John Paul went missing for two days. On the evening of the funeral, he reversed a stolen car into a bollard and narrowly avoided a child. His father, left alone to rear four sons and generally acknowledged to be a good and caring man, is believed to have no illusions about his troublesome son. Within three weeks, he was back at his father's door, undaunted. His story was lost in the focus on the Dungannon cases and he himself seemed to retract his original assertion that the IRA had been involved, while his father was unwilling to talk about it.
Fear can be a powerful silencer but noone is fooled.
In places like Ardoyne where the IRA's writ runs, even the infants are aware that no one is beaten, shot or ordered out without its say-so. It was the same with the kids. Their parents were too busy trying to stay alive, always having to think ahead, to get to the shops before they closed early because of a shooting incident, having to cope sometimes with no gas or water or electricity. Even the teachers saw these kids as a lost cause. They have the power because people are afraid, terrified to speak out . . .