the I.R.A. in my area, simply because they did not exist. The I.R.A. were this group of old men somewhere down south who sat around drinking and discussing the old times. When the troubles started, the nationalist people of Belfast, Derry, South Armagh and other places had to look somewhere for protection. The government institutions and police were not going to protect them, the British Army showed their true intentions shortly after arriving, so they were of no help. The nationalist had only one avenue open and that was to go to whatever was left of the old I.R.A. for help. They were not in a position to help much either because they were themselves a very small entity, more of a laughing stock than anything else but they were willing to do something but they needed members. So the young men and women joined the ONLY group that were willing to protect the nationalist areas, and that group was the I.R.A. If the current I.R.A. and their Political wing Sinn Fein are such a force in Politics in the six counties, don't blame them, Blame the Institutions, blame the police and blame the British Army for making it necessary for the I.R.A. to be rejuvenated to protect the nationalist communities. Communities that should have been given the security they required from the same institutions, police and british army. The system created the "monster" now let them live with it. This is my last post in this thread, now lets get back to music.

Ireland - thanks for the argument, it always helps to clear the air, Good luck to you.