‘Gentleman, friend, and warrior for justice’

By Sara Duddy, Pat Finucane Centre

When I was contacted by Sammy’s daughter Ann early last Saturday morning letting me know that her father has passed away, I had the sad job of passing on the news to the families supported by the Pat Finucane Centre (PFC). Each family has had a loved one killed during the conflict. I was flooded with tributes and messages of condolences. Everyone knew Sammy.

I can’t remember the first time I met Sammy. He has always just been a permanent member of the PFC family. He fought tirelessly for justice for his brother Eamon, who was shot by the army in 1971.

I loved listening to Sammy reminisce about growing up in a large family of ten. Five boys and five girls. He told me that his brother Eamon had contracted meningitis as a child which had left him profoundly deaf and unable to speak. This didn’t hold him back in any way, but the family and community in Strabane all knew him and were protective of him. Eamon was, in Sammy’s words, the tallest and best looking. He could drive and had girlfriends. He was funny and independent.

Eamon was shot and killed by the British army on August 18 1971. His death was devastating.

For Sammy, Eamon’s death was difficult on many levels. Not only had his beloved brother been shot and killed in such a sudden and violent manner, but it was at the hands of a British soldier. Sammy himself had just left the British army two years earlier in 1969. He had spent 12 years serving in Egypt, Gibraltar, Cyprus, and Germany, before returning home to Strabane just as the Troubles began.

Sammy found it difficult to reconcile how a soldier could shoot and kill an innocent man, and worst of all, that nothing would happen. There would be no meaningful investigation, no prosecution, no justice.

Some years ago, the Pat Finucane Centre found a document in the National Archives from 1975. It acknowledged that Eamon was an ‘innocent person.’ This reaffirms what Sammy, and his family always knew, but along with some comfort, it sparked anger. Sammy would bring copies of this document to any public event, and made a point of showing government officials, politicians, members of the public and the press what it said. Eamon was innocent, so where was the justice?

Sammy did, however, get a chance to send a clear message to the British government and Ministry of Defence at the event in Strabane to mark Eamon’s 50th anniversary in August 2021. Sammy asked the government for an apology, a meaningful apology. Not just for Eamon’s death, but for decades of delay and disrespect. We wrote to the government afterwards, but at this stage they were laying the groundwork for the disgraceful Legacy Act and refused.

The anniversary did allow Sammy to once again use his voice as a powerful advocate for his brother. Supporters, friends, and family took to the street and laid 50 white roses at the spot Eamon was shot. The deaf community across Ireland travelled for hours to attend, with a second commemoration held simultaneously in Dublin.

I remember Sammy as a quiet, funny, unassuming, gentle being. He had boundless energy. When I would visit, Sammy would talk about taking his dog for a walk at 6am, then going down the town for a chat and to buy the paper, calling in to a café for a cup of tea and to meet friends. He loved fishing and could make anything with his hands.

When we chatted on the phone we would talk about Eamon’s case for a while, but most of the time was talking about his life, his adventures in the army, his wife Kathleen and daughter Ann. In more recent years as Sammy’s health deteriorated, I would keep in contact with Ann, who told me that Sammy always followed developments and could get very upset when things came on the news about the proposed amnesty and government’s Legacy Act.

Myself, and my colleague Paul O’Connor visited Sammy just a couple of weeks ago. Although his health was failing, he had the same gentle laugh and humour. Although Sammy made sure that his brother Eamon would not be forgotten, Sammy in his own right will not be forgotten.

He was a true gentleman, friend, and warrior for justice.

RIP Sammy.