Taoiseach backs Ballymurphy Massacre families' call for independent inquiry

» Mark Moloney

Ten unarmed civilians were killed, many of them shot in the back. Another man died of a heart attack after a confrontation with troops during which soldiers placed an unloaded gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger

RELATIVES of the 11 innocent civilians murdered by the British Army on the streets of Ballymurphy, Belfast, in August 1971 took their campaign for justice to the Irish parliament on Thursday.

The families met with Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams TD before going on to meet An Taoiseach Enda Kenny. They say they want the Irish Government to support an independent public inquiry into the massacre similar to that carried out into the 1989 Hillsborough soccer stadium disaster in England.

John Teggart, whose father Danny (44) was shot 14 times –mainly in the back as he lay injured on the ground – told An Phoblacht:

"This is a major step forward. We are Irish citizens, we need our government's support for an inquest into this massacre."

In the three days following the introduction of internment on 9 August 1971, the British Army’s Parachute Regiment went on a shooting rampage through the nationalist Ballymurphy estate in Belfast. Ten unarmed civilians (including a priest and a grandmother) were killed, many of them shot in the back. Another man died of a heart attack after a confrontation with troops during which soldiers placed an unloaded gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger.

Six months after the massacre, the same British Army regiment was responsible for the gunning down of 14 unarmed civil rights protesters in Derry, on 30 January 1972.

In both cases, the Paras claimed they returned fire after being fired at first. This was proven to be untrue for Bloody Sunday and has also been discredited by dozens of eyewitnesses to the Ballymurphy Massacre.

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams has welcomed the Taoiseach’s support for the demand of the Ballymurphy Massacre Families’ for an independent panel of investigation in to the circumstances of the deaths of their loved ones.

Speaking this afternoon after the families met with the Taoiseach at Government Buildings in Dublin, Deputy Adams said:

“I want to commend the families for their determination and their long campaign for justice. Today’s commitment from the Taoiseach is a significant development in the campaign.

“I welcome this commitment from Enda Kenny and I urge him to act upon it by talking to his British counterpart and urging him to make a similar commitment.

“The onus is very much on the British Government to give these families the closure they deserve and which they have been denied for over 40 years.”