Madam, - The recent debate about a "truth recovery process" in Northern Ireland is to be welcomed as part of the advance of reconciliation on this island.
As the theologian David Tombs of the TCD Department of Ecumenics has pointed out, the truth can often be a very painful thing to examine, as it requires that we look at and acknowledge the shadowy side of our actions.
As a possible addition to the debate, I would like to point out the complete absence in public discourse in the Republic of any reference to a need for the Irish Government and State apparatus here to account for its actions during the Troubles. There are many people, including the family of the late Garda Richard Fallon, who believe that a truth recovery process has relevance throughout the 32 Counties and not just for people in the North.
Indeed it is hard to imagine how a thorough reckoning could be reached without the participation of the whole island. - Yours, etc,
FINIAN FALLON, Wards Hill, Dublin 8.