He never dreamed that he would be drawn into the vortex as quickly or as drastically as he was in a very short time ahead.
* * *
Shannon Blackburn was a country girl who lived with her family near the fishing village of Dundalk along the border of the Republic. She was six years old when her parents were murdered by UDA volunteers in a politically-motivated assassination. Extremist groups in the area had sent death threats to families in the area suspected of supporting Republican militants around Dundalk. The Blackburns were put on a list despite the fact they were guilty of nothing but having been baptized Catholic as infants.
After the murder, two of her father's second cousins stepped up and claimed Shannon, assuring the surviving family that they would provide for her. It was well-
