The cruellest walls

On April 18, during a riot in Derry, the second city of Northern Ireland, a 29-year-old journalist, Lyra McKee, was shot dead, probably by a paramilitary republican. Her funeral brought together politicians from both sides of the political and religious divide which has caused thousands of violent deaths since 1968. At the front of the congregation were the Irish and British prime ministers. Behind them, like Siamese twins of hatred, sat the leaders of the Unionist and Republican factions, one committed to maintaining the union with Britain, the other to ending the partition of the island by incorporating Northern Ireland into the Republic.

When the officiating priest asked, "Why in God's name does it take the death of a 29-year-old woman with her whole life in front of her to get to this point?" the congregation spontaneously gave a standing ovation. All except the...