I would accept that there has to be compromise and obviously Northern Ireland has been a very difficult problem. However, in my view the Republic of Ireland was a separate sovereign state; at the time Frank was shot the Republic of Ireland was not at war and I find it very hard to accept that Frank's killers, if you like, should be part of the agreement at all. It is a small comfort, but it is a comfort to know that people who were convicted were doing time ... that at least Frank's life and his work for the State had not been in vain.

We gradually have resigned ourselves to the fact that we are a pebble on the beach, so to speak. There are bigger political agendas at work and we feel that we have no way of influencing these. We feel that the more we push, the more grief and hardship we're bringing on our individual family members and accordingly, I suppose, we have withdrawn, and we'd like to retain our dignity and not get involved in unseemly squabbles. ... one of our biggest gripes was the total lack of consultation and the minister and his officials did give us a firm commitment that there would be consultation and advice from here on out. However, that has not been the case.