Legacy body appeals for witnesses to deaths of man and woman during Troubles
The families of Teresa Carson and loyalist William Marchant have been described as waiting for many years for answers about the deaths of their loved ones.
These appeals will involve distributing posters and organised leaflet drops in the areas relating to both investigations.
Ms Carson, 47, was found dead at the side of the Glen Road in the early hours of Sunday November 24 1974.
It is understood she had witnessed a robbery St John's GAC Social Club on Whiterock Road hours before.
She was last seen in the grounds of the club at 12.15am getting into a white coloured car.
Mr Marchant, 39, who was also known as Billy or Frenchie, was shot outside the Progressive Unionist Party offices on Shankill Road at approximately 3pm on April 28 1987, and later died in hospital.
A brown coloured Datsun Bluebird car, registration number YOI 2557, was used in the attack.
It had been hijacked earlier in the day after a family was held at gunpoint overnight at Tullymore Gardens in west Belfast.
The Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery has launched appeals for witnesses to come forward in relation to investigations into both deaths following requests from the victims' families.
Assistant commissioner Amanda Logan said their families asked the Commission to help them find out what happened to their loved ones.
'We have always underlined the Commission's unwavering commitment to helping families find the unvarnished truth and this is at the centre of our witness appeals,' she said.
'The relatives of Teresa Carson and William Marchant believe that someone may hold vital information that could prove key to the investigations.
'These families have waited many years for answers and we at the Commission are committed to doing everything we can to support them. If members of the public have any information about either of these cases, please come forward.'
She added: 'No matter how unimportant your information may seem, what you share could be vital to finding the truth for the families. All information we receive will be treated in the strictest confidence.'
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Sunday World
3 days ago
- Sunday World
Top UVF chief shot dead by IRA was set up by loyalist traitor Jimmy Craig
The Sunday World has learned that 39-year-old father-of-four Marchant – second in command of the UVF's Belfast Brigade – had become aware of the extent of Craig's double-dealing with the IRA NOTORIOUS: William 'Frenchie' Marchant was second in command of the UVF's Belfast Brigade Top UVF man William 'Frenchie' Marchant was waiting to meet loyalist Jimmy Craig when he was shot dead by the IRA, the Sunday World has learned. And this week it emerged the killing on Belfast's Shankill Road is to be revisited by the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery. The agency is appealing for witnesses to the shocking mid-afternoon murder nearly 40 years ago to come forward. And it is also asking members of the public who may have witnessed anything connected to the murder of west Belfast woman, 47-year-old Teresa Carson on Belfast's Glen Road in November 1974, to make contact. Launching the double appeal for witnesses, this week Assistant Commissioner Amanda Logan said the Marchant and Carson families had asked for the commission's help in finding out what happened to their loved ones. She said: 'We have always underlined the commission's unwavering commitment to helping families find the unvarnished truth and this is at the centre of our witness appeals.' The Sunday World has learned that 39-year-old father-of-four Marchant – second in command of the UVF's Belfast Brigade – had become aware of the extent of Craig's double-dealing with the IRA. And he also strongly suspected Craig of involvement in the murder of fellow UVF man John Bingham, who was shot by the IRA inside his family home on in September 1986, just seven months before his own murder. Having arranged to meet Craig in the heart of the Shankill, Marchant planned to confront him about it. But what Marchant didn't know was that Craig had already offered his head on plate to the IRA. It was all part of Craig's own person 'insurance policy' to avoid assassination at the hands of the IRA. The IRA suspected Marchant of organising the killing of top republican Larry Marley at the door of his home in Ardoyne a few weeks before. And the IRA was determined Marchant would pay with his life. An armed IRA murder squad was ready and waiting in a house it had taken over in Andersonstown in west Belfast when it received a telephone call to alert them Marchant had shown up on the Shankill for his meeting with Craig. Within minutes the IRA gun gang were on the move to the Shankill, where they quickly identified their target. Powerfully-built and with a strong public presence, Marchant wasn't the kind of man who blended into a crowd. Around 3pm on April 28 1987, 'Frenchie' was chatting to friends when a brown Datsun Bluebird car pulled up. Using and Armalite rifle and a handgun, two IRA men opened fire, hitting him several times. He died soon after in the nearby Mater Hospital. It is believed that at the precise time Marchant was shot, Craig had delayed his appearance on the Shankill by prolonging a conversation he was having in a furniture store until after the gunmen had fled. Two years ago, a report compiled by the Ulidia Legacy & Educational Trust called The Marchant File concluded that loyalists, republicans and members of the security services were all involved in a crossfire of deadly collusion. And during a meeting between Marchant's family and senior officers at the PSNI's Brooklyn Headquarters at Knock to hand over a copy of the report, an officer voiced serious concerns about the Marchant family's safety. Speaking to the Sunday World at the time, 'Frenchie's' son Martin (53) said: 'We already knew this report would put us in danger. But despite our concerns we are determined to get to the truth. And after meeting with the police, it's clear they share our concerns. 'The police we met appear genuinely worried about us and it was obvious they realise the dangers we now face. Senior officers agreed to read the document delivered to them. And that's all we can expect at this stage,' he said. But Martin Marchant also told how he and his two brothers had given a deathbed commitment to their sister Helena, who died of cancer six years ago aged 40. 'Lena always believed there was much more to our father's murder than what we were told. And before she passed away, she begged us to find out the truth,' he said. He added: 'In publishing The Marchant File, we've delivered on our promise to our sister.' 'Frenchie' Marchant was known to have been centrally involved in the Dublin/Monaghan massacre 13 years before his death. He arranged for cars to be stolen to deliver the bombs and UVF personnel to Dublin and Monaghan. The atrocity – which claimed the lives of 33 people and injured hundreds more – was the greatest loss of life in a single day during the entire Troubles. And in loyalist terror terms, 'Frenchie' was considered a 'war hero'. Published two years ago, the 71-page Marchant File was several years in the making. CRIME KING: Jimmy Craig It alleges the PSNI and the Police Ombudsman's Office failed in their duty to fully investigate IRA collusion with criminal loyalists and members of the security services in relation to the murder. At the time, Martin Marchant told us he believed the report would blow away the belief that the police were solely involved colluding with loyalists during the Troubles. He said: 'All we ever hear about is British collusion in murder here or RUC collusion with loyalists, but I honestly believe our research shows we have uncovered collusion between the IRA and loyalist criminals. And that the police knew all about it. 'But when my father was murdered in broad daylight on the Shankill Road, innocent members of the public were standing all around him. 'We believe the report shows the cops knew what was about to happen on the Shankill Road that day.' He added: 'Automatic weapons were fired on a busy shopping street and it was only by sheer luck others didn't die along with my father.' The origins of double dealing between loyalists and republicans began in the early 1980s in Crumlin Road Prison, when, following serious rioting inside the jail, prisoners from both sides held a two-day conference which culminated in a 'Top Man Agreement'. This meant that 10 named loyalists from the UDA and the UVF and 10 named republicans from the IRA and the INLA would be totally exempt from terrorist attack by either side. But following the signing of the Anglo-Irish Agreement in 1985, Craig – a UDA leader well-known loyalist gangster and extortionist – took steps to protect himself from both sides. Using a family connection to IRA killer Joe Haughey, he secretly set up a number of leading loyalists for murder, including UDA man William 'Bucky' McCullough and the notorious Shankill Butchers boss Lenny Murphy. But the UDA leadership was suspicious of Craig and moved him to south Belfast, where there was rich pickings to be got on the many building site rackets. Eugene Reavey – whose three brothers were shot dead by the UVF in 1976 – has said his construction company handed over £1.3 million in total to Craig. It is believed British government spooks – under pressure from other hard-pressed businessmen – were also keen to see the end of Craig. A diary kept by British Military Intelligence agent Brian Nelson – who operated inside the UDA – reveals he too was aware of Craig's collusion with the IRA and INLA. It emerged that Craig even tried to have a UDA hit team wiped out by informing the IRA of an imminent attack on one its senior men in Twinbrook. A group of heavily armed IRA men were waiting on the arrival of the loyalists, but the murder bid was aborted when Nelson tipped off the UDA killer gang that Craig had set them up. It's also believed that Craig set up John McMichael – the so-called Supreme Commander of the UDA and its flag of convenience the UFF – who was blown up by the IRA outside his Lisburn home in 1987. Ten months later Craig died in a hail of UFF bullets as he played pool in an east Belfast bar. The UDA said he was guilty of treason – and history has proved them right. NOTORIOUS: William 'Frenchie' Marchant was second in command of the UVF's Belfast Brigade News in 90 Seconds - Aug 7th
Irish Times
02-08-2025
- Irish Times
Person pretending to be Tusla worker turned up at children's residential unit on night shift
Someone pretending to be a Tusla agency worker gained entry to a residential unit for children and 'obtained unauthorised access' to their personal data, records released to The Irish Times show. The 'high-risk' incident happened when the individual used the 'credentials of an authorised person working at the unit' rostered that night. They remained at the unit overnight, with access to the children, their files and the personal data of people who worked there. 'The 'unauthorised party' was acting with the assistance of the 'authorised operative',' the records also stated. READ MORE 'The other authorised staff who were coming off duty or coming on duty would not have known of the full identity (other than name) of the other external recruitment agency worker who was rostered to work that night shift, as this was a recent recruit who the staff would not have worked with before. 'Therefore, 'bona fides' of the 'bad actor' were not in question and [other staff] had no reason to suspect 'personation'/'false identity'.' The incident, which happened on June 27th, 2023, was reported to Tusla's data protection unit three days later. The affected children, staff and the Data Protection Commission were alerted. A review of this incident found 'no suggestion that any service user was adversely impacted', a Tusla spokesman said. Details of the incident, which was categorised 'high risk' and as an 'access control deficit', are contained in a large release of records under the Freedom of Information Act on personal data breaches at Tusla, which is the Child and Family Agency. They show there were 2,184 breaches between 2019 and the end of 2024, with about 150 more to July 5th this year. In another high-risk incident, files containing 'personal data' were missing for 26 years when found in the 'private home' of a former Tusla staff member. The incident in the southeast came to light in January last year. 'Staff member had originally taken the files home in 1998 to work on and had left them in a home study where they went unnoticed/undiscovered until recently,' a description states. 'Files were absent (location unknown) and unavailable to Tusla (and predecessor agencies) during this period when business needs did arise that required access by Tusla to some of the files. 'No backup copies of the data was available to Tusla during the period the data was absent from Tusla control.' It was recorded as a 'misplaced/lost/exposed record or device'. Almost a quarter (515) of the breaches during the six years were 'high risk', with 58 per cent (1,274) categorised as 'low risk', 11 per cent (243) 'zero' risk and 6.5 per cent (143) 'medium' risk. In 2021 about a third (117 out of 362) were high-risk breaches. The most common breaches (706) were emails sent to the wrong address. A total of 383 were caused by 'information overshare'. This could be when a file was sent to a person with their own details, but also containing details about other people they had no right to see. A breach similar to this allegedly occurred this year when the whereabouts of a mother and child fleeing abuse were provided to their alleged abuser. The alleged abuser had sought their own file from Tusla following an allegation of abuse against them. David Hall , chief executive of Sonas domestic violence charity, which was accommodating the mother and 'very young child', said Tusla failed to redact both the name of the shelter where the woman and child were staying and that of a domestic violence support worker who reported the alleged abuse, putting them all 'at risk'. When the alleged breach came to light in March, he said the data of women and children fleeing domestic violence were 'not safe'. On Friday he said he had not received satisfactory assurances from Tusla that 'vulnerable women and children's' data was safe. Other breaches since 2019 include 348 incidents of 'misplaced/lost/exposed record or device'; 273 'incorrect record shared'; 120 'access control deficit'; and 35 'misdirected phone call or message' – including Tusla staff leaving messages with the intended recipient's personal details on the wrong number. Tusla's national adoption information and tracing service had the highest volume of high-risk breaches between 2022 and 2024 – accounting for 19 per cent (56) of the 295 such breaches in those years, mainly concerning too much information released to people seeking their birth and early-life history, including information about other people. These new figures come as the cost to Tusla since 2020, due to personal breaches, tops €500,000. Figures released under FoI show the agency has paid damages of €134,500 for data breaches since 2022, incurring related legal costs of €177,164. These are in addition to fines levied by the Data Protection Commission (DPC) in 2020 totalling €200,000. The DPC conducted three investigations into Tusla in 2020 for alleged breaches of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), resulting in separate fines of €75,000, €40,000, €50,000 and €35,000. The DPC ordered Tusla to 'bring its processing operations into compliance ... by implementing appropriate organisational measures to ensure a level of security appropriate to the risk'. Breaches have however increased since – from 362 in 2020 and 362 in 2021 to 408 for 2022, 481 in 2023 and 441 last year. The DPC has not investigated Tusla since August 2020, a spokesman confirmed, but has 'continued to engage with Tusla after the conclusion of all inquiries undertaken to ensure that the orders contained within the decisions issued were complied with. In addition, the DPC has regular and ongoing engagement with Tusla like we have with all other public sector bodies'. The Irish Council for Civil Liberties said the number of breaches was 'very concerning'. 'Tusla processes very sensitive data about vulnerable people, including children. We are not just talking about people's rights to privacy and data protection, but also in some cases their safety,' it said. 'These figures raise serious questions about how Tusla is carrying out its obligations under the GDPR and what policies and protocols are in place. The Data Protection Commission should examine these figures and take appropriate action.' A Tusla spokesman said: 'Due to the large volume of data we process daily ... breaches occasionally and regrettably occur, which can have a significant impact on those involved. 'We are fully aware of our responsibilities regarding the handling of sensitive data, and we take all breaches very seriously. 'In the case of any data breach, we will react quickly to inform impacted persons or their parent/caregiver of the breach, identify the cause and undertake a full assessment and comprehensive risk evaluation. 'Tusla conducts systematic reviews of all reported breach incidents, and we adapt and update training and operational practices to mitigate against similar breaches occurring in the future. 'We will continue to work with the DPC with full transparency on the matter, as appropriate. Where required, we take all possible steps to recover the information subject to the breach. 'Over the last number of years, a comprehensive programme of work has been under way ... to improve awareness in relation to data breaches, ensure staff are aware of their duty to report all breaches and to mitigate the risk of data breaches occurring.. 'Over the last year there has been a 63 per cent reduction in 'high-risk' breaches, a 29 per cent reduction in 'misaddressed post' and an 18 per cent decrease in 'information overshare' breaches.'
Irish Examiner
29-07-2025
- Irish Examiner
Legacy body appeals for witnesses to deaths of man and woman during Troubles
Fresh appeals have been made for witnesses to separate deaths of a man and a woman in west Belfast during the Troubles. The families of Teresa Carson and loyalist William Marchant have been described as waiting for many years for answers about the deaths of their loved ones. These appeals will involve distributing posters and organised leaflet drops in the areas relating to both investigations. Ms Carson, 47, was found dead at the side of the Glen Road in the early hours of Sunday November 24 1974. It is understood she had witnessed a robbery St John's GAC Social Club on Whiterock Road hours before. She was last seen in the grounds of the club at 12.15am getting into a white coloured car. Mr Marchant, 39, who was also known as Billy or Frenchie, was shot outside the Progressive Unionist Party offices on Shankill Road at approximately 3pm on April 28 1987, and later died in hospital. A brown coloured Datsun Bluebird car, registration number YOI 2557, was used in the attack. It had been hijacked earlier in the day after a family was held at gunpoint overnight at Tullymore Gardens in west Belfast. The Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery has launched appeals for witnesses to come forward in relation to investigations into both deaths following requests from the victims' families. Assistant commissioner Amanda Logan said their families asked the Commission to help them find out what happened to their loved ones. 'We have always underlined the Commission's unwavering commitment to helping families find the unvarnished truth and this is at the centre of our witness appeals,' she said. 'The relatives of Teresa Carson and William Marchant believe that someone may hold vital information that could prove key to the investigations. 'These families have waited many years for answers and we at the Commission are committed to doing everything we can to support them. If members of the public have any information about either of these cases, please come forward.' She added: 'No matter how unimportant your information may seem, what you share could be vital to finding the truth for the families. All information we receive will be treated in the strictest confidence.'
