At long last, the families of the Loughinisland dead have received official confirmation of the damning and devastating truth - that police were guilty of `significant collusion' in relation to this sectarian mass murder.
The enormous relief of the relatives yesterday following the publication of the Police Ombudsman's report into this crime was all too evident.
Like so many other bereaved families, they had battled for years for the truth and at times it looked as though they would be thwarted by powerful forces trying to stop the sordid details from emerging into the light.
But as we have seen time and time again, those who have lost a loved one and who have faced the most terrible pain and despair, will not rest until they find out what really happened.
Quite simply, they are entitled to the truth and that drives them on.
Michael Maguire's report on the murder of six men at the Heights Bar in Loughinisland as they watched a World Cup match in June 1994, is yet another indictment of the shocking and unacceptable attitudes that prevailed within elements of policing in Northern Ireland at that time.
Compared to other legacy cases, this atrocity was carried out relatively recently and received international attention. The Queen and the Pope were among those who sent messages of sympathy while the families were assured the police would leave no stone unturned.
However, while some officers worked tirelessly to catch the killers, in too many instances the investigation was characterised by ``incompetence, indifference and neglect.''
It is hard to believe that such an unspeakable crime, the slaughter of a group of men watching a football match in their local pub, could have received an indifferent response from police.
And if officers failed to investigate this high-profile crime as thoroughly as possible, what hope was there for the individuals killed in attacks that received little attention at the time?
Yet again, we are hearing how the proper role of the police - catching criminals, preventing crime and protecting life - has been subverted by the misguided importance afforded to informers.
One suspect in the UVF gun attack that terrible night was a police informant, while the Loughinisland murder gang, who had been involved in a number of earlier killings, had avoided arrest because Special Branch withheld evidence from other detectives.
According to the Ombudsman, some police officers ``placed more value on gathering information and protecting their sources than on the prevention and detection of crime.''
Bit by bit, the truth about the awful events that scarred so many lives is coming out, thanks to the dogged determination of families, their lawyers, the media and key figures in positions of authority who can ensure the real story is finally told.
But this process needs to be speeded up and that can only happen with the full cooperation of the police, intelligence services, the military and government.
