Ballymurphy massacre

Ballymurphy Massacre
Part of the Troubles
A mural in Belfast commemorating the victims of the Ballymurphy Massacre.
Location Belfast, Northern Ireland
Coordinates 54°34′30″N 5°58′26″W / 54.575°N 5.974°W / 54.575; -5.974Coordinates: 54°34′30″N 5°58′26″W / 54.575°N 5.974°W / 54.575; -5.974
Date 9 – 11 August 1971
Attack type
 Mass shooting
Deaths 11
Perpetrator The Parachute Regiment, British Army

The Ballymurphy Massacre was a series of incidents between 9 and 11 August 1971 in which the 1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment of the British Army killed eleven civilians in Ballymurphy, Belfast, Northern Ireland, as part of Operation Demetrius. The shootings were later referred to as Belfast's Bloody Sunday, a reference to the killing of civilians by the same battalion in Derry a few months later.[1]

The Northern Ireland Troubles had been ongoing for two years, and Belfast was particularly affected by political and sectarian violence. The British Army had been deployed in Northern Ireland in 1969, as events had got beyond the control of the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

On the morning of Monday 9 August 1971, the security forces launched Operation Demetrius. The plan was to arrest and intern anyone suspected of being a member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army. The unit selected for this operation was the Parachute Regiment. Members of the Parachute Regiment stated that, as they entered the Ballymurphy area, they were shot at by republicans and returned fire.[2]

Mike Jackson, later to become head of the British Army, includes a disputed account of the shootings in his autobiography, and his then role as press officer for the British Army stationed in Belfast while the incidents happened.[3] This account states that those killed in the shootings were Republican gunmen. This claim has been strongly denied by the Catholic families of those killed in the shootings, in interviews conducted during the documentary film The Ballymurphy Precedent.[4][5]

In 2016, Sir Declan Morgan, the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, recommended an inquest into the killings as one of a series of "legacy inquests" covering 56 cases related to the Troubles.[6][7]

These inquests were delayed as funding was not approved by the Northern Ireland Executive. The former Stormont first minister Arlene Foster of the DUP deferred a bid for extra funding for inquests into historic killings in Northern Ireland,[8] a decision condemned by the human rights group Amnesty International.[9] Foster confirmed she had used her influence in the devolved power-sharing executive to hold back finance for a backlog of inquests connected to the conflict.[8] The High Court said "her decision to refuse to put a funding paper on the Executive basis was unlawful and procedurally flawed."[10] In January 2018, the coroner's office announced that the inquest is due to begin in September 2018.[11]

Timeline

Commemoration plaque in a remembrance garden in Ballymurphy, Belfast

Six civilians were killed on 9 August, these were:

  • Francis Quinn (19), shot while going to the aid of a wounded man.[12][13]
  • Fr. Hugh Mullan (38), a Catholic priest, shot while going to the aid of a wounded man.[12][14]
  • Joan Connolly (50), shot as she stood opposite the army base.[12][15]
  • Daniel Teggart (44), was shot fourteen times. Most of the bullets entered his back, allegedly as he lay injured on the ground.[12][16]
  • Noel Phillips (20), shot as he stood opposite the army base.[12][17]
  • Joseph Murphy (41), shot as he stood opposite the army base.[12] Murphy was subsequently taken into army custody and after his release, as he was dying in hospital, he claimed that he had been beaten and shot again while in custody. When his body was exhumed in October 2015, a second bullet was discovered in his body, which activists say corroborate his claim.[18]

One civilian was shot on 10 August, and another four were shot on 11 August, these were:

  • Edward Doherty (28), shot while walking along Whiterock Road.[19]
  • John Laverty (20) and Joseph Corr (43) were shot at separate points at the Top of the Whiterock Road. Laverty was shot twice, once in the back and once in the back of the leg. Corr was shot multiple times and died of his injuries on 27 August.[12][20]
  • John McKerr (49), shot by unknown attackers while standing outside a Catholic church, died of his injuries on 20 August.[13][21][22]
  • Paddy McCarthy (44) got into a confrontation with a group of soldiers. Family allege an empty gun was put in his mouth and the trigger pulled. McCarthy suffered a heart attack and died shortly afterwards.[23][24]

In February 2015, the conviction of Terry Laverty, younger brother of John, was quashed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission.[25] He had been convicted of riotous behaviour and sentenced to six months on the eye-witness evidence of a private in the Parachute Regiment. The case was referred to court because the sole witness retracted his evidence.[26]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Damian Robin (29 June 2010). "Belfast 'Bloody Sunday' Inquiry Called For". The Epoch Times. Archived from the original on 20 February 2013.
  2. ↑ "Ballymurphy families meet First Minister Peter Robinson". BBC News. 18 February 2011.
  3. ↑ Jackson 2007.
  4. ↑ https://www.channel4.com/programmes/massacre-at-ballymurphy
  5. ↑ https://theballymurphyprecedent.com/
  6. ↑ Kearney, Vincent (18 January 2016). "The Troubles: Judge begins review of inquests". BBC News. London, UK. Retrieved 4 May 2016. There are 56 cases involving 97 deaths. … The stalled inquests into the Army shootings of 10 people in Ballymurphy, west Belfast, in 1971, and of five more civilians in nearby Springhill a year later, were examined on the opening day in Laganside Courts.
  7. ↑ "Legacy inquests in Northern Ireland 'can be dealt with in five years'". BBC News. London, UK. 12 February 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2016. After a review of more than 50 outstanding cases it has been decided that all are suitable for inquest.
  8. 1 2 "Arlene Foster wrong to defer bid for legacy inquest funding, says judge". The Irish News.
  9. ↑ Kearney, Vincent (3 May 2016). "Lord Chief Justice legacy inquests plan put on hold". BBC News. London, UK. Retrieved 4 May 2016. A radical plan by Northern Ireland's most senior judge to deal with inquests into some of the most controversial killings of the Troubles has been put on hold.
  10. ↑ "Arlene Foster will not pay damages over blocking legacy inquest funding plan" – via www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk.
  11. ↑ Association, Michael McHugh, Press. "Coroner in Ballymurphy shootings' inquest appeals for witnesses to come forward". The Irish News.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 CAIN - Index of Deaths (9 August 1971), caian.ulst.ac.uk; accessed 29 August 2017.
  13. 1 2 "Ballymurphy shootings: 36 hours in Belfast that left 10 dead". The Guardian. 26 June 2014.
  14. ↑ "Fr Hugh Mullan". ballymurphymassacre.com. Archived from the original on 19 June 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
  15. ↑ "Joan Connolly". ballymurphymassacre.com. Archived from the original on 19 June 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
  16. ↑ McDonald, Henry (6 June 2010). "Were Bloody Sunday Soldiers Involved in 'Ballymurphy Massacre'?". Guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  17. ↑ "Noel Phillips". ballymurphymassacre.com. Archived from the original on 21 June 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
  18. ↑ Gerry Moriarty (27 October 2015). "Bullet found in body of exhumed Ballymurphy massacre victim". Irish Times. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  19. ↑ Sutton, Malcolm. "CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths". cain.ulst.ac.uk.
  20. ↑ "Joseph Corr". ballymurphymassacre.com. Archived from the original on 21 June 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
  21. ↑ CAIN - Index of Deaths (11 August 1971), cain.ulst.ac.uk; accessed 29 August 2017.
  22. ↑ "John McKerr". ballymurphymassacre.com. Archived from the original on 19 June 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
  23. ↑ CAIN - Index of Deaths - Sudden deaths due to heart problem during an incident, cain.ulst.ac.uk; accessed 29 August 2017.
  24. ↑ "Paddy McCarthy". ballymurphymassacre.com. Archived from the original on 21 June 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
  25. ↑ "Ballymurphy conviction: Terry Laverty cleared of rioting". BBC News Online. 10 February 2015.
  26. ↑ Henry McDonald (10 February 2015). "Belfast man cleared of rioting during 1971 Ballymurphy unrest". The Guardian.
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