It was the famed writer Samuel Johnson who once remarked that patriotism was the last refuge of the scoundrel. Derry seems to be suffering from a glut of that kind of patriotism in recent times.
The attack on the home of Mitchel McLaughlin in the early hours of yesterday morning was, obviously, the work of dissident republican supporters. We can say this with some certainty in that the SDLP and Sinn Fein are unlikely to have been involved an
d unless the Loyalist groupings have found some way to attack nationalist polticians on the west bank of the city the finger of suspicion only points in one direction.
The claim by the 32 County Sovereignty Movement that the attack was a 'dirty tricks' operation is unlikely to convince many.
The reality is that there are some people in Derry who see themselves as purer than the pure, the one true torch bearers of a republican tradition handed down through the generations. What they don't see - or don't want to see - is that their kind of republicanism is a myth.
Most nationalists want a united Ireland. Most Irish people want the British presence out of Ireland. But we need to get real. We have had our civil war, our 3,000 dead and a society riven by violence and distrust. It took us years to get an agreement that most people here could sign up to.
The dissidents have miniscule support. What they are doing is harming this community. TThey are not attacking the British anymore; they are attacking fellow Irish people in our local community, many of who have a proud and honourable past in fighting real injustice.
Perhaps the most telling point is that they are largely detested in the community. Other than their own small support base, they have no one to back them.
