New inquest ordered into UVF murders

FRESH inquests are to be held into the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) murders of five Catholic men in Tyrone more than 30 years ago.

The move was ordered by Attorney General Dame Brenda King, who took account of ‘deficiencies’ in the original investigations and inquests.

Sean Anderson, Thomas Armstrong, Dwayne O’Donnell, Thomas Casey and Phelim McNally died in four separate attacks, and their families suspect soldiers were involved in the killings.

In a letter to their solicitor, the attorney general’s office stated there was new information not considered at the first inquests.

That included intelligence ‘as to whether state agents/bodies played a role in the deaths” and “wider evidence suggestive of collusion’.

Gavin Booth, the solicitor acting for the men’s families, said the cases were linked “through suspects, geography and ballistics”.

Phelim McNally, 28, was murdered in a gun attack near Coagh in 1988. Thomas Casey, 57, was shot at a friend’s house in Cookstown in 1990.

Seventeen-year-old Dwayne O’Donnell and Thomas Armstrong, who was 52 were murdered at Boyle’s Bar in Cappagh, Co Tyrone, in 1991.

Sean Anderson, who was 32, was killed behind the wheel of his car in Pomeroy in 1991.

Phelim McNally’s daughter Davina Bolton said it was an important day for the families as they were finally getting closer to the truth.

“We’ve been waiting a long time for this – 35 years is a long time – and we just need the truth and justice,” she said.

She said it was “heart-breaking” trying to explain to her children why their grandfather had died.

“They only go to a grave, that’s all they know,” she said.

“For us as a family, we were robbed of a father; our mother was robbed of a husband; our children were robbed of a grandfather.

“It’s about closure for us and the truth and justice for Daddy.”

Dwayne O’Donnell’s sister Shauna Quinn said she did not expect to ever see anyone prosecuted in relation to her brother’s death.

“However, what I’m looking [for] is that there is an acknowledgement that there was collusion – and a very high level of collusion – within the Cappagh case.

“If that’s the result we get, that will satisfy us. We deserve the truth.”

Mid Ulster MLA, Patsy McGlone, has welcomed the fresh inquests.

He said, “Nobody has the right to murder with impunity, whether paramilitary, armed forces, or anyone else. It’s important that any new evidence is looked at in full, and appropriate action taken as a result.

“These cases, again, highlight the futility of the British Government’s ‘Legacy Bill’ which threatens to close down families’ route to truth and justice.”