CALLANAN REVIEW:FAMILIES OF the three soldiers who were killed in Lebanon 22 years ago are to bide their time before deciding what to do next.
Enda Heneghan, spokesman for the three families, said last night they “were pleased with the outcome” of the Callanan review and accepted four of its five main findings as “what we’ve been saying all along”.
They were less sure about the finding that the track where the three soldiers died was not out of bounds, but considered this “not crucial”.
They would discuss the review with their legal people and colleagues of the dead men before making any further decisions.
He was “happy the Army acknowledged there had been systemic failures and had apologised . . . people failures as well,” even if this had “followed 22 years of blanket denials”.
There had been two inquiries into the soldiers’ deaths, one “about six months after, an internal inquiry which was sent to the UN” and another “about 10 years later, after discussions I had with colleagues of the lads”.
The Callanan review also “goes to show that you can conduct an inquiry in a reasonable timeframe and at minimal cost”, he said. The review was set up last April.
New information which facilitated setting up the review came to light during preparations for a High Court case brought by Pte Mannix Armstrong’s widow, Gráinne, which was settled out of court last June. She and her family were awarded €300,000, without admission of liability.
In the High Court on June 9th, Patricia Dillon SC, for Ms Armstrong, said the State had a duty to take all reasonable precautions for the safety of Pte Armstrong while he was engaged in his duties and had failed to monitor or search for landmines ahead of the truck and failed to equip it with any device for remote-sensing of mines.
It was also alleged the defendants failed to instruct or warn Pte Armstrong and the commander of the patrol that no mine search had been made on the route of the truck before the incident.
Ms Justice Mary Irvine said she believed the offer made by the State simply could not be turned down. These were very “hard, sad cases” and she had no difficulty in approving the settlement.
