Emma Little Pengelly said,
“Whether it is Joe Brolly or Michelle O’Neill or Francie Molloy, they must all recognise that the PIRA had an alternative to killing innocent Protestants and Catholics. They could have engaged in politics like John Hume.
When many in Northern Ireland hear someone shout “up the Ra” it is an endorsement of an organisation which was responsible for some of the worst human rights abuses in the western world. Men, women and children were shot, bombed and left traumatized by the PIRA.
Let’s consider the people bombed in the La Mon hotel. 12 people burned alive and 30 injured by horrific burns. Their crime against Ireland was attending the Irish Collie Club and the Northern Ireland Junior Motor Cycle Club annual dinner. Would their families be shouting “up the Ra”?
Let’s consider the victims of the Enniskillen bomb. 11 murdered and 63 innocent people injured. Will their families be shouting “up the Ra”?
Let’s consider the innocent Protestants murdered along the border, just because they were Protestants.
Anyone defending the IRA and celebrating their actions needs to seriously step back and consider the impact their glorification will have on the next generation.
There was never, and never will be, any justification for terrorism in Northern Ireland whether in the 60s, 70s, 80s or 90s. Those saying there was are giving a black cheque to the would be terrorists of 2022. I have been consistent my entire life in condemning anyone who breaks the law.”