Mary Ann O'Brien (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Violence, evil, cruelty, terrorism, murder and destruction of human life are the words I think of when I recall the events of the bank holiday weekend in 1979 when a grandfather who was holidaying in Ireland and treating his children to a boat trip to fish in the afternoon were brutally murdered. The rest is tragic history. Lord Louis Mountbatten, his grandson Nicholas Knatchbull, Doreen Brabourne and a local boy, Paul Maxwell, were all murdered when their boat was blown up. Forgiveness, peace, kindness, grace, compassion and bravery are the words I think of when I think of Prince Charles, who is coming to visit the west of Ireland next Tuesday with his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall. He is travelling to visit the scene at which his very close godfather and uncle was brutally slaughtered, as I have just described. I hope Senators will join me in a moment of reflection also to think of the other people, the soldiers, who were brutally murdered on that fateful day. I hope our Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny, will come forward next week and be there to apologise for the heinous crime on behalf of our nation.