In an unprecedented statement issued on Tuesday to mark the 30th anniversary of Bloody Friday, the IRA offered its "sincere apologies and condolences" to the families of civilian victims of its violence.

"It is appropriate on the anniversary of this tragic event that we address all of the deaths and injuries of non-combatants caused by us", the statement said.

What is your reaction to the IRA statement? Do you think the apology is acceptable?

This Talking Point is now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.

Your comments:

As one who has lost a family member, who was murdered by the IRA for the simple reason of being a Protestant, no words from a prepared statement from a hidden spokesperson for a Terrorist organisation will compensate me or my family for our loss. We all will carry it to our graves. If they were the least bit sincere, the person or persons who carried out this deed would stand up and ask for forgiveness from the people to whom they ensured would be scarred for life. The one saving grace is the knowledge that they will one day be made accountable for their actions to a far higher authority.
Maynard, South Africa

The shift in Republican ideology required to make this apology is immeasurable.

Peter, Belfast

Having lived in some of the most troubled parts of Northern Ireland for all of my 28 years for me this apology is a positive and unexpected step. The shift in Republican ideology required to make this apology is immeasurable. It's significance in that regard alone cannot be underestimated.
Peter, Belfast, Northern Ireland

The people who have commented on the lack of apologies by the loyalists seem to have forgotten that at the start of the ceasefire period the CLMC issued a statement outlining their "true and abject remorse" to the relatives of their victims for the suffering caused by them. The IRA apology is a cynical stunt to get them off the hook over Colombia and recent shootings of 5 Protestant Civilians is east Belfast
Gary, Northern Ireland

Perhaps with this genuine step taken by the IRA the Loyalist Paramilitary groups will step up to the plate and apologize for the random killing of innocent Catholics. Have we forgotten about Quinn boys and so many others that have been killed because of the area that they live in or because they are working in an area that they don't live in. It's not only the IRA that needs to issue apologies. Good on them though to get the ball rolling. A step in the right direction.
Louie, Canada

Apologies don't do a thing except ease the conscience of the perpetrator.

Susan, USA / UK

I was a block away from the Old Bailey in the 1970's when it was bombed. I wasn't hurt, just shook up. Last September I watched the horrors in New York along with everyone else. In 20 years time, would an apology from Bin Laden make that right? No more does an IRA apology. Recently we have had the Catholic church apologizing for its priest abusing small children. Seems like the correct thing to do would be to THINK first - apologies don't do a thing except ease the conscience of the perpetrator. Those who commit violence are mindless morons, and deserve nothing but contempt.
Susan, USA/UK

Whether the apology is acceptable is up to each surviving victim and all the families and friends of victims. I do think it's an important step for NI as a whole since we have all been affected in a general way by the political consequences of the campaign. The real test of the IRA is, if it doesn't intend to return to violence, why does it still exist?
Adam McKenna, Northern Ireland

I think that the IRA statement is "acceptable" because it is a step forward by the IRA to publicly state some change in their mindset away from violence toward resolving problems through political structures. This is acceptable only if the IRA has indeed quit its violent operations. This statement needs to be followed by the IRA putting more weapons "beyond use" and a further demilitarization in Northern Ireland, then it would become unquestionably "acceptable".
Tim , USA

The only acceptable apology from any terrorist organization is total disbandment

Brian, Northern Ireland

PIRA's apology is obviously insincere, since they remain armed and continue intelligence gathering and targeting activities, not to mention their obvious hand in promoting much of the street disturbance which currently blights Belfast. The only acceptable apology from any terrorist organization is total disbandment following surrender of all arms.
Brian, UK (NI)

This is a start, but only a start. Sorry is what sorry does. Republican terrorism must control the dissidents and stop its own on going threatening activities if this apology is to mean any thing. Northern Ireland has to move on and accepting guilt is one more step in the process.
R. Campbell, USA

It doesn't matter if they apologise or not. What needs to be done now is for the Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland to realize that they aren't all that different, that it doesn't really matter if they are part of Britain or Ireland and that it is ridiculous to hate your neighbour because of some minor difference in the way mass/service is celebrated and a few prayers to Mary and for the dead. Ridiculous, childish and utterly stupid in today's modern world. Who cares about the IRA? It's what the people of Northern Ireland are doing to themselves everyday that's the problem. Both sides need to grow up and act like people and not animals
Michelle, Ireland

Let's be satisfied

Alan Bates, USA (ex-England)

There's no point in not accepting the IRA's apology. For the sake of sanity there has to be some closure on all sides. We've endured 30 years of what would be unimaginable in most other countries. This is another move in the endgame. Let's be satisfied that we are one step closer to peace.
Alan Bates, Springfield, Oregon, USA (ex-England)

I applaud the IRA for adopting a forward-looking stance. Blair should show some generosity here.
Francis Muir, US

It's a great shift towards reconciliation. While it in no way justifies what the IRA has done in the past, it shows the world that some terrorists actually do have a conscience. It's too bad groups like al-Qaeda don't have the heart to do something like this.
Steve S, USA

The UK is a different place from 30 years ago. Just look at the decline of the monarchy and imperialistic policies. If the cycle of hate can stop now, then a united Ireland will happen all by itself by 2020.
Jim, Australia

The apology should be accepted. The only way towards peace is forgiveness.
Gartushka, South Africa

We fight now by politics not by the gun

Morgan, N. Ireland

It is a huge thing. People on the British side will say that it is crocodile tears but do you know what this means to the republicans? This has caused a lot of pain, because British rule should never have been there one day, let alone hundreds of years. Still today the defeat of the Irish is celebrated by marches. We have admitted we have made mistakes but if Britain thinks we have given up, they are deadly wrong. We fight now by politics not by the gun.
Morgan, N. Ireland

Is the IRA apologising because certain groups in the US have had their funding seized or stopped following 11 September? Are they showing remorse or have they lost their main funding?
Chris, UK

Having grown up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, I think this single gesture has shocked me more than anything else that has happened. It seems like a straightforward apology and I can see no 'angle' on it. I pray that it is meant and I pray that the spectre of the paramilitaries which still loom large in the background will now sink into oblivion.
M. Smyth, UK

It is completely disingenuous, and political in nature. It is an obvious "spin" and only done to placate the North American audience who will no longer tolerate murderers who hide behind the name of "freedom fighters". They are not a legitimate military but the same as other terrorists who have no moral standing in the free world.
Ron Begley, Canada

They should face their victims

A, USA

Would we accept an apology from the al-Qaeda? Could we? The IRA are terrorists. The only apology acceptable is one made in person. They should assemble and face their victims. They must surrender all bomb making stores and assist in the apprehension of the dissidents who are still killing.
A, USA

What kind of "combatants" were the IRA looking to kill by bombing Harrods? Some soldiers who were shopping, perhaps? The apology is a sham.
Steve, USA

The apology has to be enough. There's certainly no way to change history. What I find curious, if not highly hypocritical, is the fact that there has yet to be an apology issued by the British Government for its crimes. An apology from a paramilitary group is so readily scrutinised, yet no one questions why a supposed responsible government isn't equally liable to offer the same in the quest for reconciliation.
M�ire, USA

M�ire of USA asks when the British Government will make an apology. When will the Americans apologise for their support of the IRA terrorists?
Steve, France

The IRA are not terrorists! Their apology should be welcomed and accepted.
Chris, Switzerland

It's enlightening that most of those respondents who agree the apology is acceptable come from outside the British Isles. They obviously haven't lived with the spectre of the IRA for the whole of their lives. Chris from Switzerland - you are so naive to be breathtaking. If they aren't terrorists what on earth are they? Kindly old uncles who bring semtex instead of sweets?!
Joanne, England

Their sorry does not mean anything

Desiree, UK

So the IRA said sorry. I doubt they mean it. I was close to two attacks by the IRA in the 80s on the continent. One of them killed a young corporal and his six-month-old daughter. They said sorry then, and that they had never meant to kill the little girl who was in the back of the car which was sprayed with bullets. From German eyewitnesses, friends of my parents, we know that they walked up to the back of the car and shot the child through the back window. Their sorry does not mean anything.

And to answer M�ire from the US, the British forces were ordered into Northern Ireland by the government to protect the Catholics in the late 60s. I take the apology with a large pinch of salt and treat it with the contempt that it deserves. If they back up their apology with handing over arms, then it will have some meaning. But I don't suppose their feelings of remorse go that far. Maybe I'm too cynical but I can't forget the mother of that baby as she was helped by two people to the plane to take her husband and baby girl home in coffins.
Desiree, UK

I look at the blighted landscape of Belfast and have to wonder just what was so valuable that it was worth killing for. The apology is certainly a step in the right direction. Could you imagine Hamas apologising for suicide bombings in restaurants and school buses? Or al-Qaeda for crashing civilian airliners into skyscrapers? If events of the last year have shown anything, it's that the troubles in Ulster appear quite gentlemanly by comparison. So just shake hands, forgive and forget, and go home.
Tom Byrne, USA

The IRA's apology marks a hopeful beginning. I am not holding my breath, however, waiting for the Loyalist paramilitaries to issue their apologies, nor for British governments past and present to issue theirs. Maybe I'm wrong. Let's hope so!
Steve Taylor, USA

A delicate situation needs baby steps

Paul, New Jersey

We can't flick a switch and solve all the problems in Northern Ireland. A delicate situation needs baby steps. This is definitely a positive sign and a leap in the right direction.
Paul, New Jersey

The rebuilding of communities and the building of long-term peace can only really start when people are ready to say sorry.
Stephen G, UK Newcastle Upon Tyne

I believe that the IRA statement is sincere and it shows that, despite a lack of official statement, the IRA's war is over. Unfortunately, no action or statements by the IRA in pledging itself to the peace process is ever welcomed warmly by Unionists as they always feel it is just a publicity stunt by the IRA.
Andy Taylor, Ireland

It is a welcome statement, and one that few would have expected only a few years ago. A reminder of how absolute values can become less absolute in the face of peace and compromise.
Jon E, France/UK

Continued decommissioning is necessary to show that it is not just empty rhetoric

Tim, Ireland

An apology is a start. But since no apology can bring back those who have been murdered, continued decommissioning is necessary to show that these words are not just empty rhetoric.
Tim, Ireland

We have seen previous statements before and look what happened in the aftermath of such verbose rhetoric. If the IRA is truly sincere in its apology then the decommissioning process has to move forward apace. Apologies are well and good but many will never forget or forgive, and for good reason.
Ronald McKenzie, UK

Hindsight is always 20:20. To apologise after detonating bombs and killing people is just an insult to people's intelligence. Bombs are designed to kill - you don't go around planting them if you intend to apologise for it later on.
Ed Vista, UK

An apology, from anyone, is an admission of wrongdoing and a show of remorse, and so should be accepted by all those affected by the tragedy of terrorism. It does not excuse past wrong doings, nor does it pretend to, but I hope this can be seen as a step toward some form of resolution.
Steve Collyer, Australia

The only way that the IRA can absolve themselves is for the individuals involved in the killings to hand themselves over to the police

J Andrews, England

Apologies are not acceptable even if civilians are killed 'accidentally' in a single attack that went wrong. How many innocent men women and children have been killed in attacks over the past 30 years or so? Randomly placing bombs in areas that cause maximum civilian casualties is inexcusable. The only way that the IRA can absolve themselves for these atrocities is for the individuals involved in the killings to sign confessions and hand themselves over to the police.
J Andrews, England

I'm glad to see the IRA take the honourable step and accept its responsibility in the slaughter of the innocent during the Troubles. This apology to its victims can only be seen as a breath of fresh air into the normally entrenched social and political climate of Northern Ireland. I hope that the main loyalist groups follow suit and apologise to the many victims of their equally brutal campaigns of violence.
Ronan O' Toole, Ireland

Expressing remorse is one thing. Feeling remorse is entirely different. My feeling is that if the sentiments expressed by the IRA had any substance, their ingrained habit of killing people would have stopped 29 years ago.
Chris B, England

It can do little to heal the wounds of victims' families

Paul Sims, UK

This apology definitely carries weight, although it can do little to heal the wounds of victims' families. In a wider context it's another step towards a peaceful and fully representative parliament for both peoples of Northern Ireland. A similar statement should now be made by all the main loyalist and unionist paramilitary groups such as the UDA and UVF for the non-combatants they've have killed and injured. Sadly I doubt that they will.
Paul Sims, UK

The IRA meant to kill almost every one of the thousands it has killed, military and civilian alike. It still retains the capacity to do so again, as soon as the present flood of appeasing steps shows any sign of drying up, which is why it is still arming itself with newer and more deadly weaponry. To call this apology cynical is to give cynicism a bad name.
Thomas, UK

While obviously they did intend to harm civilians at the time - an apology is a step towards recognising the terrible damage that has been done. When can we expect the other paramilitary organisations and the UK government to do the same for their civilian killings?
James, Scotland

The question isn't if 'sorry' is acceptable, it's if 'sorry' is enough. I don't think it is, or will ever be when it comes from an organisation with so much blood on its hands. Would we welcome such an apology from al-Qaeda?
Jon, England

All sides in the conflict need to say sorry

Kelly, England

All sides in the conflict in Northern Ireland need to say sorry for all the killings. Hopefully this will help move things forward so that violence will be a thing of the past.
Kelly, England

I welcome this apology. No doubt Paisley and his ilk will find fault with it, but the undeniable truth is that it is a step in the right direction. Let peace reign!
John Davies, England, UK

The Bible advises us not to despise the day of small beginnings. Let us rejoice at one small step for the IRA, one giant leap in the peace process.
Roy, UK

The peace process needs gestures of this kind

John G, London, UK

For a committed terrorist group like the IRA to issue any kind of apology for their actions is a huge shift. I know that to relatives of its victims, an apology will seem like empty words, but the peace process - flawed though it is - needs gestures of this kind. As with Sinn Fein MPs taking their parliamentary offices, a Sinn Fein mayor attending a war memorial, and IRA weapons being destroyed, this signifies a creeping acceptance of the British state in Northern Ireland and should be encouraged. Of course, all this will be lost on those who see only a military option and more bloodshed as the answer.
John G, London, UK

'Sorry' has to be suffixed by either 'I didn't mean to' or 'I was wrong'. Can the IRA honestly say they feel either?
WGS, UK

If it's sincere, then it's surely most welcome. Admitting that such actions were wrong is the first step to repentance. No doubt we'll get a row when people start disbelieving the statement.
Michael, England

The murders were always wilful, callous and extremely calculated

Wendy, UK

Whilst I think it's an important step to make, I really don't see how anyone from the victims' families can accept this. The apology is being made not because the IRA are regretful for their actions but for political ends. The murders were always wilful, callous and extremely calculated - and because of this, 'sorry' just won't do.
Wendy, UK

This is a humble and sincere apology. It doesn't change the great loss of life causes by many groups in Ireland over the last 30 years, including the British Army. It does, however, point to importance of communication in bringing peace to Ireland. This is a rare and unexpected gesture and it should be acknowledged.
Neale Simpson, England

The IRA claim that "it was not our intention to injure or kill non-combatants". This simply doesn't square with leaving no-warning bombs all over a busy shopping centre. The IRA are international terrorists, their business is killing civilians. They are still involved in murder, daily.
Chris James, N. Ireland

A small ray of hope in an uncertain world.

Patrick, Netherlands

In an age of global terrorism, threats of regional war from the Middle East to South Asia, this can be described as a small ray of hope in an uncertain world. Let's hope other militant groups see the fruitful results of peaceful resolution. May it last a thousand years for the people of Ireland and Britain.
Patrick, Netherlands

I remember, as a child, seeing the grim images of Bloody Friday. It must be positive, though, that the IRA has got to a point where reflection and apology are even possibilities. Language and words matter. Hopefully this is another constructive step, by one of the parties in the conflict, towards being able to live with each other.
Tim Page, N Ireland

The IRA's apology means nothing unless the organisation means never to commit such atrocities again. Who can believe that while they retain their arms? When they give up the arms, then perhaps the apology will have some meaning and acceptability.
John, Poland

We must allow some space for the sorrow of others, including former terrorists

James, UK

Any sincere apology should be accepted for what it is. To regret having caused pain is in itself sorrow. Sorrow is greater than anger. We must allow some space for the sorrow of others, including that of former terrorists.
James, UK

An unequivocal apology is always acceptable. But one of the prerequisites for earning absolution in the Catholic Church is restitution - trying to make up for the bad effects of sin. I do hope that the IRA backs up its good words with positive, conciliatory actions and that the people it has offended will accept that a psychologically significant step has been taken.
Susan, UK

I was born in NI and I lived there until I was 20. I think it is a significant move, even though it will not bring the victims back. I only wish that here in the Middle East we would hear the same from Islamic Jihad, Hamas, Al Aqsa martyrs brigade and all the rest of them. Then perhaps there would be some light at the end of a very long tunnel.
Steven Selig, Israel, formerly Belfast

I'm not a republican sympathiser, but I can't see this apology being accepted by many on the Unionist side.
SA, Ireland

It is a welcome statement but it will never take away the hurt and grief of those maimed and murdered. The IRA will never bomb Northern Ireland into a united Ireland. A united Ireland will only come about by the majority of people in NI voting to enter a reunification process of some kind.
Alan, N. Ireland

It appears that the IRA is trying to avoid being classified as terrorists. War over religion is terrorism, period.
David S, USA