Courts

Joe McCann: Fresh inquest ordered into death of Official IRA commander in 1972

Decision over inquest into death of McCann, shot by British soldiers in Belfast, comes days before a legislative cut-off date that will end all such enquiries

Joe McCann's widow Anne is surrounded by family as she leaves the Crown Court in Belfast in 2021 after the collapse of the trial of two former soldiers accused of murdering the Official IRA commander in 1972. Photograph: Paul Faith/AFP/Getty

Freya McClements
Mon Apr 22 2024 - 11:58

A fresh inquest has been ordered into the death of Official IRA commander Joe McCann in Belfast in 1972 just days before a legislative cut-off date that will end all such enquiries.

Northern Ireland’s Attorney General, Brenda King, said although it seemed clear there was “no practical possibility” of an inquest being concluded before the Legacy Act comes into effect on May 1st, she was “committed to continue exercising her ... discretion up until she loses the power to order inquests in Troubles-related cases”.

At least 17 inquests will not be completed by May 1st, and despite efforts to expedite the process, with review hearings scheduled in three legacy inquests this week, this number is expected to increase.

The Legacy Act, which comes into effect in May 1st, will end all Troubles-era inquests, with outstanding cases passed to a new investigative body, the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR), which will offer conditional immunity from prosecution to perpetrators who co-operate with their inquiries.

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The controversial legislation is the subject of challenges in the domestic and international courts.

Mr McCann’s daughter Aine said the family welcomed the attorney general’s decision but “like so many other bereaved families we face the reality that as it stands this inquest will not happen, and we could once again be left with the bitter taste of injustice and unanswered questions.”

Mr McCann (24) was shot by British soldiers as he was fled from a police officer who tried to arrest him in the Markets area of Belfast in April 1972.

Two former Paratroopers, known as Soldiers A and C, were tried for his murder but were acquitted in 2021 after the case collapsed because key statements were ruled inadmissible.

Outlining her reasons for granting the inquest, the attorney general said it “would not be inhibited from considering the soldiers’ written statements and could potentially receive oral evidence from military and other witnesses and would thereby be able to provide a public record of what occurred”.

Ms McCann said her family remained “steadfast and determined to continue in the fight for truth about what happened to our father and this decision gives us renewed hope that this will one day happen.

“Our family reject any attempt to persuade us that the ICRIR would provide a suitable alternative to a new inquest,” she said. “This is not something our family is willing to accept, and we join the voices of other victims and survivors across the North in stating that we will not engage with it.”

The McCann family solicitor, Gary Duffy of KRW Law, said there was “a real sense of poignancy to this news, coming as it does within days of the [UK] government’s shut down on all legacy legal processes.

“Significantly, the decision means that, in the event of a repeal of the Legacy Act or its ending as a result of legal challenge, the family of Joe McCann can rightly take their place in a coroner’s court to have their inquest.”

Sara Duddy from the Pat Finucane Centre, which supports the McCann family, said the attorney general’s direction recognised there are “still unanswered questions” about Mr McCann’s death “and an inquest would have the power to get to the truth about what happened”.

“She is sending a clear message that her office will continue to direct inquests in cases requiring judicial scrutiny until she is stripped of this power by the British government’s Legacy Act,” she said.

Freya McClements

Freya McClements

Freya McClements is Northern Editor of The Irish Times

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