Sinn Fein has played down newspaper reports that the former leadership of the IRA could be preparing to offer an unequivocal apology to the terror group’s victims.
The party’s chairman Declan Kearney said he doubted whether reports in the Sunday Business Post had been founded on any firm investigative basis.
He added that the IRA had “left the stage” seven years ago.
Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness also played down reports of a fresh apology while speaking to RTE’s Miriam O’Callaghan on Saturday night.
He said reconciliation was vital, but required efforts by all sides in the conflict to deal with the legacy of the past.
During the live show, the Sinn Fein politician also revealed details of his private meeting with the Queen on her visit to Belfast on Wednesday.
That included the acknowledging of the IRA murder of the Queen’s cousin Lord Mountbatten in 1979.
“I said to them that I recognised that they too had lost a loved one,” he said.
“I did not shy away from the issue because I think these are things that we need to face up to.”
But as Mr McGuinness spoke of his “passionate” belief in the peace process, one woman who lost her sister in an IRA gun attack said she felt sick at what she claimed was his continual justification of IRA violence.
Ann Travers used Twitter to vent her frustration about Mr McGuinness’ “implication that the IRA were heroes”. She posted: “I feel sick. Every time I start to soften things are said that are hurtful and insulting.”
Ms Travers’ sister was shot dead and her magistrate father, Tom Travers, badly injured when they were ambushed in 1984.
During the interview Mr McGuinness spoke of his regret over “all” the deaths and that “war is absolutely terrible”.
Ms Travers, who now lives in the Republic, said: “My Mary wasn’t in a war. She was walking home from mass with mum and dad, arm in arm with them.
“I just felt hurt to be honest. I felt that it was justifying my sister’s murder and my father’s attempted murder.”
Meanwhile, Mr McGuinness has revealed agreement has been reached on delivering a long-delayed cross-border forum to bring together parliamentarians from Belfast and Dublin at Stormont and Leinster House.
Read more: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/ne...#ixzz1zSQ15uSg
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Contact details
Effective today, the contact details for the Northern Ireland Veterans' Association have changed to the following
The Secretary
57 Mortimer Street,
Derby.
DE24 8FX
Email: membership@nivets.org.uk
Web: www.nivets.org.uk
Mob: 07368 293729
NIVA Administration.
The Secretary
57 Mortimer Street,
Derby.
DE24 8FX
Email: membership@nivets.org.uk
Web: www.nivets.org.uk
Mob: 07368 293729
NIVA Administration.
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Martin McGuinness refuses to confirm if IRA will say sorry to its victims of Troubles
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Martin McGuinness refuses to confirm if IRA will say sorry to its victims of Troubles
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#4Guest12-07-2012, 08:21 PMEditing a commentAny apology will be worthless.....they won't mean it.
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#5Guest07-09-2012, 04:22 PMEditing a commentI wish to apologise........For not slotting this bastard when we had him in the back of a pig in 1970. How many lives would have been saved if I had finished him off then, when he was geeing up the Belfast students.
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#6Guest29-09-2012, 06:42 PMEditing a commentIf only Slapper........would have saved so much heartache!
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Latest Articles
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This years’ service will be held at 11.30am on Saturday 14th September 2024 at the National Memorial Arboretum, Alrewas, Staffordshire.
The service will commemorate and remember all those who lost their lives in service of the Crown as a result of the conflict in N. Ireland.
The chapel service will be followed by a parade down to the Ulster Ash Grove for the laying of wreathes.
Following the laying of the wreathes, there will be a 15-minute pause before...-
Channel: The NIVA News
12-03-2024, 04:17 PM -
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Northern Ireland Veterans' Association
Service of Remembrance
National Memorial Arboretum
Saturday 9th September 2023
This years’ service will be held at 11.30am on Saturday 9th September 2023 at the National Memorial Arboretum, Alrewas, Staffordshire.
The service will commemorate and remember all those who lost their lives in service of the Crown as a result of the conflict in N. Ireland.
The chapel...-
Channel: The NIVA News
05-06-2023, 05:25 PM -
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This year's service will be held at the NMA on Saturday 10th September. At present, we won't be aware of restrictions, if any, that the NMA will impose on attendees (pre booking cars, names etc) but as this information is made available to us, we will publish it.
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Channel: The NIVA News
08-02-2022, 10:14 PM -
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NIVA Service Of Remembrance
The 2021 service will be held at 11.30am on Saturday 11th September 2021 at the National Memorial Arboretum, Alrewas, Staffordshire.The service will commemorate and remember all those who lost their lives in service of the Crown as a result of the conflict in N. Ireland.The chapel service will be followed by a parade down to the Ulster Ash Grove for the laying of wreathes. ...-
Channel: The NIVA News
04-04-2021, 08:45 PM -
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Ten members and wives assembled today at the Ulster Ash Grove to represent all our members for the Act of Remembrance. ...-
Channel: The NIVA News
19-09-2020, 08:26 PM -
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It is our sad duty to inform you that Ken passed away on Thursday 19th March 2020 after a brief struggle with cancer.
A full obituary will be published in the forthcoming Newsletter.
The NIVA Annual Service of Remembrance was booked with the NMA to take place on Saturday 12th September 2020. Since that booking was made, we have been advised that the NMA is closed for the foreseeable future. Alternative arrangements may have to be made. Keep logging in to follow and-
Channel: The NIVA News
25-03-2020, 03:28 PM -