Archbishop Sean Brady of Armagh, is calling on the Irish Republican Army to disarm, saying “violence can never be justified.”

In statements to the BBC, Archbishop Brady said there was no need for violence in a democratic society.

"We must dispel any ambivalence in our own community about the presence or actions of non-democratic and totally unaccountable armed groups,” said the Archbishop. “I ask people to forsake once and for all the armed struggle,” he added.