Collusion movie ‘No Stone Unturned’ premieres in Loughinisland

» Peadar Whelan

Police Ombudsman Dr Michael Maguire found there was collusion in what is known as ‘The Loughinisland World Cup Massacre’

THE EMOTIONALLY-CHARGED atmosphere of the Loughinisland GAA clubrooms was where the film No Stone Unturned was given its premiere on Friday night, 3 November.

The long-anticipated docu-drama followed the journey of the families of the six men gunned down and those wounded by a unionist Ulster Volunteer Force death squad as they watched an Ireland World Cup soccer match in June 1994.

The film gives public expression to the reality that collusion between British state forces and the loyalist death squad is at the heart of the killings and the British state took every opportunity to cover it up.

The film is made by Oscar-winning US film-maker Alex Gibney’s Belfast-based Fine Point Productions.

The opening scenes see the UVF killers, who were identified through painstaking research and cross-checking facts and information as Ronald Hawthorne (who fired the fatal shots from a Czech-made VZ58 assault rifle), Alan Taylor and getaway driver Gorman McMullen attacking the bar.

The tension in the packed hall was palpable as the re-enactment was screened to an audience including the relatives of Barney Green (87), Adrian Rogan (34), Malcolm Jenkinson (53), Daniel McCreanor (59), Patrick O’Hare (35) and Eamon Byrne (39) as well as some of those wounded in the attack. The wider community of the rural county Down village of Loughinisland were also there.

The title of the film comes from a Royal Ulster Constabulary promise to Clare Rogan that “no stone would be left unturned” in the pursuit of her husband’s killers.

It’s precisely the opposite of what actually took place.

It’s a story of evidence destroyed, leads not followed and the intervention of a Royal Ulster Constabulary police officer who tipped off suspects that they might be arrested.

The hand of the RUC Special Branch was also evident where it prevented investigators questioning a suspect in the case.

No Stone Unturned was almost 10 years in the making and comes a year after Police Ombudsman Dr Michael Maguire found there was collusion in what is known by some as ‘The Loughinisland World Cup Massacre’.

Speaking after the showing, Emma Rogan, now a Sinn Féin MLA for South Down and whose father was one of those killed, said:

“Watching the documentary was a very powerful experience because it really goes to the complexities and links the pieces together.

“The film highlighted the need for justice and accountability.”