Crowd backs calls for public inquiry into 1997 murder of GAA official
It comes after the UK Government confirmed that it will seek to appeal to the Supreme Court over a court ruling that ordered it to hold a public inquiry into the killing of Sean Brown.
Mr Brown's family met Irish deputy premier Simon Harris earlier this week as part of their campaign to see a public inquiry heard.
Friday evening saw people travel from across Ireland, including as far away as Co Kerry, to Bellaghy to take part in a Walk For Truth event from St Mary's Church through the town to the home of Bellaghy Wolfe Tones GAC.
Tanaiste Simon Harris (left) speaking to Sean Brown's widow Bridie Brown (second right) and daughters Clare Loughlan (centre) and Siobhan Brown (right) (Niall Carson/PA)
Those in attendance included First Minister Michelle O'Neill, Sinn Fein president Mary-Lou McDonald, SDLP MLA Patsy McGlone and GAA president Jarlath Burns.
Many wore GAA shirts from their home clubs or counties as they showed solidarity with the Brown family.
There was a spontaneous round of applause for Mr Brown's family who led the procession as it reached the town centre.
Mr Brown, 61, the then chairman of the club in the Co Londonderry town, was ambushed, kidnapped and murdered by loyalist paramilitaries as he locked the gates of the club in May 1997.
No-one has ever been convicted of his killing.
A march in support of the family of Sean Brown (Rebecca Black/PA)
Preliminary inquest proceedings last year heard that in excess of 25 people had been linked by intelligence to the murder, including several state agents.
It had also been alleged in court that surveillance of a suspect in the murder was temporarily stopped on the evening of the killing, only to resume again the following morning.
Appeal Court judges in Belfast affirmed an earlier High Court ruling compelling the Government to hold a public inquiry.
It said the failure to hold such an inquiry was unlawful.
However, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn says the case involves a key constitutional principle of who should order public inquiries, the Government or the judiciary.
GAA president Jarlath Burns speaks to media in support of the family of Sean Brown following a meeting with Tanaiste Simon Harris at Government Buildings in Dublin on Monday (Rebecca Black/PA)
Addressing the crowd, Mr Burns described the 'absolute barbarism' of the murder of Mr Brown as having 'only been matched by the depravity of what has happened since, when the family have been denied truth and justice and any sort of decency from the British Government'.
He said Mr Brown would have been proud of how his family have campaigned for justice for him.
'We are not going to stop until we get the public inquiry that this family deserves,' Mr Burns said to applause.
Mr Brown's daughter Claire Loughran thanked all those who turned out in support of her family.
'We're honestly overwhelmed by the turnout, it's incredibly touching to see so many people here and it means a great deal to us,' she said.
'It reminds us that although our journey for truth and justice has been long, we are not walking it alone.'
Ms Loughran added: 'We won't stop, not until the truth is heard, not until justice is done and not until every family who suffers in silence knows that they are not forgotten.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Record
31 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Lanarkshire MSP calls on Holyrood to make sure OAPs aren't left behind on winter fuel payments
More than 75 per cent of pensioners in England and Wales will be entitled to the new annual payment of up to £300 after the Labour government abandoned one of its first, and most controversial, policies. A Lanarkshire MSP has called on the Scottish Government to ensure local pensioners aren't left behind following the UK Government's u-turn on winter fuel payments. More than 75 per cent of pensioners in England and Wales will be entitled to the new annual payment of up to £300 after the Labour government abandoned one of its first, and most controversial, policies. Scotland has already created a devolved benefit of £100 for all pensioner households, potentially leaving hundreds of thousands of Scots worse off than their counterparts south of the border. Central Scotland list Labour MSP Monica Lennon said 'This is welcome news that will bring even more money to people in Lanarkshire – on top of the record funding settlement Labour delivered for Scotland in the budget. 'While the last Tory government left our public finances in chaos, Labour has made good progress cleaning up the mess it inherited. 'The Winer Fuel Payment is a devolved payment in Scotland and Scottish Labour has been clear that we want to see it reinstated for the majority of pensioners here – but despite their loud spin, the SNP voted against our attempts to do so. 'That's why we are urging the SNP not go ahead with plans that would unfairly hit poorer pensioners. 'The SNP must re-examine their own proposals in light of this game-changing announcement, ensure payments reach those most in need, and give a cast-iron guarantee that no struggling Scottish pensioners will be left out of pocket under their plans.' Last July, Chancellor Reeves drew widespread criticism over cuts to the winter fuel payment - a lump sum of £200 a year for households with a pensioner under 80, or £300 for households with a pensioner over 80 - in a bid to save an estimated £1.4 billion. In response, the Scottish Government introduced a new scheme offering those in receipt of qualifying benefits like Pension Credit £200 or £300 depending on their age, and £100 for all other pensioner households. However, while the benefit for pensioners above the income threshold will be clawed back through tax, richer pensioners in Scotland will be able to keep the payment. Following the latest announcement from Westminster, Scottish pensioners who do not get pension credit but whose income is below that £35,000 threshold are expected to receive £100 less than if they lived in England or Wales. Shirley-Anne Somerville said Scotland introduced a winter heating payment for all pensioners because of the UK government's 'betrayal of millions of pensioners'. She said the Scottish Government welcomed the U-turn, but 'there is still no detail about how the Chancellor intends to go about that'. The social justice secretary said: 'We have once again not been consulted on the policy and its implications in Scotland and will scrutinise the proposals carefully when they are announced. 'I would therefore urge the UK Government to ensure the Scottish government is fully appraised of the proposed changes as soon as possible.'
BreakingNews.ie
36 minutes ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Retired civil servants and ministers to have pension deductions checked
Around 13,000 current and former civil servants and ministers are to have their pension deductions assessed for possible anomalies, Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers said. Mr Chambers said that serious and systemic operational issues in the National Shared Services Office (NSSO) were brought to his attention in late March, after which further issues were found. Advertisement Because of administrative errors in the NSSO, members of the current Government, some members of previous governments and a number of office holders have had incorrect application of pension deductions. Retired civil servants who were in receipt of allowances prior to retirement were also the subject of miscalculations. The NSSO provides services such as human resources, payroll, pension, and finance management services to public service bodies. The full scale of the issues, relating to payroll and pensions, and the number of people impacted is still being assessed. Advertisement The Cabinet was briefed on the administrative errors in the NSSO on Tuesday. There are three cohorts impacted by these errors: current and former ministers and office holders, Civil Service retirees with work-sharing patterns, and retired senior civil servants. The Department of Public Expenditure said the issues were not the fault of any of the individuals impacted. A pool of 13,000 retired civil servants is being assessed, a small fraction of whom are expected to be affected by the anomaly. Advertisement One issue relates to the miscalculation and under-payment of pensions for some work-sharing Civil Service retirees who were in receipt of allowances prior to retirement in the last 20 years or so. Another issue relates to the incorrect application of pension deductions for most members of the current Government, Ministers of State, some members of previous governments and recent office holders. This relates to superannuation deductions and Additional Superannuation Contributions (ASC) with respect to salaries, allowances and gifted income. The NSSO is starting a process to contact ministers to outline the issue to them and to make arrangements for the recoupment of monies owed or to issue refunds as appropriate. Advertisement The amounts involved range from hundreds of euros to the low 30,000s of euro, in terms of monies to be recouped. A number of ministers are due refunds ranging from hundreds of euros up to the low 20,000s of euro. The third issue relates to the administration of Chargeable Excess Tax (CT) and Withholding Tax (WHT) in respect of senior grade Civil Service pensioners. Chargeable Excess Tax is a tax on pension funds at retirement which exceed the Standard Fund Threshold, which is currently €2 million. Advertisement In a small number of cases, this tax was not correctly applied by the NSSO. Similar to the CET issue, withholding tax is deducted from retirement lump sums over €200,000 and most likely applies to those from principal officer level upwards. In total between CET and WHT, NSSO has identified 30 cases. The liabilities for this cohort range from a few hundred euros to €280,000. Ireland Nationwide rent controls planned as Government loo... Read More Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers said the issues brought to his attention are 'completely unacceptable'. 'The NSSO has responsibility for the essential function of the provision of pay and pensions to public and civil servants and it has failed in this fundamental duty. 'I have instructed the CEO of the NSSO that the multiple errors must be corrected by the NSSO as a matter of urgency, particularly regarding the treatment of retirees who had been on a work-sharing pattern in the Civil Service.'
Daily Mirror
36 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Rachel Reeves spending review live - when it starts and what to expect
Rachel Reeves will deliver her long-anticipated spending review on Wednesday after weeks of behind-the-scenes wrangling. The Chancellor is set to announce billions of pounds will be spent on the NHS, schools and tech - but other areas are expected to face painful cuts. Ms Reeves will unveil her plans at around 12.30pm following Prime Minister's Questions. Among the headline announcements will be a 2.8% hike to the Department of Health's annual budget and an £86billion package of funding into research areas. Unlike Budgets, Spending Reviews have no legal basis. Instead, they set out what the Government intends to do with its spending plans over the following years. There will be no tax changes in the Spending Review as these require new legislation. When the Chancellor presents the Budget, all the measures on taxation are contained in an annual Finance Bill. Parliament debates the Budget and scrutinises the Finance Bill. This does not happen with a Spending Review. It means some announcements - including the winter fuel payment U-turn - might be mentioned at the Spending Review. But details on exactly where the money will come from to pay for the policy are not expected until the Autumn Budget later this year. One of the biggest winners of Wednesday's Spending Review is expected to be the science and technology sector, which will get an £86billion package of funding into research areas, including into new drug treatments and longer-lasting batteries. The health service is also expected to be a big winner, with a 2.8% hike to the Department of Health's annual budget - amounting to around £30billion in additional funding by 2028/29. The Mirror understands schools will also get a major boost to per pupil funding, with £4.5billion extra for the core schools budget. This includes a major expansion of free school meals to 500,000 more pupils. The Ministry of Justice, which was one of the first departments to settle its budget, will see a £4.7billion funding injection to build three new prisons amid an ongoing overcrowding crisis in jails. The Ministry of Defence also already had a clearer idea of its funding settlement, with the PM having earlier this year announced plans to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, with an aim to get it to 3% by 2034. Some £15.6billion will also be handed to mayors for major transport projects across the country. This will go towards plans to improve trams, trains and buses in the North and the Midlands. Click here to read the full run-down
