By Mark Simpson

BBC Ireland correspondent

The weight of public opinion is against continued violence in Northern Ireland but dissident republicans seem more determined than ever to kill. They've been labelled gangsters, criminals and psychopaths. Widows have pleaded with them to stop bombing and shooting. The Real IRA is one of three main dissident groups However, the dissidents are unmoved. They live by the gun, and cling to the old republican belief that "Ireland unfree shall never be at peace". Throughout Northern Ireland's 88-year history, there's always been a hostile republican grouping, in some guise. First it was the IRA, then the Provisional IRA. Now there's the Continuity IRA, the Real IRA and Oglaigh na hEireann. They've all had the same aim - to kill their way to a united Ireland. The dissident groups are very small. In total, they are estimated to have about 300 members, only a fraction of what the Provisional IRA used to have. They have no overall command structure and, crucially, they don't have a large stockpile of weapons, and a supply chain from Libya. Distasteful though it is to talk about a killing rate, the dissidents have killed three people this year, whereas the IRA used to kill more than 50 people a year. That cold statistic shows the difference in their capacity. But in recent months, a small number of former members of the Provisionals have joined the dissident ranks. Why? They have either become disillusioned with the peace process, or simply missed the kicks they got from a life of violence. Young, unemployed teenagers have also been recruited in towns like Lurgan and Strabane. A policeman's partner was injured in this bomb attack At the weekend, there were attacks in Belfast and County Fermanagh. It proved that they have small units in various parts of Northern Ireland. The dissidents are telling young people that politics doesn't work - violence does. Groups like the Real IRA would like nothing better than to see the power-sharing executive at Stormont fall apart. They could get their wish in the coming months - the relationship between Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionists is dangerously close to breaking point. But the weekend violence has concentrated minds at Stormont. The parties realise the negative signal which would be sent out by a political breakdown, and, crucially, so do the governments in London and Dublin. It seems the British and Irish prime ministers may soon become involved in another rescue act.



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