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Town comes to a halt for funeral of shot policeman
Justin Davenport13.03.09
Hundreds of mourners attended the funeral today of the Northern Ireland policeman murdered by dissident Republicans.
Among those at the service for PcStephen Carroll, 48, were two Sinn Fein politicians - the first time that representatives of the Republican party have attended a policeman's funeral.
Pc Carroll was gunned down in Craigavon, County Armagh, by the Continuity IRA on Monday night as he answered a call for help from a distressed woman.
Today his home town of Banbridge in County Down came to a standstill as shops closed and hundreds lined the streets in a mark of respect as the funeral cortege passed.
Northern Ireland police chief Sir Hugh Orde and senior officers were joined at St Therese's Catholic church by the Garda commissioner in the Republic, Fachtna Murphy.
Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward and security minister Paul Goggins were joined by Irish justice minister Dermot Ahern and a representative of the US administration.
Pc Carroll's killing came 48 hours after two British soldiers, Sappers Mark Quinsey, 23, from Birmingham, and Patrick Azimkar, 21, from Wood Green in London, were shot dead by the Real IRA outside Massereene Army base in Antrim. Ahead of the funeral, Pc Carroll's widow Kate made plea for his death to be the last in the conflict. The mother-of-one said: "I hope this is last time that anybody has to suffer what I've suffered. I don't want him to have died in vain."
Leaders of the four main churches and representatives of all the main political parties attended. The presence of the two Sinn Fein politicians marked how far the peace process has come in recent years.
South Belfast Assembly member Alex Maskey is a member of the policing board and his Sinn Fein colleague John O'Dowd represents the Upper Bann constituency in which Pc Carroll died. Mr O'Dowd said: "This is an act of solidarity and an act of sympathy with Constable Carroll's family. We have built a new society. Part of that was the building of the PSNI and Constable Carroll was part of that new society."
Also in the church was a long-time foe of Republicanism, Jackie McDonald, leader of the Ulster Defence Association. He said: "We have come to show support for the family and to let everybody know loyalism is against this sort of thing." He praised Northern Ireland's Sinn Fein deputy first minister Martin McGuinness and other party colleagues for their condemnation of the killings.
Mr McDonald added: "They have reassured the loyalist community that this is not about Orange and Green, it is about those who support the peace process. We are not going to be put off by the actions of a few."
