The killing of Aidan McAnespie

BY ART Mac EOIN


In late February 1988 the people of Ireland were shocked at another horrific example of the British military's shoot-to-kill policy in the Six Counties when another young nationalist was gunned down.

Twenty-four-year-old Aidan McAnespie from the border town of Aughnacloy was shot down in broad daylight, less than 300 yards from a permanent British army/RUC checkpoint in the town. He had been hounded and harrassed by the crown forces since 1981 and right up until the morning of his death, when he and his mother Elizabeth were stopped and detained at Aughnacloy UDR base for two hours on their way back from the wake of a relative.

Minutes before his murder, Aidan McAnespie had left his car on the Aughnacloy side of the checkpoint to avoid harassment from Crown forces and instead walked through on his way to attend a GAA match taking place some 500 yards down the road.

He had been the target of systematic harrassment since the age of 17. On the day of his death, his movements would have been routinely noted by the Crown forces as he passed through the checkpoint.

His family said that a number of people saw Aidan arriving at the match and then leaving, apparently on his way to Todd's tobacconist's shop, situated about halfway between the checkpoint and the GAA pitch. Only minutes later, at approximately 2.50pm, he was lying dead on the roadway, killed by a single bullet. The widespread belief was that a British soldier carefully took aim through a small observation hatch in the watchtower and delberately shot to kill an identified target - Aidan McAnespie.

When his sister Eilish McCabe saw her brother's body lying on the roadway, there was a single bullet hole in his chest. Conveniently for the British Army, there were no eyewitnesses to the killing.

Almost immediately, the British attempted to whitewash the true circumastances of McAnespie's death. The British army issued a statement saying he was killed as a result of an "accidental discharge" from a machine gun.

To support the British Army version, the RUC swiftly prejudged the outcome of their own alleged investigations, one of "accidental shooting", by claiming that three shots accidentally discharged by a British soldier struck the road beside Aidan McAnespie. One of these bullets, according to the RUC, "ricocheted" and killed the victim.

However, few people if any in the country believed such an obvious cover-up story. As his sister Eilish told An Phoblact/Republican News at the time: "It was cold-blooded murder. It's a bit much to believe that a bullet hit a target almost 300 yards away with that accuracy and for the British Army to say it was an accidental shooting. That was shoot on sight. There's no doubt in our minds about that. The harassment he was getting was unbelievable."

Aidan was the youngest son of Elizabeth and John McAnespie, who had six children. His life had been threatened on several occasions by British forces; he was verbally abused daily and had been assaulted a number of times. This harassment also extended to the Gardaí.

The British Army and RUC knew Aidan McAnespie on sight, yet he was questioned on average twice a day, every day as he passed through the Aughnacloy checkpoint going to and from his workplace. Eventually they murdered him. Occupying soldiers had shot dead yet another Irishman going about his business in his home town. His fellow workers held a sombre vigil for him in Monaghan town centre two days after his death. There was deep anger throughout the country and further resentment built up around the British military presence in Ireland.

Aidan McAnespie was shot dead by the British Army on Sunday afternoon, 21 February 1988, 14 years ago this week.