Mc Cord case raised at Brokenshire Meeting in Washington

Posted By: July 25, 2017

Secretary of State James Brokenshire,  and Fr. Sean Mc Manus

CAPITOL HILL Monday, July 24, 2017 — Secretary of State James Brokenshire spoke on Monday evening at the Northern Ireland Bureau in Washington, DC.
About 100 guests listened to Mr. Brokenshire explain the current situation in Northern Ireland—Brexit, lack of an Executive, etc.
However, in the Question and Answer period that followed, Fr. Sean Mc Manus — President of the Capitol Hill-based Irish National Caucus— put a “human face “ on the issues. He stated:

“Mr. Secretary: My question is not a grand geopolitical question. Because I am originally from Fermanagh,  my question is a simple one, with a human face. It regards the man I call the “hardy Protestant Boy from Belfast,” Raymond Mc Cord, Senior.
Twenty years ago, on November 9, Raymond’s son— 22-year-old Raymond Junior —was brutally beaten to death near Belfast. But because those associated with the killing were police informers and British Government agents, the crime was covered up— as proven by Police Ombudsman Nuala O’Loan’s ground-breaking Ballast Report in 2007.
Yet to this day, not one person has been charged with the brutal murder. No inquest has been held. The British Government and police continue to refuse to hand over documents… So, the cover-up continues.
How are we to have confidence that the British government wants to bring justice to the Mc Cord family in the Protestant community— not to mention the Pat Finucane case in the Catholic community?”


                                                                Brokenshire response

Mr. Brokenshire was quite open in his attitude, maybe seeking a bit too much refuge in the difficulty of legacy issues.

He said he was committed to the rule of law; recognized the obligations of the Stormont House Agreement and that they had obligations to follow through on inquests; and that he would keep the Mc Cord case and other cases under close review. He stated he “was under no illusion about the raw pain of the families looking for justice.”

When he had stopped, Fr. Mc Manus interjected: “Have you met with Raymond?” He answered no. Fr. Mc Manus responded, “Would you, please?”

Mr. Brokenshire replied: “I’ve met with some victims and I will keep outstanding issues under close review.”

After the meeting, Fr. Mc Manus went up and shook the Secretary of State’s hand.

Fr. Mc Manus said: “I told him I appreciated his openness, and urged him again to meet with Raymond Mc Cord, Senior. He said it was difficult as he did not want to single out individual victims. I told him that the Mc Cord case was rather unique and that the police regularly tell him he is under death threats. I ended with: “There is something deeply wrong with that. You should really do something. Then others wanted to speak to the Secretary, so I gave way and wished him well— and said a silent prayer for the brave Raymond Mc Cord, Senior.”

END