Bereaved Tyrone GAA stars feature in A5 campaign video

TWO Tyrone footballers who lost their brothers in road traffic collisions on the A5 took part in a special online video ahead of today’s judicial review hearing at the High Court in Belfast.

Michael Rafferty from Killyclogher and Niall Devlin from Coalisland, both members of the Red Hand senior panel, feature in the 90-second video aimed at emphasising the importance of the £1 billion road project.

They are joined in the video – which has been shared widely on social media – by fellow Tyrone stars Darragh Canavan, Niall Morgan, Cathal McShane, and Peter Harte, along with senior football and hurling managers Malachy O’Rourke and Stephen McGarry.

The video describes the judicial review as ‘another attempt to block construction’ and expresses support for the Enough is Enough campaign, which has long advocated for the road’s completion.

In a powerful tribute to the 57 people who have lost their lives on the A5 since the project was first proposed in 2007, Michael Rafferty and Niall Devlin appear in a segment where they each say the words, ‘my brother’.

“We will assemble outside the High Court in Belfast in a peaceful gathering, a powerful reminder of the lives already lost and a collective call for action, for swift implementation of the new A5 dual-carriageway,” the players and management say in the video.

“No more challenges, no more challenges. Enough is enough.”

Niall McKenna, chairman of the Enough is Enough group, said their legal representatives have submitted affidavits highlighting the human impact of deaths on the A5.

He stressed that the devastating loss of life must be at the heart of the legal decision on whether the project should proceed.