A DETAILED report into the murder of two Catholic factory workers in North Belfast by the UDA has been published.
Margaret McErlean (18) and Thomas 'Tucker' Donaghy (16) were shot dead by the UDA as they arrived for work at Abbey Meats in Whiteabbey on February 11, 1974.
Thomas Donaghy (16) and Margaret McErlean (18)
The report has been compiled by Relatives For Justice in collaboration with the families of both victims as the first comprehensive, public account of the attack on Abbey Meats.
The report looks at the circumstances of their murders, the subsequent investigations and, importantly, the lives of Margaret and Tucker and the impact their murders have had on their families and the wider community.
Following RFJ’s originating motto – to document, document, document – this report lays out the state authorities’ clear and repeated failures to conduct an independent and effective investigation into the circumstances of the fatal shooting and to examine the deaths within the necessary historical and geopolitical context.
They argue that without this context, it is impossible to understand the true cause of Margaret and Thomas' murder.
The report was launched on Saturday at a packed Bawnmore Community Centre in North Belfast.
Joe Donaghy, brother of Thomas, said: "I miss my brother every day. He was just 16 when he was killed. He never hurt anybody and he was so loved in the community. He spent a lot of time down at a fish shop, and I remember they sent food up for us after he was murdered. That’s what he was like – everyone loved him. He was kind and loving and had his whole life ahead of him.
"It’s been more than 50 years, and we still have the exact same questions. We don’t want anything else, just the truth. After so much time, we deserve at least that much."
Mark Thompson from RFJ said: "For families, these reports provide a narrative account presenting their concerns and posing their questions, which require an official response. They also raise wider public interest concerns.
"This publication gives expression to the McErlean and Donaghy families’ sentiments and views concerning what happened to their loved ones.
"The report details not only the circumstances of the murders, but also the Donaghy and McErlean families’ fight for truth and justice. Jim and Marian Donaghy, who were central to this quest, both passed away during the process of compiling the report.
"The RUC investigation was haphazard and lackadaisical, in contrast with the self-assured image they portrayed to the media. It is hardly surprising, considering the allegations that on the morning of the shooting, the RUC failed to respond to multiple calls reporting a suspicious car outside the factory. It also provides an explanation as to why the RUC did not disclose that the car used in the attack had been stolen from a serving RUC officer."
Mr Thompson said the only prosecution in connection with the double murder was of a man who stole the car used in the attack.
"The HET reported that intelligence named five UDA members as Margaret and Tucker’s murderers; yet there have been no further arrests or prosecutions, and it remains unknown whether those five individuals were associated with the RUC.
"Under the Legacy Act, such an investigation would be in the hands of the misnamed Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR). The families of Margaret McErlean and Tucker Donaghy would have to trust that the ICRIR, an institution that employs dozens of former RUC officers and has been found to be unlawful, would carry out a transparent, rigorous and good-faith investigation into the actions of the RUC."
