Memorial unveiled for RUC officer murdered 50 years ago

A MEMORIAL tablet has been dedicated in a graveyard in Castlefinn to the first RUC officer to be murdered in the Republic of Ireland during the ‘Troubles’.

At 8.40pm on October 28, 1973, Detective Constable John Doherty, was ambushed by gunmen and fatally wounded while he and his girlfriend visited his mother’s house at Ballindrait, outside Lifford.

His girlfriend was seriously injured in the attack, but survived.

Detective Constable Doherty, who was stationed in Omagh, was off-duty when he was killed.

The 31-year-old Co Donegal native had previously served in the Metropolitan Police in London before transferring to the RUC.

Fifty years on from his brutal murder, the Omagh Branch of the Royal Ulster Constabulary George Cross Association dedicated a tablet in his memory at the graveyard in Castlefinn on Saturday.

Ross Hussey, branch chair, said, “As an Association we must remember those who served in the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC but our remit extends to anyone who served in any police service in the UK or Ireland who lives in the Omagh area.

“We have not forgotten John over the years and we remember all our colleagues who have lost their lives through acts of terrorism. The circumstances of John’s murder were horrific.

“He and his girlfriend had called in to see his mother and, as he was turning the car, the terrorists opened fire, killing John and seriously injuring his girlfriend.”

Mr Hussey said, “John was a proud Irishman, a Roman Catholic who chose to serve in the London Metropolitan Police and following the death of his father he returned to Ireland and transferred to the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

“He was murdered for his service. Not one inch of Irish soil was worth the cost of his life or the serious injuries caused to his girlfriend.”

The branch chair added, “We remember him on the 50th anniversary of his death. We think of a life he could have had, but that was taken away by cowards who laid in wait for him. They either have or will have to face ‘their maker’ and I would not like to be in their place.”