Kingsmill families ask new Troubles truth recovery body to name suspects involved in massacre
THE FAMILIES OF victims of the Kingsmill massacre have asked a new Troubles truth recovery body to name the dead terrorists suspected of involvement in the attack.
Ulster Human Rights Watch (UHRW) said the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) had agreed to investigate the killings.
Ten Protestant men were shot dead outside the village of Kingsmill in Co Armagh in January 1976 when republican gunmen posing as British soldiers ordered them off a minibus on their way home from work.
The killers asked the occupants of the bus their religion before opening fire.
The only Catholic on board was ordered to run away before the sectarian shooting started.
Of the 11 Protestants who remained on the roadside, one man, Alan Black, survived, despite being shot 18 times.
No-one has ever been convicted of the murders.
A recent Police Ombudsman report identified a series of failings in the original police investigation of the IRA atrocity.
The families have submitted 57 questions to the ICRIR, including concerns over the use of public interest immunity certificates during an inquest into the deaths.
The ICRIR was created by the Legacy Act. Bereaved families, victims and certain public authorities can request the commission carry out an investigation into Troubles incidents.
Advertisement
Colin Worton's brother Kenneth one of the Kingsmill victims.
Mr Worton said: 'We have an opportunity here to get answers to events that surrounded the massacre.
'Forty-nine years on from these brutal slayings, we have been given some hope by this decision by the ICRIR to launch an investigation.
'Families can only expect limited closure, but naming those who gunned down our relatives would be a positive step.'
UHRW advocacy worker Jonathan Larner said: 'The Irish Government has been dragging its heels on Kingsmill as with all cross-border cases.
'Families want to see Dublin become fully engaged with the ICRIR and agree to open their files.
'The role of the Gardaí deserves close scrutiny if we are to get to the truth and if suspicions of collusion are to be addressed.'
He added: 'This decision by the ICRIR is real progress and a significant advance for relatives.
'Kingsmill families have waited long enough for answers which merely served to retraumatise them and cause pain and anguish.
'They hope to learn why, for example, public interest immunity certificates were issued and what they were attempting to conceal.'
The ICRIR has been approached for comment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTÉ News
27 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
Two men jailed for theft of gold toilet from Blenheim Palace
Two men have been jailed for their roles in the theft of a £5 million (€6m) gold toilet from Blenheim Palace in the UK. A gang of thieves smashed their way in and ripped out the fully-functioning 18-carat gold toilet during a raid in 2019. James Sheen, 40, and Michael Jones, 39, were part of the gang who planned and carried out the burglary of the Oxfordshire stately home. The toilet was created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan and was a star attraction in an exhibition at Blenheim Palace, the house where former British prime minister Winston Churchill was born. The heist took place hours after a glamorous launch party. The distinctive toilet was split up or melted down and sold on soon after it was stolen and has never been recovered. The toilet was stolen during a five-minute by sledgehammer-wielding thieves who smashed their way in, Oxford Crown Court heard. They drove through locked wooden gates into the grounds of the palace in two stolen vehicles before breaking in through a window. Entitled 'America', the toilet weighed approximately 98kg, was insured for $6m (€5m) and was made from gold which was itself worth about £3m. Passing sentence, Judge Ian Pringle KC said: "This bold and brazen heist took no more than five-and-a-half minutes to complete." Oxford Crown Court heard James Sheen was already serving over 19 years' imprisonment for attacks on cash machines, a museum burglary, and fraud, and was not due for release until 2032. "I say straight away I have no doubt at all that the sentence I pass must be consecutive to the sentence you are currently serving," Judge Pringle said in his sentencing remarks. "Not to do so would be to send out a message that you did this without any penalty at all," he said.
The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
Olympic rider, 66, filmed striking horse '40 times' in ‘most awful video' banned a year on from Charlotte Dujardin shame
FORMER Olympian Heath Ryan has been suspended following the emergence of a distressing video in which he can be seen whipping a horse around 40 times. Ryan, 66, represented Australia in dressage at Beijing 2008. 3 Footage showed Heath Ryan repeatedly whipping a horse Credit: 3 Ryan, 66, competed at Beijing 2008 Credit: Getty Equestrian Australia have since suspended the Sydney-born rider, while launching an official investigation into the online video. Their statement read: "Equestrian Australia is extremely alarmed and concerned by the treatment of the horse shown in this footage. "Our policies include high standards to protect all participants and their horses against any adverse physical, social, and emotional conditions." In a lengthy Facebook post, Ryan claimed that he had been trying to save the horse, named Nico, from being put down - and that the footage was taken around two years ago. READ MORE SPORT NEWS An excerpt of his post read: "Oh my goodness! The most awful video of me on a young horse has just surfaced. "This horse was dropped off at my place on his way to the knackery. His name is Nico. He was 6 years of age. A beautiful type. "(After the events of the video) I rode Nico for another couple of days and he responded very well. "All of this transpired sincerely with the horse's best interests the sole consideration. Most read in Olympics "I need to add that this happened about two years ago…..and the video has been posted by an unhappy ex-employee. "All I can say is that this awful video was collateral damage of me from the bottom of my heart launching a rescue mission." Dressage trainer at centre of Charlotte Dujardin vid leak unmasked and says Team GB star 'threw her under bus' Ryan went on to add: "I am so sad this was caught on video. If I had been thinking of myself I would have immediately just gotten off and sent Nico to the knackery. "That video was a life or death moment for Nico and I genuinely had to try my very hardest to see if Nico would consider other options. "All of this transpired sincerely with the horse's best interests the sole consideration. Unbelievably it was so successful for everyone except me with the release of this video." DUJARDIN CONTROVERSY Last summer, decorated British Olympian Dujardin, 39, was subsequently The three-time Olympic gold medallist subsequently released a statement, in which she revealed that she was pregnant. It read: "I fully respect the verdict issued by the Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI), released today. "As the federation has recognised, my actions in the video do not reflect who I am and I can only apologise again. "I understand the responsibility that comes with my position in the sport, and I will forever aim to do better. This has undoubtedly been one of the darkest and most difficult periods of my life, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported me during this time. "To those of you who have sent messages, emails and tried to reach me to check in on how I am – thank you. Every kind word truly has made a difference, more than you'll ever know. "What I was unable to share at the time is that I am currently pregnant, with my baby due in February. "This was planned well before the Olympics and something my partner Dean and I have been excited about for a long time. "At the moment, the energy I have is focused on Dean and our daughter Isabella, and we are all very much looking forward to the arrival of our new family member." 3 Charlotte Dujardin was suspended last year Credit: PA
The Irish Sun
2 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
‘Drug texts' to CCTV: Liam Payne cops lay out bombshell evidence against final suspects facing trial over star's death
PROSECUTORS have revealed bombshell evidence against two men due to face trial over Liam Payne's death. Waiter 7 Singer Liam at the world premiere of the film "I am Bolt" prior to his death 7 Argentinian waiter Paiz (r) is one of two men charged with supplying drugs to Liam Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk 7 The former One Direction star's hotel room was found littered with drug paraphenalia Credit: Twitter Liam, 31, took the cocaine before his Argentinian prosecutors obtained phone messages and hotel CCTV footage which included images of Liam standing by the open door of a lift at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel. It showed him chatting with a man identified as Pereyra shortly before the singer died. During the brief encounter, the British star is said to have asked him for 'seven grams of the same drug he had handed him earlier.' Read more on World News Prosecutors have now gone public with more details of their dossiers, revealing they had 'incriminating' witness statements from five hotel employees against 24-year-old Pereyra. He and Paiz have been warned they face up to 15 years in prison if convicted. CCTV footage allegedly shows him handing Liam cocaine outside the artist's room around an hour and ten minutes before he died. Pereyra has been accused of selling Liam cocaine twice, the second time "between 3.30 and 4pm on October 16." Most read in Showbiz Argentina's public prosecution service said in a statement referencing Pereyra: 'One of the witnesses that compromised him the most was the hotel's head of general maintenance. 'He testified that around 9pm on 14 October he met Pereyra in a lift, saw that he had a 100 note in his hand and when he asked him if it was a tip and who had given it to him, said Pereyra replied that he had to 'run an errand for a guest' which he later explained was 'to bring drugs'. Liam Payne's girlfriend Kate Cassidy fights back tears in emotional new video as she sends heartfelt message to late star 'At 2:30a.m. on 15 October, Payne asked the hotel receptionist for a taxi to an address - Pereyra's home at 2800 Homero Street in the Lomas de Zamora district of Buenos Aires - because 'someone had to bring him something'. 'Prosecutors determined, from the statement of the driver of the Cabify app car that made the trip, and from the images of the security cameras outside the hotel, that Pereyra arrived at the door of the hotel at 3.25am, met Liam Payne in the street outside and walked with towards the corner of Costa Rica and Dorrego Avenue, where a camera captured the accused man with 'some kind of wrapper in one of his hands'." Lead prosecutor Andres Madrea revealed a computer technician who works for the CasaSur Hotel has also incriminated Pereyra. He said: 'The employee, who speaks English, shared a lift with Payne the afternoon of his death. 'He has testified that when they reached a hotel basement Liam began to talk while still inside the lift with Pereyra, who was arranging some chairs outside the lift, and he heard the musician say: 'Hey man I will need another seven grams more for today.'' Public prosecutors added in their statement: 'Mr Madrea detailed in his trial request that the drug transaction took place around 3.45pm on October 16, in a third-floor corridor where cameras captured Pereyra's arrival in the lift and the exchange.' They said the indictment against Paiz, also accused of selling Liam cocaine on two separate occasions before his death, was based partly on messages the two men had exchanged. The messages were discovered on the singer's phone after he plunged to his death. 7 An aerial view of the poolside area of the hotel where British singer Liam Payne died Credit: AFP 7 Mourning fans around the world left floral tributes - this one was in Wolverhampton Credit: Alamy Prosecutors revealed more detail about the conversations between the pair, who met at a restaurant the musician dined at in the upmarket Buenos Aires neighbourhood where Paiz was working as a waiter. They said: 'Lead prosecutor Andres Madrea reproduced in his trial request an exchange of messages in the early hours of October 14, where the singer asks the accused for five or five grams and the waiter replies an hour later that he had obtained three grams with the phrase in English: 'I think I got to three.' 'Paiz then sent the musician several photographs related to narcotics, including one of a transparent plastic bag with a white powder, after which they agreed that the waiter would go to the CasaSur Hotel where the accused arrived at 3:24am according to the security camera records. 'This shows that the accused Paiz, at Payne's request, went to the hotel in question, stayed in his room, where he gave cocaine to Payne, until he left at around 8:15 am.' They went on to detail the second "drug deal" later the same day when Liam Payne took a taxi to Paiz's flat to pick up cocaine - and reference another subsequent message exchange about a third "possible deal' which they said ended with the singer writing: 'I have DOLLARS US 100. Party.' Three other men initially charged over Liam's death were told in February the case against them had been dropped. Liam's close friend Rogelio Nores, hotel receptionist Esteban Grassi and hotel head of security Gilda Martin were accused of his manslaughter by a female lower court judge before reversing her decision on appeal. No date has yet been set for the Paiz and Pereyra trial although it is expected to kick off shortly. Paiz, who has previously protested his innocence, spoke again from prison this week to repeat an earlier claim that he had shared drugs with the artist but hadn't committed the serious offence of selling him narcotics. The 25-year-old whined in an interview with Argentinian media outlet Infobae from his jail cell at a Buenos Aires police station: 'I don't know what I'm doing here, I'm a good person. 'I shared drugs with Liam but I didn't sell them.' Describing himself as a drug user who started smoking marijuana as a youngster, he added: 'All I want to do is start studying again and leave jail to work, like I was doing before. 'I regret now giving Liam my Instagram because it all spiralled from there. 'If I hadn't I'd probably be working today, I'd be studying, I'd be doing videos because before meeting Liam I'd participated in the filming of a video-clip for YouTube for a singer and other videos for TV. 'I miss the freedom I had, I miss work, I miss my family, my mum and my sisters.' Pereyra handed himself in on January 6 after making himself a fugitive the previous week following failed police attempts to locate and arrest him so he could be remanded in pre-trial custody on the orders of an investigating judge. He has yet to make any public comment. 7 7 Liam Payne with girlfriend Kate Cassidy attend The Fashion Awards together in 2022 Credit: Getty
