31 years for closure

'Disappeared' man Gerry Evans funeral takes place

"Years ago, people were afraid. People, in their hearts, were aggrieved but they probably wanted to say it, but couldn't.

"We went to thank people for finally coming forward and giving us the information. After 31 years, the information came through. The pain is still the same whether it happened 31 years ago or seven weeks ago."

Sixteen people were murdered by republican paramilitaries and secretly buried in isolated areas of Ireland during the Troubles.

Nine bodies have yet to be found.

In 1999, the IRA admitted responsibility for killing and secretly burying nine of the 16, while one was admitted by the INLA.

I'm glad the family finally has closure. I wish the same could be said for nine other families. While I sympathise with the concept of a united Ireland, violence was never the answer. Much of the terrorism that played out on television screens here in the 60s and 70s came from groups in Ireland. We were fairly insulated from the actual violence, but with so many people of Irish extraction in America, there were a lot of different opinions, and there were people sending money to various sides of the conflict, I'm sure. Despite the continued sporadic violence, it has been much better, and for that I'm glad. Now if we could just see the Middle East settle down as well.