A STRONGLY-WORDED letter is on the way to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland protesting at the IRA's offer of apologies for 30 years of slaughter.

Tuesday's announcement, pointedly excluding non-civilians, has angered former Deal Mayor Marianne McNicholas, who was the town's civic head when 11 Royal Marines were murdered at the School of Music.

"Who could forget the appalling way in which the IRA visited Deal in 1989? How dare the IRA forget murdering the musicians and physically injuring the others on that dreadful day?"

Mrs McNicholas was furious when she heard the IRA statement, just two days after the annual concert by the Royal Marines on the Deal Memorial Bandstand.

Sunday's programme included a short service to remember the 11 musicians who died when the School of Music was bombed on September 22 13 years ago.

Mrs McNicholas added: "The announcement just rubs salt into the wounds of the families who have already suffered enough. For the IRA to totally forget those Royal Marines is an insult." She applauded moves towards peace in Northern Ireland as positive steps to move forward for the communities, but believed the latest IRA statement may not have been given in a genuine way.