February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Only two of the families, however, have commented on the IRA statement. Both dismissed it as “meaningless words.” Helen McKendry, whose mother, Jean McConville, was one of those whom the IRA killed, said the apology means nothing.
The mother of another IRA victim, Columba McVeigh, also said the IRA’s apology meant nothing to her. She said the only thing that mattered was getting her son’s body returned and buried.
Gardai last week confirmed that the bones found on Shelling Hill beach in County Louth two months ago are those of Jean McConville, murdered 32 years ago.
The bodies of three other IRA victims have already been discovered and reburied, while five others remain unaccounted for despite efforts to find their secret graves.
The IRA murdered all nine people as alleged informers, although their families dispute the claims. Whatever about the reasons for their murders, however, the IRA does not attempt to justify the hiding of their bodies.
The Dublin coroner has refused to release the McConville remains until her children can agree where she will be finally laid to rest. There are two camps in the family and the row may yet end up in the courts.
Gerry Adams, the Sinn Fein president, has condemned Sunday newspaper reports that pressure was being exerted on some McConville family members to have a low profile funeral. He said no republican would “dare” interfere with the burial of what he called a “poor woman.”
Helen McKendry wants her mother buried in her sister’s grave at Milltown cemetery in West Belfast, after a service at St. Mary’s chapel in the city center and a cortege passing along the Falls Road.
Other family members want the body buried in a cemetery outside Lisburn, Co. Antrim, close to where McConville’s husband was buried. The Northern Ireland Mediation Network has been called in to try to reach a consensus between the two groups.
On Thursday, the IRA said it was sorry for the grief caused to family members for so long. It also insisted it had reexamined all available information and revisited burial sites, in an attempt to find remains.
The IRA said it had acted in good faith and would continue to do so. The statement said: “Our intention in initiating our investigation has been to rectify this injustice, for which we accept full responsibility.
“During the course of all of these searches we have continued to process all information that might assist in any way. So far the remains of four people have been recovered. We will do all that we can to bring closure for the other families.
“If further information comes to light we will assess and process that information,” the IRA said.
SDLP West Belfast representative Dr. Joe Hendron said: “It must be welcomed that the IRA are making an effort, but the question remains why the IRA could not have acted on this matter sooner and saved these innocent families from years of pain and suffering. The IRA must move quickly and use all means at their disposal to return all of the bodies of the disappeared to their families so that they can at least have a proper burial.”
The DUP deputy leader, Peter Robinson, hit out against the IRA statement, saying he “utterly condemned” it. “What use is it to any of these families to have the IRA apologize for making them wait as much as 30 years to bury their loved ones?” he asked.
“The IRA have put the families of the ‘disappeared’ through decades of torment. They played judge, jury and executioner with these peoples’ lives. Their actions paint a very different picture about their remorse than their words do.
“This is simply nothing less than a pre-election ploy by Sinn Fein/IRA. They hope to soft soap the nationalist electorate with meaningless statements about their horrific history.”