Do you remember where you were when you heard about Omagh? I do. My future wife and I were down South on holiday. When the news came on the car radio – and with every bulletin, it became worse – we could hardly believe our ears. Hadn’t we just voted for peace and a new start in Northern Ireland a few short months before? 3.10 p.m this afternoon marks the exact moment fifteen years ago when a car bomb exploded …
Ruth Dudley Edwards, quoted approvingly in the News Letter, has exposed the posthumous indictment of Pat Finucane in the Daily Telegraph that deeply offends the family and repels more than supporters of a public inquiry. It’s important to say that the Prime Minister accepted the findings of the de Silva report following Stevens, that he was not a member of the IRA. I post her article because it is a valid part of public discourse however unpalatable to many …
Owen Paterson has quietly made two of the most significant announcements of his term as NI Secretary, however long it lasts. The verdict on holding a Finucane Inquiry will come in the New Year. The fact that the family appear not to have rejected his publicly undisclosed proposals out of hand this time suggests an inquiry is on the way. This decision is consistent with Westminster’s bi partisan approach on inquiries. It fulfils a pledge. This was the one inquiry …
The twenty third anniversary of Northern Ireland’s second Bloody Sunday is fast approaching, when, on 8th November 1987, the IRA murdered 13 people (Ronnie Hill died after 13 years in a coma following the bomb) by detonating a bomb in Enniskillen’s Catholic Church reading rooms. The News Letter is reporting that the Historical Enquiries Team is poised to present its report on the murders. Stephen Gault, the son of one of those murdered, who is also leading the campaign to …
The High Court today has ordered that files relating to the government’s alleged ‘shoot to kill’ policy should be released. Mr. Justice John Gillen said: “If inquests are to maintain public confidence, put minds at rest and answer the questions of the families who are bereaved, it is vital to ensure that the interested parties/next of kin can participate in an informed, open and transparent fashion on an equal footing with all other parties throughout the various stages of the …
