The murder of Ms Rosemary Nelson was a tragic reminder that there were still dark forces at work that wished to see the peace process dragged back into the mire of violence and hatred of the past, the President, Mrs McAleese, said yesterday.
"It is important that we are all soberly aware of the history of these people, and of their efforts in the past to subvert any attempt at peace-making," she said at Aras an Uachtarain. She was speaking at the St Patrick's Day reception for the diplomatic corps and for representatives of State agencies and development groups in the Republic and Northern Ireland.
"We who see ourselves as peace-makers have it within our power to rescue the process from their evil attempts to destroy it," she said.