Henry McDonald’s article on the killing of Robert McCartney and it’s apparent cover-up made the UK edition of the Observer, whilst Suzanne Breen’s has several pieces in the Sunday Tribune on the subject. Morning Ireland this morning ran a powerful and extensive interview with his sister Paula.
Update: Details of the killings here, and here.Shockingly, the reports suggest that there were 72 witnesses to the killing in MaGennis’s. No one called an Ambulance. There appears to have been a return to the bar to cover any forensic evidence. And the surviving victim has a 24 hour armed guard by his hospital bed.
She is clear that the IRA did not sanction the killing. However, she also argues that “for the safety of us all, it’s psychopathic behaviour and there’s no code. But it has to be acknowledged that their members carried this out”.
According to McCartney, Sinn Fein, the party her brother had voted for, were “dismissive of the matter”.
She concludes:
“If it hadn’t been Robert, it would have been somebody else, and who is it going to be next. This is what people have to realise about what we’re dealing with here.
“We want them [the witnesses] to be brave and stand up for justice, which is what we thought the thirty years was all about. They have to stand up to these people and take their area back.
“This is an unprecidented situation. We’re not interested in the politics of it all. We just want justice for my brother. My brother’s sons are left without a father, one of the best fathers there would have been. It’s an absolute disgrace”.
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty