Tag: Relatives for Justice

1/ An Ombudsman’s report details how DUP-founded and set up ‘Ulster Resistance’ which then partnered with the UDA & UVF to buy guns & grenades with stolen bank robbery cash, it would lead to mass murder & mayhem across the north.

2/ ‘Journalists arrived at Ulster Hall, after hearing that the rally was being convened to mobilise what the next day’s newspapers described as a “secret army”
They were refused entry, but a young DUP press officer called Nigel Dodds emerged to hand out leaflets’

3/..but this was just the start….

4/…later to be confirmed.

5/5 Conspiracy as ‘RUC Special Branch, BA Intelligence, & MI5 Secret Service, used their combined agents within loyalism to rearm loyalist paramilitaries with weapons imported from South Africa.
At the heart of the plot was the DUP’s Ulster Resistance’

An untold part of the collusion jigsaw in Loughinisland

Group accuses DUP of putting face against progress on legacy issues.

A VICTIMS campaign group has accused the DUP of continually having “placed their face against” progress on legacy inquests.

The bullet-riddled minibus at the scene of the massacre of 10 Protestant workmen shot dead by the IRA at Kingsmill in January 1976. But a judge says gardaí have not supplied documents relating to the outrage.

The comments come as Arlene Foster said she would be “writing to the Irish Primeminister” to express concern after further delays this week in the inquest into the IRA massacre of ten Protestant workmen at Kingsmill. Mrs Foster made her comments after it emerged that documents linked to the 1976 attack and requested from gardaí by a judge in Belfast had not been produced. The request was made by Judge Brian Sherrard who is presiding over the high-profile case.

The funeral’s of 10 Protestant workmen murdered by the IRA in 1976.

Mrs Foster said: “I am disappointed that the Irish government is now standing in the way of closure for these families, who have already suffered so much.” The Republic’s Justice department said the Irish government had already taken the “unprecedented” step of producing domestic legislation to facilitate legal co-operation with the inquest. “This legislation facilitated the transfer of significant evidential material by An Garda Síochána to the North of Ireland coroner,” a spokesman said.

The Ten men murdered in the Kingsmill massacre in 1976.

“The Irish authorities have continuously sought to cooperate with the coroner and his legal team as part of an ongoing legal process.” Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan had requested just over £10m to fund a proposal to deal more expediently with legacy inquests last year. However, Mrs Foster blocked the funding prior to the 2016 assembly election saying the process was “skewed” towards killings committed by the state, and she “will not allow any process to rewrite the past”. Andrée Murphy of Relatives for Justice said while she welcomed Mrs Foster’s comments in relation to the Kingsmill delays, her decision to block funding for legacy inquests in March 2016 had caused “harm on top of the devastation already experienced”. “Families from every background and all communities are engaged in inquests”, she said. It would be hard to over state the huge pressure and ever present anxiety that the lack of progress on inquests has caused. “And movement on it would demonstrate goodwill from the British government and unionist parties who have thus far placed their face against delivering achievable remedy to these families.”

With many thanks to: Allison Morris, The Irish News for the original story.

INLA men’s murders reconstruction

THE murder of two INLA men in Co Louth more than 30 years ago has featured in an RTÉ reconstruction broadcast.

SHOT: Thomas ‘Ta’ Power (left) FEUD: Hugh Torney (right)

Thomas ‘Ta’ Power (33) and then INLA ‘chief of staff’ John GerardO’Reilly (26) were gunned down as they sat in the Rossnaree Hotel, near Drogheda, in January 1987 by members of the Irish People’s Liberation Organisation (IPLO). The INLA men had been in the hotel to try and settle an internal dispute about the direction of the group and were due to meet other members. However, the potential peace summit ended up in bloodshed when gunmen wearing false beards burst into the hotel and opened fire as their victims drank tea.

Two other men were injured during the ambush including Peter Stewart and Hugh ‘cueball’ Torney, who was himself killed in another feud in 1996. Leading IPLO man Gerard Steenson has been linked to the double killing, although others claim he was not involved.

He and another man were shot dead weeks later in March 1987 by the INLA faction in west Belfast. It is understood that the renewed appeal for information comes after relatives of Power, who was from the Markets area of south Belfast, met gardaí recently.

Campaign group Relatives for Justice recently wrote to the Republic’s Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald and Garda commisioner Nóirín O’Sullivan on behalf of the Power family asking for a review of the case. It is beleived that at that meeting family members learned for the first time that three men were questioned after the ambush but later released. No-one has ever been convicted. Gardaí failed to respond to a series of questions put to them by The Irish News about the case.

A reconstruction of the attack was featured on RTÉ’s Crime Call programme on Monday. The broadcaster declined to release any details of the programme in advance. Mike Ritchie from Relatives for Justice said: “Families who have lost loved ones below the border face a difficult situation because they were not able to benefit from the Historical Enquires Team information and review,” he said. “It’s important that the Garda reviews these cases themselves.”

With many thanks to: The Irish News.

http://www.rte.ie/tv/crimecall/this_month.html

http://www.rte.ie/amp/860691/

APPEAL FOR WITNESSES TO 1975 PUB BOMBING !

Family of docker killed in attack seek ‘closure’

THE family of a Belfast docker who died (was murdered) following a bar bombing during the Troubles have made a ffresh appeal for witnesses to come forward almost 40 years after his death (murder).

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John Doherty, who was known as Sean, was one of two men killed as a result of a bomb attack on the Harp Bar in Hill Street in Belfast city centre on August 30, 1975. The 29-year-old, who lived on the New Lodge Road and was a footballer for Crusaders, suffered severe head injuries and died 11 days after the bombing. He had gone to the Harp Bar following his brother Martin’s wedding and was drinking with friends – including Denis McAuley who was also killed – when the bar was attacked. At around 8pm, a man entered the premises and threw a bomb, killing Mr McAuley, fatally injuring Sean Doherty and injuring a number of others.

Following the publication of a report by the PSNIs Historical Enquires Team (HET) into the case, the Doherty family have issued a new appeal for witnesses. The report, which found that Mr Doherty had “no political interest and had no connection to any paramilitary group”, said the original RUC investigation had “correctly focussed on members of the UVF from East Belfast“. Some witnesses had told the origional investigation  how one man had entered the bar with a brown parcel while another man armed with a handgun waited outside near a Ford Cortina car. One witness told how the armed man opened fire toward him at one point. He was later picked out at an identification parade and charged with the murders.

However they were later withdrawn when the witness said he would not give evidence in court. The HET report found there had been a previous attack at the Harp Bar 10 days before the bombing in which one man was injured in a shooting. It further found that the weapon uased on the night of the bombing had been stolen from the Forensic Science Laboratory in March 1973. Recovered in 1976 it was found to be used in six incidents including the attack on the Harp Bar. The Doherty family revealed yesterday that it had enlisted a solicitor to deal with a number of issues in relation to the report, including concerns about the origional police investigations into the previous attack on the bar and the circumstances of the stolen gun. Martin Doherty yesterday appealed for information about the attack which killed his brother Sean. The Andersontown man said the family had been left devastated by his death and were hopeful of any new leads which would “bring them closure more than anything”. Shauna Carberry, from Relatives for Justice, also appealed for witnesses.

With many thanks to : Marie Louise McCory, Irish News.

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Coalisland victims of collusion lobby US Congress and Irish-America

RELATIVES of 4 IRA Volunteers killed at Clonoe by the SAS have raised the issue with the USCongress, Senate and influential Irish Americans.

Relatives For Justice, Belfast

They were part of a Relatives for Justice delegation which spent a week lobbying in the States accompanied by leading Belfast lawyer Niall Murphy of Kevin R Winters & Company.

The visit took place over the St Patrick’s week of festivities and included meetings in New York and Washington DC.

The relatives presented evidence that the 4 men, killed on February 16, 1992, were led directly to their deaths in an ambush and assassination operation and that ample opportunity existed for safe and effective arrests within the rule of law.

They presented a report into the killings which outlined that the men were under surveillance and that the authorities knew of the planned attack at least 4 days in advance yet did nothing to prevent it, rather they led the men directly into a trap and then ambushed them in hail of 514 bullets without warning or opportunity to surrender. The men had posed no threat at the time of the shooting. These families are still awaiting an inquest.

Róisín Ui Mhuiri, the sister of Barry O’Donnell killed by the SAS at Clonoe added: “The British authorities could have arrested my brother and the three other men. They could have prevented the planned IRA attack. They decided not to. A decision was taken to kill all four men and that decision was taken at the highest political and military levels.

“Misinformation was disseminated concerning the killings in that there was a gun-battle. This is untrue, not one shot was fired back as the four men were dismantling weapons and posed no threat at the time of the ambush.

“The actions of the British that evening constitute a policy of shoot-to-kill and contravene international law and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). It was a direct violation of Article 2 of that convention of which the British government is a signatory to.

“We have faced perfunctory investigative procedures in which the state determined that none of those responsible for the ambush and assassinations would face charges. This decision was made well in advance of the public prosecutor being in possession of all the material evidence and statements.

“We have also had an inquest into the killings postponed for the past twenty-years with delay, prevarication and refusal to provide evidence to the coroners court by the authorities.

“We hope that by bringing this to the attention of the international community that we can break through what can only be described as a barricade to the truth which has been erected by the British government to cover their actions concerning these killings.”

Human Rights lawyer Niall Murphy said: “These families have been to the fore in campaigning for justice and together with our practice of lawyers we have initiated groundbreaking litigation on these cases. Together with RFJ we will be updating a number of lawyers, judges and those who have a particular legal and professional interest in these and many other conflict related cases here in the north.

“It is our intention to further develop legal strategies and build international networks and relationships with all aspects in the field of law, human rights and transitional justice work on behalf of these bereaved families and those injured including our wider client base who have also been adversely affected by the conflict.

Concluding Relatives for Justice Director Mark Thompson said: “This is an important trip with huge significance in terms of legacy, truth and justice work. These three major incidents that claimed 15 lives and injured almost as many are symptomatic of the wider issues that are reflected almost daily in our society within the media by victims and survivors of all persuasions.

“For those bereaved and injured truth and justice are extremely important and especially so if the actual authorities with responsibility for upholding the law and protecting life are directly and indirectly implicated in these deaths.”

 

POSTED ON BEHALF OF : Tyrone Times

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IRISH REPUBLICAN NEWS ( THE CLONOE ) 514

THE CLONOE 514

clonoeposter.jpg More than 500 bullets were fired at four IRA Volunteers who were killed in an undercover British army ambush 20 years ago this week, it has emerged.

A commemorative march is to be held this weekend to recall the lives and deaths of the four men. Fresh details about how they were shot dead in the grounds of St Patrick’s Church at Clonoe in County Tyrone during the covert military operation have emerged on the 20th anniversary of their deaths.

Some of the details include confirmation that 12 undercover soldiers, believed to be members of the SAS, took part in the secret operation. During the ambush, 514 rounds were fired at the IRA unit by undercover soldiers. The soldiers were dug into hedgerows around the church building, which went on fire after being struck by a bullet or flare.

Eight cars, each containing two British soldiers, offered back-up to the undercover troops during the ambush. None of the shots fired during the incident have been attributed to the IRA men.

Now the families of the four men — Barry O’Donnell, Sean O’Farrell, and Peter Clancy, all from the Coalisland area, and Patrick Vincent from Dungannon — have threatened to take legal action to force the Stormont administration to hold an inquest into their deaths.

The four republicans were killed shortly after launching an attack on Coalisland RUC station on February 16 1992. One of the dead men, Sean O’Farrell, was stopped at a British army checkpoint close to the spot where he died just hours before the ambush and was allowed to continue on his journey.

Over the past 20 years the families of all four men have been locked in a battle with authorities to force an inquest into the circumstances of the men’s deaths.

Although a preliminary inquest has been heard a date for a full hearing has yet to be set.

On the night they died the four IRA Volunteers attacked Coalisland RUC station and made the short trip to the church in the back of a stolen lorry.

The Volunteers intended to dismantle their machine gun in the church grounds before leaving the scene.

However, within seconds of arriving in the church car park the four, who were all members of the IRA’s east Tyrone brigade, were shot dead. Two other Coalisland men, Aidan McKeever and Martin Woods, were wounded.

In the aftermath of the ambush, the British government said the deaths were justified, while former first minister Ian Paisley praised the killings.

Controversy continued when 200 mourners walked out of the funeral Mass of Barry O’Donnell and Sean O’Farrell at the Church of the Holy Family in Coalisland when the local parish denounced the IRA leadership.

Roisin Ui Mhuiri, the sister of Kevin Barry O’Donnell, said that the families’ campaign may have received some hostility because of their loved ones’ roles as IRA Volunteers.

“People over the years, especially when it happened, did demonise them and said things that were hurtful to all the families,” she said.

“They were our brothers and sons and it doesn’t make our grief any less because they were combatants or IRA men. Our grief is the same as anyone else’s and we feel the loss and we loved them.

“What they were does not diminish our rights to have an inquest and have the truth.”

Mrs Ui Mhuiri said the British army ambush was a ‘shoot to kill’ operation.

“There was no shoot-out. It was shoot to kill. There were over 500 bullets fired that night at these men and they never stood a chance,” she said.

Mrs Ui Mhuiri said the families of the dead IRA men had not ruled out launching a judicial review to force authorities to hold an inquest.

“There are already parents who have died and we need closure for this,” she said.

Mrs Ui Mhuiri said the families believe they are entitled to the truth.

“‘We are part of the solution too and we need our answers just like any other families that have been hurt or had someone injured or killed during this conflict,” she said.

“Our tears are no less than tears anywhere. We want to see an end to all this.”

ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND

A weekend of events has been organised to remember the men.

The anniversary weekend of events starts on Thursday 16th with Candle lighting at each grave; 6pm Clonoe, 6.30pm Coalisland at 7pm a torchlight procession at Edendork. On Friday 17th Memories of Barry, Patrick, Peter and Sean – a night of stories and music at 9pm in Clonoe Community Centre. On Sat 18th there will be Wreath laying ceremonies at each of the Volunteers graves beginning at Clonoe 2pm, Coalisland 2.30pm and Edendork 3pm. That evening at 7.30pm there will be an Inquest Discussion in association with Relatives for Justice, in the Cornmill, Coalisland.

On Sunday 19th February, the National Commemoration will take place from Clonoe to Coalisland, assemble at Clonoe at 2pm.

The organisers urged everyone to attend, although no party political emblems are to be carried.

“Barry, Patrick, Peter and Sean’s story is one that must be remembered, it is a story of bravery, friendship and commitment,” they said.

“Their belief in a free and united Ireland is as relevant today as it was 20 years ago. These four young men will always be remembered as Irish men who fought to remove the British occupation of their country and who made the ultimate sacrifice for Ireland.”

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