It was one of the most revolting atrocities of the Troubles. In December 1972 Jean McConville, a widowed mother of ten children, was dragged from her Belfast home by an ira gang, tortured and shot in the back of the head; her body was buried on a remote beach. She had been falsely accused of being an army informer. Her real crime, some claimed, was to have been seen helping a wounded British soldier. Justice has come slowly for McConville and her orphans; the ira denied any involvement in the murder for almost three decades. Yet it may be accelerating-and in dramatic fashion. In recent months five people have been arrested over the killing, and one charged, after Boston College was made to release audio records of ira veterans discussing it and other crimes. Then on April 30th Gerry Adams, the gravel-voiced president of Sinn Fein, the former ira political wing which now shares power in Northern Ireland, was also arrested.
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