A DIRECTOR of a Fermanagh-based victims’ group has criticised the Irish government’s response to dealing with the legacy of the ‘Troubles’ in Northern Ireland.

Kenny Donaldson, South East Fermanagh Foundation (SEFF) Director of Services, said: “We are concerned at the lack of effort during the Troubles by elements within the Dublin government to prevent terrorism.There are many other questions which remain unanswered. The government’s failure to acknowledge its actions and inactions during that awful time remains a cause of concern for our members and borderland families.”

Mr. Donaldson was speaking at a reception in Trinity College, Dublin to unveil a special commemorative quilt produced by SEFF under the theme, ‘Terrorism Knows No Borders’.

The quilt remembers victims of the ‘Troubles’ living in Great Britain, Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The Director of Services said: “This is part of our efforts to remember victims and their families, across the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.

He acknowledged all the dedicated work that SEFF members undertook in producing the memorial.

Mr Donaldson added: “Memorial quilts have a long history in commemoration and play an important part in bringing communities together and of humanising those who have been murdered - they get behind the badge and stereotype and uncover the individual person.”

One of the speakers at the event, Dr Finian Fallon, a son of Garda Richard Fallon, who was murdered in Dublin by a Republican gang during the Troubles, said:

“The Irish government was not an innocent party in the Troubles, it was one of the main protagonists.”

Craig Agar, son of murdered British Army soldier Thomas Agar, who also shared his testimony.

He said: “My message to the Trinity gathering was that the criminal justice and political institutions and agencies in place supposedly to serve the interests of justice have conclusively failed victims of terrorism and that this must be changed.

“As a GB-based victim, I am also deeply frustrated at the lack of support options for my family and others like us.

“But for the support we have been given by our friends in Northern Ireland we would know little of the rights and entitlements that we have. The public in Great Britain by and large fail to relate to issues connected to the ‘Troubles’,” Mr Agar added.

Meanwhile, Austin Stack, the son of the murdered chief prison officer of Portlaoise Jail, said: “The Irish Government has blocked the Independent Victim and Survivor Coalition (IVSC) from receiving the support of the Victims and Survivors Service which victims in the north have access to.”

Mr Stack added: “This is a clear case of discrimination against those who have suffered in the Republic. There are families in the south devastated by the ‘Troubles’, but the Irish government are providing no practical support and are inactive regarding our plight.”