Taoiseach meets Ballymurphy families and hears their plea for the truth

FAMILY MEMBERS of 11 people killed by British paratroopers in 1971 have personally urged Taoiseach Enda Kenny to support their call for a 'Hillsborough-type' inquiry into what has become known as the Ballymurphy Massacre when they met him in Belfast on Friday.

The Taoiseach was in Ballymurphy as part of a two-day visit to the North. He met with relatives of those killed by British paratroopers in the days after internment without trial was introduced in the North in August 1971.

Among those to meet the Fine Gael leader were John Teggart and Briege Voyle. Their encounter took place at The Manse Field, across from the old Henry Taggart British Army base from where the shots that killed John's father (Daniel) and Briege's mother (Joan Connolly) were fired.

Enda Kenny appeared shaken when Briege explained how her mother, having been shot a number of times, was left in the field to die due to the callous indifference of British soldiers on the scene.

This came to light in November 2014 when retired A&E consultant Laurence Rocke carried out an independent review of the killing of the mother of eight.

The experienced emergency doctor said he believed that as Joan Connolly’s body lay on the ground, she may have been clinging to life and may have survived had she received medical attention in the Royal Victoria Hospital, just minutes away.

The soldiers involved in the killing said in depositions, made a year after her death, that they believed Mrs Connolly was already dead, though they said they did not check to see if she had any signs of life.

Rocke said although Mrs Connolly eventually bled to death, the gunshot wounds she received would not have killed her immediately and that an action as simple as pressure over the wounds could have stemmed the blood enough to save her.

Speaking after meeting the relatives, Enda Kenny said:

“There is a sense of injustice among the community that needs to be dealt with.

“It's as raw as can be.”

● Taoiseach Enda Kenny is shown the locations and taken through the timeline of events by relatives of the 11 Irish citizens shot dead by the British Army's Parachute Regiment in Belfast during internment, just months before the Paras ran amok on Bloody Sunday in Derry, January 1972

West Belfast Sinn Féin MP Paul Maskey (who attended the meeting with the party's representative for the area, Pat Sheehan MLA) told An Phoblacht:

“Along with Pat Sheehan, I attended this morning’s meeting between An Taoiseach Enda Kenny and the Ballymurphy Massacre families.

“This was a welcome development and I know the families appreciate him coming to west Belfast to meet them.

“The meeting were very useful and the families pressed the Taoiseach to put pressure on the British Government to hold a Hillsborough-style inquiry into the killing of their loved ones.

“It is more than 40 years after 11 Irish citizens were gunned down on the streets of Ballymurphy by the British Army. It is imperative that the families receive justice and the truth about this massacre – An Taoiseach needs to do all he can to bring that about.”