THE Attorney General has advised that a new inquest should take place into the McGurk’s Bar Massacre, according to the relatives of those who died.
It comes just days before the British government's controversial Legacy Act comes into force, ending all inquests into Troubles-related killings.
15 Catholic civilians, including two children, were murdered in the UVF bomb attack on the North Queen Street bar on 4 December 1971. The families have long suspected that the British army had foreknowledge of the attack and could have prevented it. One man was convicted of the murders in 1978.
Ciarán MacAirt, a grandson of two of the victims, had submitted a file of new evidence which included secret British military logs which previous historical investigations either missed or deliberately ignored. These logs pinpointed the location of British Army observation posts [OP] including a covert “ambush OP” in the vicinity of the massacre. The British army had previously denied the presence of any of its units in the area.
Now, the Attorney General Brenda King has informed the family of Edward and Sarah Keenan, via their legal representative Niall Ó Murchú that she “considered the submissions and documents provided and has decided that it is advisable to order a new inquest into their deaths.”
The Attorney General’s decision to order a new inquest comes days before Britain’s Legacy Act comes into being on May 1 which will deny the families of the McGurk’s Bar Massacre – and hundreds of bereaved families like them – any inquest.
Gerard Keenan was 13 years-of-age when he was orphaned when his parents Edward and Sarah were killed.
Ciarán MacAirt has been investigating the McGurk's Bar Massacre over recent years
“Our families welcome the historic decision of the Attorney General to direct a new inquest as all the families have campaigned with great dignity for over 52 years for scraps of truth and justice from the British state," he said.
"Like many other bereaved families now, though, we face the reality that the British state will not allow this inquest to go ahead as it desperately wants to stop us from discovering why our loved ones were murdered in the McGurk’s Bar Massacre and how it failed to prevent it.”
Ciarán MacAirt said the British state continues to "bury the truth" around the McGurk's Bar attack.
“Even before we buried our loved ones in those dark days of 1971, the British state buried the truth," he added. "The British state’s shameful Legacy Act in 2024 is another attempt by a serial human rights abuser to bury the truth.
"Our families will not roll over and surrender to this latest British attack on our basic human rights. We will continue to fight for equal access to due process of the law and demand an Article 2-compliant inquest.
"We reject any attempt by the British state to dress up the likes of the so-called Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery as a substitute for a proper, just investigation. My work too will continue unabated.”
Niall Ó Murchú from Kinnear and Co said: “This is a poignant reminder of the power of family campaigning and the fact that legal processes – however slow – can work if not shut down by the British state.
"The British government and its Ministry of Defence have spent millions covering up their involvement in the McGurk’s Bar Massacre and its aftermath.
"Even after more than half a century, an inquest may offer the families an opportunity for truth and justice but now, of course, they first must fight for the repeal of the shameful Legacy Act, Britain’s latest attempt to bury its war crimes in Ireland.”
North Belfast Sinn Féin MLA Carál Ní Chuilín called for the Legacy Act to be repealed.
“The McGurk’s Bar families have been fighting for over fifty years with determination to find out the truth of what happened to their loved ones," she said.
“I welcome the Attorney General’s announcement and want to commend the families for all their efforts in reaching this point in their campaign for truth.
“In just a matter of days the British government’s shameful Legacy Act will shut the door on families accessing truth and justice with the shameful Legacy Act.
“This cruel and cynical law should be repealed and the legacy mechanisms agreed at Stormont House implemented in a human rights complaint manner.”
