Ballymurphy families in Taoiseach appeal

Published Thursday, 08 December 2011
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The families of 10 people shot dead by British soldiers in Ballymurphy 40 years ago have appealed to Taoiseach Enda Kenny to support their calls for an independent investigation.

Relatives of those killed in the 1971 shootings submitted a letter of petition to the Department of the Taoiseach on Thursday.

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams was at the Dail to support campaigners - who have also sent letters to Downing Street and Stormont to coincide with Human Rights Week.

Briege Voyle, who was 14 when her mother Joan Connolly was killed, said the families were calling for no more than what they were entitled to.

"We don't want an inquiry that goes on and costs thousands of pounds," said Mrs Voyle.

"All we want is the truth and an investigation is the only thing that's going to give us the truth.

"The law states that everyone is entitled to an investigation, especially in a killing.

"Our loved ones were murdered, so we're only asking for what we're entitled to."

Mrs Voyle said while an investigation would not change the past, it might prove those killed by the Parachute Regiment were innocent.

Mrs Connolly, a mother-of-eight, was shot in the face while she tried to help another victim and the parish priest Father Hugh Mullan.

An eleventh person died from a heart attack after being threatened by the troops during what has come to be known as the Ballymurphy Massacre.

Families want an investigation similar to the Saville Inquiry to prove the victims were not paramilitaries and were unlawfully killed.

The Saville Inquiry condemned the Bloody Sunday shootings of 14 people in Londonderry, which were carried out five months after the Ballymurphy Massacre by the same regiment.

It declared the killings were unjustified and prompted the British Government to issue an apology.

Northern Ireland's Attorney General John Larkin wrote to the Ballymurphy families last month confirming inquests into the deaths would be reopened.

Campaigners believe that had a criminal investigation been carried out and the Parachute Regiment held to account, Bloody Sunday could have been prevented.

Mr Adams said: "This is a very open case. These 11 people were killed in crossfire.

"The regiment went on to kill people in Bloody Sunday.

"And they went back into west Belfast and killed more people in Springhill, on the Shankill Road and across Belfast during the summer of 1972."

No date has been fixed for a meeting with the Taoiseach, but Mr Adams said he had received assurances that Mr Kenny was committed to it.

He is also hopeful they will receive cross-party support as representatives of Labour, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail attended the event.

"The Government indicated its support for the Ballymurphy families and the Taoiseach has agreed to meet with them," said Mr Adams.

"I've accompanied them on a number of meetings with the British Government and they've been totally unsatisfactory."

© Press Association
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7 Comments
dave in ni wrote (164 days ago):
seamas grip on a united ireland is the only thing slipping away ! a typical we are the victims patronising response from seamas very tired and sad. just wasted 2 mins of life responding
JT in Antrim wrote (164 days ago):
Did I read that right that Gerry Adams is admitting there were people killed in the crossfire. Does that mean there was shooting from the republican side?
frank in belfast wrote (165 days ago):
dave these people were murdered by the forces of law and order,,,should we look ther other way when a government starts murdering its citizens,,,take your hatefilled glasses of dave you'll see things more clearly
Bernard Donahue in California wrote (166 days ago):
'[T]he Paras where (sic) there" because the Orange State was continuing to deny Catholics the same civil rights enjoyed by Catholics in England, Scotland and Wales. The Paras were the military might supporting the malevolent leaders of the Orange State. The genesis of "The Troubles" was the denial of these basic civil rights. Had Northern Ireland instituted Captain O'Neill's recommendations instead of shutting down the State, there likely would have been no "Troubles." Who was responsible for the troubles? Look in the mirror.
seamas in belfast wrote (166 days ago):
I feel sorry for people like Dave. His whole world is slipping away from him. Gone are the good old days when Fenians knew their place and kept their heads down. There were none of these silly enquiries then.
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