Son of UVF murder victim reflects on three decades of grief

A MAN whose mother was killed in a loyalist attack three decades ago, says the grief has only intensified over the years.

Damian O’Hagan was just seven-years-old when UVF gunmen entered the family home near Greencastle and murdered his mother, Kathleen on August 7, 1994.

Kathleen, who was seven months pregnant at the time, was in the house with her five young children.

Her husband, Paddy, believed to have been the intended target, was away.

Reflecting on that fateful night, Damian said, “Me and my brothers were all in bed while baby Thomas was in a cot in my parent’s room.

“We just heard an awful smash in the kitchen and then I could hear my mother scream ‘no, no don’t shoot’.

“We got up to see what was going on and the ‘bad boys’, as we called them, were gone. My mother was lying beside the bed, there was blood on her face, her chest, and her stomach. She was dead.”

The traumatic event left an indelible mark on Damien and his siblings, who were in the next room when the gunmen struck.

“We just decided to wait in our beds until our dad came home,” he says. “When he did, he gathered us up and carried us out the back door. There was glass all around the floor because that’s where the men busted in.”

Damien believes the intended target was his father.

“I think they were targeting my dad but if anyone was there or tried to intervene, they would have been targeted.

“Unfortunately, it was my mother who got caught up in it.”

Damien also suspects local involvement in the attack, pointing to the knowledge required to navigate the escape route with the getaway car discovered just one mile from the family home.

“I think there had to have been local people involved because they would have had to know the area.

“The getaway car was taken up a back road and burned. It’s not a road strangers would have known.”

Damien has subsequently had to cope with the deaths of his father Patrick, and three of his brothers, Niall, Thomas and Patrick.

No-one has ever been convicted of Kathleen’s brutal murder, and the O’Hagan family have been fighting for truth and justice amid concerns of collusion and cover-up by State forces in relation to the killing.

In 2015, they submitted a complaint to the Police Ombudsman’s Office about events connected to the murder.

However, Damian says they’ve “heard nothing since then.”

West Tyrone Sein Féin MLA Declan McAleer, who has been supporting the family in achieving justice for Kathleen’s murder, said that the O’Hagan family “deserve the truth.”

“The murder of Kathleen O’Hagan 30 years ago sent shockwaves around the community.

“I want to pay tribute to the family for their dignity and resilience in the campaign for the truth about Kathleen’s murder.

“Kathleen’s murder was the culmination of years and harassment of the family by state forces. On one occasion, the home was sealed off for four days when Paddy was arrested and Kathleen left by herself with the children while British soldiers and RUC completely wrecked the house and farm.

“There are so many unanswered questions about Kathleen’s murder from the botched investigation at the outset and missed forensic opportunities.

“The O’Hagan family deserve the truth as to what happened Kathleen and her unborn child that night and we will stand by the family and support them in whatever way we can.”

Damian now lives in Australia with his wife, also called Kathleen, who voiced the family’s frustration with the ongoing quest for justice, especially in the context of the Legacy Bill.

She added, “We’re having discussions with the new commission (Commission for Victims and Survivors) and we’re working with other groups like Families for Justice, but we’re in the context of great personal and political agendas at play so we just have to work the best we can.”

Next Tuesday, August 6, Damien, his family, and the Greencastle community will commemorate the 30th anniversary of Kathleen’s murder with a 7pm Mass at St Patrick’s Chapel, followed by a graveside service at 8pm.

John Finucane MP, whosefather Pat was killed by loyalists in 1989, will address the commemoration.