Ballymurphy massacre inquest: 'Nobody cared' about priest who died trying to help injured man, family says

  • Video report by ITV News Correspondent Neil Connery

"Nobody seemed to care" that a young priest was killed as he crawled to waste ground to administer the last rites for a man who was shot in the Ballymurphy massacre, a family member has said.

Father Hugh Mullan is one of 10 victims of the massacre at the hands of the British Army in west Belfast, Northern Ireland, in August 1971 who have been found innocent of wrongdoing at an inquest on Tuesday.

His brother, Patsy, and niece, Geraldine, took part in a church service and reflected on their trauma a day before the inquest findings.

Geraldine told ITV News: “It made me very angry that he had died and nobody seemed to care that this young priest’s life had been taken away from him.”

Father Hugh Mullan's brother described how hard it was to tell his parents that his brother had died

Patsy recalled the morning he found out his brother had died. It was about 2am.

"I said how am I going to tell my mother? I couldn’t tell her,” Patsy said.

"So I phoned the doctor and said will you come down because my brother has been shot…” He stopped talking briefly to hold back his tears, “I find this difficult to talk about.”

He remembered his father’s reaction that night. “He never came back down the stairs again that night… he couldn’t take it.”

'I know my brother will wish for continued peace and prosperity in Ballymurphy and Northern Ireland,' Patsy said in a press conference after the inquest findings

Patsy told a press conference after the inquest findings: "My brother was a man whose life was dedicated to helping the community in which he served. I am sorry that my parents and sister are not alive to hear this result today, that their son and our brother was killed by the British army and then they lied about it to cover up their injustice.

"After 50 years, the truth we we always knew was finally being told. Moving on from today’s findings, I know my brother will wish for continued peace and prosperity in Ballymurphy and Northern Ireland."

  • ITV News Correspondent Neil Connery reports on the long fight for justice for the Ballymurphy families:

On Tuesday, a coroner found all victims were “entirely innocent of any wrongdoing” and use of force by the Army was “unjustified”.

The victims were shot dead in Ballymurphy in 1971 Credit: Ballymurphy Massacre Committee/PA

The killings came during a turbulent period following the controversial introduction of internment without trial in Northern Ireland at the start of the Troubles.

Violence erupted on August 9 when soldiers moved into republican strongholds to arrest IRA suspects.

Inquests into the Ballymurphy deaths in 1972 returned open verdicts and the bereaved families campaigned for fresh probes to be held.

New inquests began in 2018, and the final evidence was heard last March.

'Shame on them! Frank we never forgot you, we never left you behind, we miss you always and we love you,' says Frank Quinn's brother Pat

Frank Quinn was just 19 when he was shot dead by British paratroopers. His brother Pat said: "Today personally, I think of my dear brother Frank whose young life was taken by British paratroopers. He gave his life helping others and as one of our witnesses said he was very brave."

He continued: "I also think of my brothers and sisters, who still can't get over the loss of our brother. But mostly today, I think of my dear mother and father who never ever got over Frank's death. Their hearts were broken."

He added: "And the general who fed the media that the innocent were gunmen and gunwomen, shame on them, shame on them. Frank, we never forgot you, we never left you behind, we miss you always, and we love you."

Joan Connelly's daughter Irene Lecky said her mother's 'only crime was love' as she went out to make sure her children were all safe and as she helped a wounded stranger:

Irene Lecky got emotional as she asked in a press conference: "Why did they shoot my mummy? Why did they leave her in a field to die? What was their orders and who gave them?"

She said: "It has been heartbreaking to sit in court and hear of the horrible injuries mummy suffered and how the soldiers treated mummy's body when they brought her into the barracks.

"But the worst thing to hear was that even with her horrific gunshot wound inflicted by the soldiers she could've lived."

She continued: "My mother was no gunwoman. The coroner's findings are clear. she was innocent. Her only crime was love: her love for her family as she went out to make sure we were all safe; love for a stranger who she tried to help as he cried out in pain after being shot by the army

"Unlike mummy, the Parachute Regiment only had hate in their hearts."

Noel Philips was just 19 when he was killed. His family believe he was brutally executed, Noel's brother Kevin said in a statement read out by a representative:

Noel Philips, an "inquisitive" youth, went out to see what was happening outside the Henry Taggart Memorial Hall when he was shot. He was left lying there calling for help and within 20 minutes, he was picked up by the army and brought to the memorial hall. His family believe he was then "brutally executed" with shots fired at both of his ears.

In a statement read out by a representative, Noel's brother Kevin said: "Noels death has devastated our family and my mother never recovered. She died a broken woman."

The 10 victims

Parish priest Father Hugh Mullan, 38, and Frank Quinn, 19, were shot in the Springfield Park area of Ballymurphy at around 9pm on August 9.

Around the same time, outside an Army barracks at the Henry Taggart Hall in Divismore Park, Noel Philips, 19, Joseph Murphy, 41, Joan Connolly, 44, and Daniel Teggart, 44, were fatally wounded by gunfire.

The following day, Eddie Doherty, 31, died after being shot in the Whiterock Road as he came across an encounter between soldiers and protesters who had erected a barricade across the road.

In the fourth incident, on the third day of shooting, Joseph Corr, 43, and John Laverty, 20, were shot in the Whiterock Road area in the early hours of the morning. Mr Corr died from his injuries 16 days later.

Relatives of those killed in the Ballymurphy massacre hold their pictures outside court in Belfast in 2018 Credit: UTV

And later that morning former soldier John McKerr, 49, was shot later in Westrock Drive, close to Corpus Christi Church as he took a break from maintenance work. He died from his injuries on August 20.

Eye-witnesses, forensic experts, former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams and more than 60 former soldiers - including former head of the Army General Sir Mike Jackson - gave evidence at Belfast Coroner's Court.

The families of those killed have long contended they were innocent, unarmed civilians shot by soldiers without justification.

Should the families of Ballymurphy massacre victims have justice for their loved ones? Former veterans minister Johnny Mercer answers the question:

Asked if families should have justice for their loved ones, Johnny Mercer, former veterans minister, said: "If justice was possible, absolutely."

He continued: "Of course they were innocent, but are we actually going to be able to deliver any form of justice for these people? Or are we actually going to trash people's lives and never really understand what's happened and provide no sort of truth or reconciliation in the process either.

"So at the moment, no one is winning, right? There are no easy answers."

He added: "The idea that we can somehow granulate the whole process into clear, defined justice 50 years later, is I'm afraid in my view not possible and I think it hurts too many people in the process."

Previous story: Families hopeful as inquest into Ballymurphy Massacre gets under way

Analysis by Neil Connery, ITV News Correspondent, in Belfast:

These were never criminal proceedings or a public inquiry. As an inquest, their job was to establish the truth of what happened at Ballymurphy but not to directly apportion blame. The families of the 10 people killed have spent nearly 50 years determined to establish the truth.

In detailed and comprehensive findings, coroner Justice Keegan went through each case.

She said: “The effects of the deaths remain stark for the families.”

She talked of the “charged and difficult background” of the violence which erupted after the introduction of internment.

She found that Father Hugh Mullan and Frank Quinn were innocent men who died after being shot by the British Army. The use of force was more than necessary and disproportionate and their killings unjustified.

The army moved in to republican strongholds to arrest IRA suspects in August 1971 Credit: UTV

Applause rang out from the all the families in the court as this first finding was read out.

The killings of Joan Connolly, Noel Phillips, Danny Teggart and Joseph Murphy were also ruled as unjustified and a disproportionate use of force. They were innocent people who posed no threat, the coroner found.

Again, there was applause from the families in court at the findings.

All the victims were found innocent and were killed without justification, the coroner found.

Lawyers for the Ministry of Defence argued during the inquest that soldiers from the Parachute Regiment only ever opened fire when they perceived they were under threat.

As the families digest these findings they hope their efforts will help to hold those responsible to account. It’s far from clear if that will ever happen. For today, though, they’ll settle for the truth hopeful that justice may come one day.