Justice & Law Quote by Jack Lynch

“It is obvious” is doing the real work here: Lynch is telegraphing that the argument is over, that whatever legitimacy the RUC once claimed has already collapsed in the public mind. As a statesman, he’s not offering a hot take; he’s issuing a diplomatic verdict meant to travel. The phrasing is blunt but lawyerly, crafted to sound like the recognition of a fact rather than an attack. That’s how political language moves power without declaring war.

The intent is twofold. First, it isolates “impartial” as the non-negotiable standard for policing in a divided society. Lynch isn’t debating tactics or funding; he’s challenging the moral credential that allows a police force to operate with consent. Second, he’s widening the audience. He’s not speaking only to unionists, nationalists, or Westminster; he’s speaking to international observers, to anyone whose support depends on the idea that Northern Ireland still has neutral institutions.

The subtext is sharper: if the RUC isn’t accepted as impartial, then its actions, however lawful on paper, will read as sectarian in practice. In the context of the Troubles, perception is not a side issue; it’s the accelerant. Lynch’s line implies a feedback loop where mistrust produces resistance, resistance produces heavier policing, and heavier policing produces more mistrust.

It also quietly shifts responsibility. By framing legitimacy as already lost, Lynch pressures the British state to reform or replace the institution, while positioning the Irish government as the sober voice acknowledging what “everyone” can see.