TRIBUTES have been paid to North Belfast man Paddy Hill, one of six Belfast men wrongly convicted of the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings.
Paddy (80), who grew up in Ardoyne, passed away on Monday.
IRA bombs at two Birmingham city centre pubs – the Mulberry Bush and Tavern in the Town – killed 21 people in November 1974.
The Birmingham Six spent 17 years in prison for the bombings before their convictions were quashed in 1991. The six men, Hugh Callaghan, Paddy Hill, Gerard Hunter, Richard McIlkenny, William Power and John Walker had been living in England at the time of the bombings. They were arrested and tortured by officers of the West Midlands Police and forced to confess to the killings. There then followed a long campaign by supporters to have the men released.
Paddy Hill founded the Glasgow-based MOJO after his release, helping others who were imprisoned despite being innocent of the crimes they were accused of.
MOJO said its condolences were with Mr Hill's family "at this sad time".
"We ask that you respect the family's privacy," the statement added. "May he rest in eternal peace."
SDLP Leader Claire Hanna, the MP for South Belfast and Mid-Down, has offered her condolences to Mr Hill's family.
“On behalf of the SDLP I extend deepest sympathies to the family of Paddy Hill, who I was fortunate to meet and spend time with in the past," she said.
"He was a thoroughly Belfast man – decent, outspoken, combative and with no side to him.
“He suffered the trauma and injustice of many lifetimes, brutal treatment by the West Midlands Police, being framed, and suffering torturously long false imprisonment. He so often acknowledged the support of those who stood by the Birmingham Six and fought for their release, and was contemptuous of those whose actions had caused his suffering and that of the victims of the Birmingham massacre.
“Paddy channeled his experiences into the MOJO organisation, alongside his great friend Gerry Conlon, and helping others who experienced grave injustices will be their legacy.”
