The royal seal

Published on 28/06/2012 00:00

AT LAST, the British head of state, the Queen, by shaking hands with a former deputy IRA commander, now politician, Martin McGuinness, appears to have put the final seal of peace on the horrific sectarian murders and hatred that resulted from the euphemistically named Troubles that beset Northern Ireland for decades.

Although 3,500 people of all persuasions died during this shameful period in our history, to needlessly dwell on the past would mean that the process of forgiveness and healing could never begin.

To be sure, there are still tiny minorities on both sides who want that and would prefer to see their narrow ideologies perpetrated in never-ending bloodshed, but it is clear that these views belong in the past. The symbolic gesture of a simple handshake speaks volumes for the final act of reconciliation and forgiveness that has now occurred. Let us hope and pray for all our sakes that at long last it is permanent.

Brian Allan

Kincardine-on-Forth

Alloa, Clackmannanshire