Soliders ‘cheered’ moments after fatal shooting

SOLDIERS in a British army patrol sounded like they were ‘cheering’ about what had happened in the minutes immediately after one of them had killed Paddy McElhone.

The 24 year-old was shot in the back in a hayfield close to his home in the Limehill area of Pomeroy in 1974.

His brother, Michael McElhone, told the opening day of the Inquest into his brother’s death how he had seen a number of the soldiers in the field kicking up sods of turf in the field.

“They were being noisy and sounded like they were cheering about what had happened. The soldiers in the yard were twitchy and sounded very nervous and this was very unsettling,” Mr McElhone said.

“I was surprised that no one else was shot that day because of the way that they were behaving.”

“They (the soldiers) had been running in and out of the field cheering about what they had done,” he added. When asked about his observations of them by barrister, Des Fahy, who is representing the family, Mr McElhone said the soldiers ‘seemed to be rejoicing.’

“They were running in and out of the meadow shaking their guns,” he remarked.

He said he had been glad to see the police arrive at the scene as they were able to ‘control the soldiers and keep them in check.’

He also described the soldiers as being ‘very nervous, untrained and a danger’ and questioned why they had been ‘so aggressive’ towards the family that day.

Mr McElhone also recounted the events of the day that his brother was shot. He had returned home shortly at around 6pm to be told by his father, Peter, who was then 74 years-old, that Paddy had been shot and how he had seen a soldier get down on one knee and shoot.

“He said to me ‘Mickey, Paddy’s after being shot.’ I said sure he’s not dead. But my father said to me he’s dead because he fell and never moved. But he said ‘your mother doesn’t know and don’t tell her,” Mr McElhone said.

“I thought he was raving, so I went to see if Paddy was okay or needed a doctor. When I went outside the same soldier who had stopped me earlier hit me on the chest with the barrel of his gun and said to me ‘I thought I told you to go into the house and not come out – if you move another inch I’ll put one into your chest.

It was the local Priest, Fr McGirr, who had broken the news to Mrs Margaret McElhone later that evening.

“My whole family has never been the same since Paddy was killed. My mother died in 1978 of a broken heat and not a day went by that she didn’t cry over Paddy,” he added.

Mr McElhone praised the respect shown to the family at that time by an RUC Constable, Ferguson, who he said had cried about what had happened and the impact on Peter and Margaret McElhone, Paddy’s parents.

Lance Corporal Alun Jones was subsequently acquitted of the murder. Mr McElhone said the family were annoyed that all the information had not been made available at that trial.

Mr McElhone said Jones that he said he was sorry that the shooting had been an accident and then changed his story to claim that he had shot after Paddy McElhone had allegedly ran away despite being shouted at three times to stop before the shooting.