Posted By: April 26, 2024
IRISH CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING
Distributed to Congress by Irish National Caucus
“This is wonderful news from brilliant Belfast campaigner Ciaran MacAirt. He and his colleagues over many years have heroically spoken truth to power about the State-sponsored and State-cover-up of McGurk’s Bar Massacre.”—Fr. Sean McManus
PRESS RELEASE FROM CIARAN MacAIRT. FOLLOWED BY IRISH NEWS ARTICLE.
Attorney General Orders New Inquests for Victims of the McGurk’s Bar Massacre. By Ciaran MacAirt.
Friday, April 26, 2024.
In a landmark decision, the Attorney General for Northern Ireland has ordered new inquests for victims of the McGurk’s Bar Massacre.
Fifteen civilians including 2 children were murdered in the no-warning Loyalist bomb attack on McGurk’s Bar on 4th December 1971. Despite forensic and witness evidence – and before the families had even identified all of their loved ones – the police and British Army blamed the victims for the atrocity.
The families have long suspected that the British armed forces had foreknowledge of the attack and/or could have prevented it.
The Attorney General for Northern Ireland, Brenda King, informed the family of Edward and Sarah Keenan via their legal representative Niall Ó Murchú that she:
“Considered the submissions and documents provided and has decided that it is advisable to order a new inquest into their deaths.”
Ciarán MacAirt, a grandson of two of the McGurk’s Bar Massacre victims, submitted a file of new evidence he discovered through archive research in public records and targeted requests via the Freedom of Information Act.
This new evidence included secret British military logs which previous historical investigations either missed or deliberately ignored. These logs pinpointed the location of British Army observation posts [OP] including a covert “ambush OP” in the vicinity of the Massacre.
The British armed forces had previously denied the presence of any of its units in the area.
The Attorney General informed Mr. Ó Murchú:
“Investigation of the actions or inactions of the army in the period before the bombing occurred is incomplete.”
“It is apparent from the copies of the military logs shared with the Attorney that there were military observation posts near to the area where the Keenans met their deaths.”
“The Attorney agrees that it seems that the Historical Enquiries Team did not access all the available records before reaching its conclusion that there was no intelligence received prior to the bombing which could have prevented the murders…”
“The Attorney also notes that the Historical Enquiries Team report has now been quashed by the High Court and so reliance cannot, in any event, properly be placed on its findings.”
“The Attorney considers that an inquest would provide a forum in which the actions of the army prior to the bombing could be explored.”
The Attorney General’s decision to order a new inquest comes days before Britain’s disgraceful Legacy Act on May 1st 2024 will deny the families of the McGurk’s Bar Massacre – and hundreds of bereaved families like them – any inquest.
Gerard Keenan was 13 years of age when he was orphaned and watched the recovery of bodies from McGurk’s Bar. He said:
“Our families welcome the historic decision of the Attorney General to direct a new inquest as all the families have campaigned with great dignity for over 52 years for scraps of truth and justice from the British state. Like many other bereaved families now, though, we face the reality that the British state will not allow this inquest to go ahead as it desperately wants to stop us from discovering why our loved ones were murdered in the McGurk’s Bar Massacre and how it failed to prevent it.”
Ciarán MacAirt said:
“Even before we buried our loved ones in those dark days of 1971, the British state buried the truth. The British state’s shameful Legacy Act in 2024 is another attempt by a serial human rights abuser to bury the truth. Our families will not roll over and surrender to this latest British attack on our basic human rights. We will continue to fight for equal access to due process of the law and demand an Article 2-compliant inquest. We reject any attempt by the British state to dress up the likes of the so-called Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery as a substitute for a proper, just investigation. My work too will continue unabated.”
Niall Ó Murchú from Kinnear and Co said:
“This is a poignant reminder of the power of family campaigning and the fact that legal processes – however slow – can work if not shut down by the British state. The British government and its Ministry of Defence have spent £ millions covering up their involvement in the McGurk’s Bar Massacre and its aftermath. Even after more than half a century, an inquest may offer the families an opportunity for truth and justice but now, of course, they first must fight for the repeal of the shameful Legacy Act, Britain’s latest attempt to bury its war crimes in Ireland.”
Contact Ciarán MacAirt via email info@mcgurksbar.com; telephone 02895818575. Ciarán can arrange family interviews on Thursday afternoon for Friday release.
Notes
– The McGurk’s Bar atrocity, 4h December 1971, resulted in the deaths of 15 civilians, including two children, Maria McGurk (14) and James Cromie (13).
– Ciarán MacAirt is a grandson of two of the victims. MacAirt’s grandmother, Kathleen Irvine, was murdered in the attack, and his grandfather, John, was badly injured.
– Related story: Covert British Army Operation Discovered in Vicinity of McGurk’s Bar https://mcgurksbar.com/covert-british-army-operation-discovered-in-vicinity-of-mcgurks-bar/
- Related: General Sir Frank Kitson Implicated in McGurk’s Bar Massacre https://mcgurksbar.com/frank-kitson-implicated-in-mcgurks-bar/
- Article: Chief Constable, Prove Police Lies or Admit Fabrication
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New McGurk’s inquest
Attorney general orders new inquest into 1971 McGurk’s Bar UVF atrocity
Connla Young. Irish News. Belfast. Friday, April 26, 2024.
THE attorney general has ordered a new inquest into the murder of a husband and wife in the McGurk’s Bar massacre more than 50 years ago.
Fifteen people, including two children, were killed when the UVF detonated a bomb in the North Queen Street bar, in north Belfast, in December 1971.
At the time, security forces blamed the IRA, but this was later shown not to be true.
Campaigners believe there was collusion in the murders and that attempts were subsequently made to mislead the public.
The decision by Attorney General Brenda King to order a new inquest comes days before the controversial Legacy Act comes into force next week. Under the legislation, all inquests that are not at the ruling stage by May 1 will be halted.
Lawyers acting for relatives of Edward Keenan (69) and his wife Sarah Kennan (58) have been told that Ms. King “considered the submissions and documents provided and has decided that it is advisable to order a new inquest into their deaths”.
In 2018 Attorney General John Larkin rejected a request for a fresh inquest.
Gerard Keenan was 13 years of age when he lost his parents and watched the recovery of bodies from the bomb site.
“Our families welcome the historic decision of the Attorney General to direct a new inquest as all the families have campaigned with great dignity for over 52 years for scraps of truth and justice from the British state,” he said.
“Like many other bereaved families now, though, we face the reality that the British state will not allow this inquest to go ahead as it desperately wants to stop us from discovering why our loved ones were murdered in the McGurk’s Bar Massacre and how it failed to prevent it.”
In recent years, research charity Paper Trail has uncovered new evidence relevant to the case.
Ciarán MacAirt, whose grandmother Kitty Irvine was one of those killed and his grandfather John badly injured, had submitted new evidence discovered through archives and other research.
The new evidence included British army logs that identified the location of military observation posts in the vicinity of McGurk’s Bar.
Mr. MacAirt said, “British armed forces had previously denied the presence of any of its units in the area”.
The campaigner, who works for Paper Trail, suggests the truth about what happened at McGurk’s Bar has been suppressed.
“Even before we buried our loved ones in those dark days of 1971, the British state buried the truth,” he said.
“The British state’s shameful Legacy Act in 2024 is another attempt by a serial human rights abuser to bury the truth.
“Our families will not roll over and surrender to this latest British attack on our basic human rights. We will continue to fight for equal access to due process of the law and demand an Article Two (right to life) compliant inquest.”
Niall Ó Murchú, from Kinnear and Co Solicitors, said: “This is a poignant reminder of the power of family campaigning and the fact that legal processes – however slow – can work if not shut down by the British state.
“The British government and its Ministry of Defense have spent millions covering up their involvement in the McGurk’s Bar massacre and its aftermath.
“Even after more than half a century, an inquest may offer the families an opportunity for truth and justice but now, of course, they first must fight for the repeal of the shameful Legacy Act, Britain’s latest attempt to bury its war crimes in Ireland.”
END.
