Sir, - Recent media reports have alluded to the prospect of the early release of republican prisoners in our jails as part of the so-called Belfast Agreement. Our Taoiseach and other politicians have not denied that this does not extend to the killers of gardai.
Detective Garda Frank Hand was murdered in the course of his duties in August 1984. His family have suffered their great loss with dignity and in silence for more than 13 years. However, our restraint has turned to anger and revulsion at the prospect of his convicted murderers wielding fists in victory salutes and shows of triumphalism in the national media.
Frank made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of this State. To release his assassins prematurely is to trivialise that sacrifice and would represent the ultimate insult to his memory. His wife, the daughter he never was to know, his elderly parents, his extended family and his colleagues deserve better. We will not tolerate such betrayal in silence. - Yours, etc., Michael G. Hand,
Rathfarnham, Dublin 16.