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Last weekend Channel 4 broadcast ‘Massacre
at Ballymurphy.’ This is an abridged version of the ‘Ballymurphy
Precedent’. It is a documentary film for cinema that examines the
circumstances which led to the killing of 11 civilians by the Parachute
Regiment in Ballymurphy in the three days after the first internment raids
occurred on the morning of 9th August 1971.
The survivors and relatives of the victims give
their first-hand accounts of the deaths of loved ones. Eleven people - ten men,
including a local priest and a mother of eight children - were shot dead. 46
children were left without a parent. Their lives forever changed.
It was a story of tragedy and loss, of heroism and
leadership. It exposed the lengths to which the British government went to
cover up the actions of its troops. The lies they told and the willingness of
some in the media to publish unchallenged claims that those killed were gunmen
and a gun woman. It was an emotional film in which the relatives spoke calmly,
passionately, honestly, about the circumstances that led to, and followed the
massacre. For them, even after 47 years, the memories are still raw. They
cried. Some clearly had difficulty telling their stories. But they all did –
eloquently, powerfully and bravely.
In August 2009, when I was the MP for west Belfast,
I arranged for the Ballymurphy relatives to meet the then British Labour
Secretary of State Shaun Woodward one evening at Hillsborough Castle. We met in
a large downstairs room, dominated by a long dinner table, which has
occasionally doubled as a negotiating room during times of political crisis. It
was an emotional meeting. Individual family members recounted what had happened
to their loved one. Woodward was personally shaken by the accounts. It was
clear that he believed the families. Their testimony was very powerful. I got
very emotional myself and frustrated.
After some silly comment from one of the NIO officials,
which I now can’t remember, I asked them to leave the room and we decided to
end the meeting. Shaun Woodward was one of the more decent British politicians.
He did some good things particularly on suicide prevention strategies which
were developed by families affected by suicide. But he did nothing on the
Ballymurphy massacre. I tackled him on this afterwards. I concluded that more
powerful elements in the Brit system were not for budging.
The families also met with the Conservative Shadow
Secretary of State Owen Paterson. In my opinion he also was genuinely concerned
by what he was told. That meeting was in the Sevastapol Street Sinn Féin
office. He also met with Pat Finucane’s family. I think he was shocked by what
the ‘Murph families and Pat’s family told him. Again he did nothing.
The Ballymurphy families met Paterson again
when he replaced Shaun Woodward. This meeting took place on 7thOctober
2010 in a room in Stormont House, where Britain’s Northern Ireland Office is
based. The meeting lasted an hour. For the families the retelling of the deaths
of their loved ones does not get easier. It was another emotional meeting.
Paterson remained aloof. He sought to shift the issue onto the wider question
of legacy and suggested that the families engage with the Historical Enquiries
Team. None of the families, including some who had already worked with the HET
had any confidence in that process.
To add insult to injury Paterson was wearing a
wrist band that expressed support for the Royal Irish Regiment, formerly the
Ulster Defence Regiment, a disgraced Regiment with known links to unionist
death squads. I challenged him on his insensitivity. I might as well have been talking
to the wall.Two years later on 20 June 2012 Paterson told the families that he
was rejecting their appeal for an independent inquiry because it was “not
in the public interest”.
The
families made it clear to Owen Paterson that they were not for giving up. The
Channel 4 film is evidence of that. The Ballymurphy families are determined to
achieve their demands and to secure truth for their loved ones. On Monday a
formal public hearing was held in the High Court. The judge expects the inquest
to commence in the first week in November.
The Ballymurphy families deserve our solidarity and
our support.
Almost a year after the Ballymurphy Massacre and
six months after Bloody Sunday the Paras were back in Ballymurphy. On July 9th 1972
the ceasefire between the IRA and British government ended. Later that evening
the British Paras opened fire into Westrock and Springhill, beside
Ballymurphy. Within ten minutes five citizens had been shot dead. All the
killings were in Westrock Drive. The dead were Margaret Gargan aged 13, David
McCafferty aged 14, John Douglas aged 16, Paddy Butler aged 38, the father of
six children, and local priest Fr. Noel Fitzpatrick who was helping them. Two
local men were also seriously injured.
According to a recent
publication by Michael Smyth from the Pat Finucane Centre – The Impact of the Parachute Regiment in
Belfast 1970 – 1973 - 28 people were killed by the Para Regiment in Belfast
between 1971 and 1973. Among those killed were two men from the Shankill,
Richie McKinney and Robert Johnson who were both shot dead on the 7th September
1972.
The Paras arrived in
Ardoyne in March 1973. They were responsible for the killing of five people.
Eddie Sharpe was shot dead at his home on March 13 in Cranbrook Gdns. He was
aged 28 and had three children.
Patrick McCabe aged
17 was shot dead on 27 March 1973. Paras said they were shooting at a man
walking beside him in Holmdene Gardens who had a rifle. The man appeared in
court and said they were unarmed.
Brendan Smyth aged 32 was
shot on 17 April 1973 as he stood at the corner of Etna Drive and Brompton
Park. Two others were wounded. Local people, including a nun said none of those
shot were both armed.
Anthony McDowell aged 12
was shot on 19 April 1973. The inquest heard that he was shot in crossfire but
the calibre used was similar to that used by Paras.
Sean McKee aged 17 from
Labrook Drive in Ardoyne was shot at Fairfield Street in the Oldpark.
No one should think the
Parachute Regiment was a unique regiment. It is a highly trained assault unit
of the British Army. That is why it was used to crush resistance. It was acting
entirely within British government policy at that time. That is why, thus far,
it has not been held to account by London. The Paras were only doing what they
were trained, paid for and ordered to do.
Victims of the Parachute Regiment in Belfast 1971-73
1 Watt, Bernard
5 February 1971
2 Halligan,
William 5 March 1971
3 Thornton,
Harry 7 August 1971
4 McGuinness,
Frank 9 August 1971
5 Healey,
Desmond 9 August 1971
6 Beattie, John
9 August 1971
7 Mullan, Hugh 9
August 1971
8 Quinn, Frank 9
August 1971
9 Phillips, Noel
9 August 1971
10 Connolly,
Joan 9 August 1971
11 Teggart,
Daniel 9 August 1971
12 Murphy,
Joseph 9 August 1971
13 Doherty,
Edward 11 August 1971
14 Laverty, John
11 August 1971
15 Corr, Joseph
11 August 1971
16 McCarthy,
Paddy 11 August 1971
17 McKerr, John
11 August 1971
18 McCann,
Joseph 15 April 1972
19 Patrick
Donaghy 17 April 1972
20 Black, John
26 June 1972
21 McKinnie,
Richie 7 September 1972
22 Johnston,
Robert 7 September 1972
23 Todd, John 17
October 1972
24 Sharpe,
Edward 12 March 1973
25 McCabe,
Patrick 27 March 1973
26 Smyth, Brian
17 April 1973
27 McDowell,
Anthony 19 April 1973
28 McKee, Sean
18 May 1973
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