Northern Ireland united on Friday to salute the first policeman killed in the province for a decade, as a third man was arrested over his murder.
Hundreds of black-clad mourners attended the funeral of Constable Stephen Carroll, shot on Monday in the second deadly attack in 48 hours by republican paramilitaries.
The funeral came a day after a service for two British soldiers killed last weekend.
PHOTO: AP
The three killings triggered fears of a return to sectarian violence a decade after peace accords ended the so-called Troubles.
Inside St Therese Roman Catholic Church in the town of Banbridge, southwest of Belfast, Bishop John McAreavey summed up the mood across the province, telling mourners that they gathered “at a time of great suffering, loss and worry.”
To those who would support the “terrible” attacks that have rocked Northern Ireland in recent days, he said: “You are greatly mistaken: Your way is backward-looking; the people of Ireland and Britain have chosen a better way forward — the way of reconciliation and accommodation.”
“We are determined not to allow ourselves to be dragged back into the morass of hatred and violence,” he said.
Carroll was lured into a cul-de-sac and shot in the head in the nearby town of Craigavon, in a sniper attack claimed by the Continuity Irish Republican Army.
Detectives who are investigating Carroll’s death were granted a further five days on Thursday to question two men aged 37 and 17.
Both remain in custody.
On Friday evening, police arrested a third suspect, described only as a man in his 20s.
Led by a lone piper, the 48-year-old policeman’s widow Kate held hands with relatives as she followed the coffin, which was topped with a police flag, a cap, gloves and medals.
Among those attending Carroll’s funeral were Northern Ireland police chief Hugh Orde, Britain’s Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward and Irish Justice Minister Dermot Ahern, along with representatives from Northern Ireland’s main churches and political parties.
It was the first time that Sinn Fein has attended a police funeral.
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