A FRESH inquest into the killing of an Official IRA man near his home in the Market area of Belfast has been ordered by the Attorney General.
Joe McCann (24) was shot dead on 15 April 1972 in Joy Street by soldiers from the Parachute Regiment.
However, the decision to order a fresh inquest comes just days before a Troubles Legacy Act deadline on 1 May when no new Troubles-era inquests or civil court cases will be heard.
Two former paratroopers accused of the murder were formally acquitted after their trial collapsed in 2021. Referred to in court as Soldiers A and C, and both aged in their 70s, the men had pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr McCann, an Official IRA leader.
The soldiers admitted firing shots but said they had acted lawfully when doing so.
While the soldiers' previous evidence was ruled inadmissible in a criminal trial, Attorney General Dame Brenda King, said "an inquest would not be inhibited from considering the soldiers' written statements and could potentially receive oral evidence from military and other witnesses.
"An inquest would be able to provide a public record of what occurred."
Solicitor Gary Duffy, acting on behalf of the McCann family, said: "There's a real sense of poignancy to this news, coming as it does within days of the government's shut down on all legacy legal processes.
"It debunks the state-propagated myth that conflict‐related cases can't be dealt with properly."
