One of the few things Ireland still has going for it is a political culture which actively engages with the institutions of state whether it be local, national, or Presidential elections. Politicians generally, bankers, the Church and various other elite groups may have lost much legitimacy, but many have been replaced and most of the institutions have survived relatively unscathed. You tamper with such political legitimacy at your peril. The processes of politics and Justice are as important as the outcomes. The alternative is riots in the street, a descent into social disorder and an environment where the most violent thrive. Northern Ireland was too close to home for us to want to go there. I would have thought the ETA experience could have been similarly instructive. A government can lose legitimacy and be replaced relatively painlessly. The Judiciary not so easily...

Index of Frank's Diaries