When others stood idly by, you and your families gave your all, in defence of a risen people and in pursuit of Irish freedom and unity.

Your determination, selflessness and courage have brought the freedom struggle towards its fulfilment.

Your ability as republican volunteers, to rise to this challenge will mean that the two governments and others cannot easily hide from their obligations and their responsibility to resolve these problems.

Those who participated or stood idly by and watched as all this went down should also be ashamed of themselves and I would certainly hope they never come near a tour with which we are involved.

But if republicans are to prevail, if the peace process is to be successfully concluded and Irish sovereignty and re-unification secured, then we have to set the agenda - no-one else is going to do that.

There is bound to be distrust here. People have been hurt, people have been killed. There is bound to be suspicion. There is bound to be hatred. There is bound to be fear. And the way to resolve that is to seize that opportunity and build on that opportunity and widen the space which has been created.