British Army found to have massacred unarmed civilians in Ballymurphy, Northern Ireland, in August 1971
A long-delayed inquest into the shooting deaths of 10 people in the Ballymurphy estate in Belfast, Northern Ireland has concluded that all were civilians, posed no threat to anyone, were unarmed and that nine of them were shot by the British Army. Coroner Mrs Justice Keegan could not definitively identify the origin of the bullet that shot the tenth person.
The verdict was welcomed by relatives and supporters of those killed. John Teggart, whose father Daniel was among those shot dead, addressed a press conference.
John Teggart s father Danny (44) was shot 14 times-mainly in the back as he lay injured on the ground - by the British Army. Photo taken at an event in 2014. (credit: Sinn Fein-FlickR)
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May 12, 2021
BELFAST: Ten people killed in west Belfast 50 years ago in disputed shootings involving British soldiers were “entirely innocent”, a coroner has ruled.
The Army has been found to be responsible for nine of the 10 deaths in August 1971, which included a mother-of-eight and a Catholic priest. Presiding Coroner Mrs Justice Keegan said there was not enough evidence for her to determine where the shot that killed the 10th victim, John McKerr, came from, but branded it “shocking” that there was no adequate investigation of the killing afterwards.
The coroner acknowledged it was a chaotic time in Northern Ireland but ruled that the use of force by soldiers had been “disproportionate” in the nine deaths the Army was found as responsible for.
She tweeted: The victims and the families of the Ballymurphy Massacre have been vindicated and the truth laid bare. This was British state murder.
Ten people, a mother of eight and a Catholic priest among them, were shot between 9 and 11 August 1971 as internment was introduced in Northern Ireland – a practice where paramilitary suspects were held indefinitely without trial.
Army veterans said they came under sustained attack as trouble flared on 9 August when troops moved into national areas to arrest IRA suspects.
The families of the deceased said their relatives were unarmed civilians who were shot by the army without justification.
By Press Association 2021
An area of Ballymurphy where parish priest Father Hugh Mullan and teenager Frank Quinn were fatally wounded (Ballymurphy families/PA)
A mother of eight and a Catholic priest were among ten people fatally wounded in disputed shootings involving the army in the Ballymurphy area of west Belfast between August 9-11 1971.
The scenes came at a chaotic time across Northern Ireland following the controversial decision to implement internment without trial in response to the start of the Troubles.
Findings following fresh inquests into the 10 deaths will be delivered by Coroner Mrs Justice Siobhan Keegan on Tuesday.
A mural on a wall in the Ballymurphy area of west Belfast where shooting of 10 civilians took place in 1971 (Liam McBurney/PA)
Ten people killed in west Belfast 50 years ago in disputed shootings involving British soldiers were “entirely innocent”, a coroner has ruled.
The Army has been found to be responsible for nine of the 10 deaths in August 1971, which included a mother-of-eight and a Catholic priest.
Presiding Coroner Mrs Justice Keegan said there was not enough evidence for her to determine where the shot that killed the 10th victim, John McKerr, came from, but branded it “shocking” that there was no adequate investigation of the killing afterwards.
The coroner acknowledged it was a chaotic time in Northern Ireland but ruled that the use of force by soldiers had been “disproportionate” in the nine deaths the Army was found as responsible for.