The North's Political Development Minister, Mr Paul Murphy, has praised the courage of the people of Greysteel, Co Derry. Their village was devastated in October 1993 when loyalist gunmen, shouting "Trick or treat", shot dead seven people inside the Rising Sun bar.
During a visit to the village yesterday to announce a £1 million sterling funding for a leisure and community centre development, Mr Murphy said the example shown by the local community could act as a model for all of Northern Ireland.
"Everyone knows that a terrible event, a terrible shooting took place here, but it had the opposite effect of what those madmen wanted it to do, it actually united the community," he said. "In many respects this is indicative of what I hope will happen in Northern Ireland, in that the community, despite their religious and political differences over the years, have come together and they have put their past behind them and their future ahead of them. It's a great day for all of Northern Ireland."
The Minister said if was symbolic that he should make the funding announcement in the bar where the seven people were massacred. "When I meet people who have experienced the trauma of those terrible days, I understand they feel very strongly that there is to be no going back on what we have achieved in the last 12 months. There is only the future and this is symbolic of it."