Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)

The death of Constable Ronan Kerr in Omagh last week came as a shock, not only to his family and friends and his workmates, but to all right-thinking people who were shocked because of the motivation of those who carried out this evil deed. I cannot help but notice there is a much more sombre mood in the House today which I believe has a direct relationship to the terrible atrocity that happened on Saturday.

There is an acceptance that we simply cannot go back to the past. This was an act that would have us do just that. We cannot see another generation scarred in the same way we saw generations scarred during the years of the Troubles. We know this is what will occur unless it stops right here and now. Nuala Kerr, Ronan's mother, has asked that her son's death not be in vain. That request must be respected and supported in any way possible by the State. Her appeal was made on mothers' day, which should have been a day to celebrate with her son and the rest of her family but his life was cruelly and painfully cut short.

As news filtered out, and it was a few hours before it was clear what had happened, it did not occur to me to wonder about the religious faith of this young man. From a practical point of view, however, that mattered to those who carried out the atrocity because they do not want a shared peace. They are a tiny minority who must be completely isolated. People must come forward with any information they might have.

If evidence is needed of the progress that has been made over the years in the peace process, the statement by the Ulster Council of the GAA was it. The GAA was set up as part of the Gaelic revival of the 19th century and the GAA statement would not have been considered possible just a few short years ago when police officers were banned from playing Gaelic games, Catholics did not join the police and religion and policing were intertwined. Those have all changed, and we should celebrate that. We must not and cannot return to those days.

I express my sympathies to the Kerr family on the loss of a son and a brother, to his friends and to the PSNI on the loss of a colleague.

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