IRA opposition too little too late?

John Derbyshire takes the McCartney sisters to task for this NY Post op ed, in which the sisters and Bridgeen Hagans claim that 10 years ago the IRA were freedom fighters. Derbyshire begs to differ and lists the deaths for which the IRA was responsible for in 1995.

The Northern Ireland story is a long and tangled one, with plenty of blame to go around. There are certain things, however, that cannot be reasonably doubted. One of those things is, that the IRA is a perfectly amoral terrorist organization, whose members believe that absolutely any act is justified if it advances the cause — the cause, that is, of driving from Ireland anyone who, in the IRA’s opinion, is insufficiently Irish. Another is, that anyone with a pair of eyes and a grain of sense who did not know that fact by 1995, or for that matter by 1975, was practicing willful self-delusion to a degree that beggars the imagination.

I must say I had qualms when I read the Post piece, but I'm inclined to give the sisters and Hagans the benefit of the doubt. True, the IRA would have lost its prestige sooner if "good Republicans" like the McCartneys had spoken up against them sooner. True, Robert McCartney is not the only "innocent" victim of the IRA. But, I say, better late than never.

Update: The McCartney sisters say they might file a civil suit against those responsible for their brother's murder.