‘You could hear his soul when he sang’: Hugh Callaghan of the Birmingham Six laid to rest in London

The funeral took place in London on Monday of Hugh Callaghan, one of the Birmingham Six, a group of innocent Irishmen who were wrongly convicted of two 1974 IRA pub bombings in Britain.

Mr Callaghan, who served 16 years in jail before the six men were freed in 1991, died on May 27th aged 93.

The case of the Birmingham Six was one of the most infamous miscarriages of justice during the Troubles. Wrongly suspected of planting bombs at two pubs that killed 21 people, Mr Callaghan and the other five men were mistreated in custody and forced to give false confessions by West Midlands police.

They were eventually released after a high-profile campaign for justice.

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The imprint of his incarceration on the Belfast native’s identity and later life was acknowledged at his funeral in the Immaculate Heart of Mary and St Dominic’s church in Hackney, where he lived. Yet this was more a ceremony to acknowledge the loss of a father, grandfather, loving partner and proud Irishman.

A shamrock-shaped wreath in the hues of the Irish tricolour lay on the steps at the entrance to the church in the area where he lived since the late 1990s with his partner, Adeline Masterson.

Outside the church, the hot London air was thick with the hint of thunderstorms to come. Inside, the atmosphere was softer, as the touching celebration of Mr Callaghan’s life focused on his optimistic nature and his love of music. It was a sad occasion but there were lighter moments too, such as the recollection that when most people sing, others join in, but when Mr Callaghan sang, everyone shut up to listen.

Among the crowd were several older people, mostly women, wearing either green waistcoats or sashes. These were members of the Irish Pensioners Choir, with whom Mr Callaghan sang.

[ Hugh Callaghan: ‘The night terrors have become less frequent’ ]

Towards the end of the religious service, a man who identified himself as Glen, and who knew Mr Callaghan from the Singing for the Brain music sessions for older people, got up to perform one of Mr Callaghan’s favourite songs, We All Have a Song in Our Hearts, by Josef Locke.

Glen recalled Mr Callaghan’s unerring ability to bring a tear to people’s eyes with his singing voice, particularly when he performed Danny Boy, for which he was famed. “He had soul when he sang. Not in a generic way. But you could hear his soul. You could hear his character, his gentleness and his playfulness,” he said.

The eulogy was delivered by Molly Mulready, whose family were close to Mr Callaghan and were also involved in the campaign to free him. Molly’s mother, Sally Mulready, helped Mr Callaghan write his life story.

Molly Mulready told of Mr Callaghan’s upbringing in poverty in Belfast, how he moved to Birmingham to find work as a teenager in 1947, and of how his life was turned upside down by the injustice that happened to him. He was never bitter about it afterwards, she said, although it did leave an impact on him.

He returned for a while after his release to Birmingham, where his late wife Eileen remained, before he later moved to London.

Following a brief session of traditional Irish music at the altar, the service ended with Mr Callaghan’s coffin being carried shoulder-high out of the church to a recording of him singing Danny Boy in his powerful voice.

The coffin was followed by his family, friends and his partner, Ms Masterson, her grief obvious. In death, as in life, Mr Callaghan’s rendition of Danny Boy brought tears to many eyes.

The State was represented at the funeral by Orla McBreen, a senior political official at the Irish Embassy in London. Also present was Gareth Peirce, the solicitor who worked tirelessly for the release of the Birmingham Six and also the Guildford Four – Emma Thompson played her in the film In the Name of the Father.

To the strains of a lone piper, Mr Callaghan’s coffin was placed into the hearse and driven away for a private burial.

He is survived by Ms Masterson, his daughter Geraldine, two grandchildren and his sister Patsy in Belfast.