Patterns of Evidence V: With Deepest Sympathy - PIRA Accidental Murders and Apologies
The idea for this blog came to me when I recently tweeted about the bombing of Newry customs office in 1972.
I noted that on that occasion that the PIRA apologised for the “unintentional loss of life” but seemed more concerned with responding to a statement issued by the Official IRA which criticised the bomb:
“In their very prompt statement condemning this morning’s accidental explosion in Newry, the National Liberation Movement (Official IRA) have once more joined in the Imperialist chorus led by British Government members. Their attitude in these matters contrasts sharply with that of the Provisional IRA last February when the NLM themselves accidentally killed seven non-combatants at Aldershot.
“Hypocrisy and the advertising of their own alleged virtue are the hallmarks of these statements from the so-called officials”.
In order to keep the blog manageable - the PIRA campaign was littered with examples which could be cited - I have confined myself to three examples from Londonderry.
The Soldier’s wife
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| Alice Purvis |
On the evening of 9th May 1983 two masked men, both armed with handguns, burst into a home on the Old Strabane Road, Londonderry. 47 year old Alice Purvis was watching TV with her husband, mother and two sisters. Alice had met Brian Purvis while he was serving in the Army in the city in 1970 and they had gone to live in Dorset. Brian was a sergeant with the Royal Pioneer Corps.
They had returned to the city to visit Alice’s 78 year old mother.
The murderers forced their way into the house.
One of Alice’s sisters, Lucy Clifford, told the press:
“The living room door was partly opened … they had a gun each and they pointed at Brian and said “Out, out”.
“My older sister jumped up and pushed one of them and my other sister got in front of Brian and one shot was fired.
“My elder sister again got in front of my sister and Brian and the other gunman fired a shot and whatever way my sister turned he shot her in the back.”
A report headed Irish Nationalist Terrorists Apologise for Shooting Woman quotes the PIRA as saying:
'Our active service unit entered the house and ordered the soldier on to the street.
'One of our volunteers was tackled by several women and in the ensuing struggle, a weapon was discharged accidentally. The soldier was shot by the other volunteer.
'Any family who shields and defends any British soldier or allows their home to be used by them must accept the consequences of their actions’.
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| Newspaper report on the murder of Alice Purvis (click to enlarge) |
The Bomb in a Bin
Nine years earlier, in May 1974, the PIRA had had to apologise after murdering another Catholic on the same road. Alfred Shotter was staying with his son and daughter-in-law in Eskahen Drive but returned to his home on Strabane Old Road with his daughter-in-law. The IRA had recently phoned in a bomb warning but when neighbours told him about this Shotter replied, “There’s no bomb in my house”.
A short time later a device in his bin exploded killing him.
The IRA issued a statement saying:
“Volunteers alerted the occupants of neighbouring houses and as well the army was alerted by an anonymous caller. Unfortunately the owner of the house came on the scene and ignored all pleas warning him not to go near the house. Our sympathies are no consolation for this tragedy, yet we feel that if the British army would withdraw from the North of Ireland peace would ensue.”
Three days after the bombing 200 people had a peace parade in the estate where it took place and seven priests in the city issued a statement saying:
“No amount of excuses or twisted reasoning will excuse them of the total blame for this terrible carnage”.
The schoolboy
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| Gordon Gallagher |
On the other side of the Foyle, the river which flows through the city of Londonderry, there was another telling case where a family had to wait 40 years for an apology - and an admission of responsibility.
Nine year old Gordon Gallagher was playing cowboys and Indians with his brother in the garden of his home in the Creggan estate when there was an explosion. A postman was among the first on the scene:
“I saw a young boy crawling along the ground covered in blood. He looked up at me and said, “Help me, mister, I’m hurt”.
Neighbours and a nurse tried to comfort the boy as they waited for an ambulance and a priest administered the last rites.
Troops who arrived at the scene were stoned by a 300 strong mob of Republican youths.
Gordon had upset a tripwire which set off the device. An operation to amputate the child’s legs failed to save his life.
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| Newspaper report on the bomb which killed Gordon Gallagher (click to enlarge) |
The case re-entered public consciousness when the child’s father Billy was interviewed by BBC Radio Foyle in 2012:
"I went to phone Pat to say he was conscious.
"He was wheeled past me into theatre when I was on the phone.
"He died at half past five. I was talking to him, I thought he was going to be alright but they said it was the loss of blood.”
Mr Gallagher said IRA members came to his home to admit leaving the bomb in his garden.
"Two boys came and lied about it at the start.
"They told me their unit put the bomb there, but no detonator, that the Army must have come back and put a detonator - it's ridiculous.
"Shock or no shock, I never believed that for a second.
"One of the men who came to tell me the lies, about two or three weeks after it, his wife arrived at my door and she apologised.
"She said: 'We're sorry about your son but these things happen in war.'
"I said: 'Sure my son wasn't at war, he was only nine years of age.'
"I chased them from my door.”
Gordon’s parents appealed for the then deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness, to come forward and tell what he knew of the murder.
A short time later a statement was issued by the Pat Finucane Centre:
"According to Republican sources the actual circumstances were as follows:
"On the night before Gordon was killed IRA personnel were in the process of planning an elaborate plan of attack on a British Army foot patrol whose incursions into the area had been monitored over a period of time. The operation was planned to happen in the hours of darkness to avoid civilian casualties. During the process of planting the devices one was accidentally triggered. This resulted in the IRA having to withdraw because of the presence of the British Army foot patrol and the IRA assumed that the operation was at this point compromised and therefore should be aborted.
"Because of the potential danger to the community the IRA made the decision to notify the RUC/British Army through an anonymous phone call – this clearly indicated the location at the rear gardens behind Melmore/Leenan gardens.
"Following the phone call the immediate district was then saturated by British troops. The IRA, believing that the British Army had discovered the device during the course of their search, withdrew from the area believing the British army would have cleared the area and rendered the device safe.
"The IRA felt that if they had moved back to retrieve the device given that the British Army now heavily saturated the area they would be captured or shot.
"The following morning young Gordon went out to play in his garden and accidentally triggered the explosive device.
"Republicans fully accept their responsibility for the death of Gordon and apologise to the parents and family of Gordon Gallagher for the pain and grief caused.
"Republicans remain truly remorseful and profoundly sorry for the circumstances that led to Gordon’s death.”
Conclusions
Taking accountability for actions is a particular issue at the current time with soldiers being brought before the courts for their actions in in 1970s (I hope to blog about the situation faced by soldiers in the 1970s shortly as part of the A Date in History series) so it is worthwhile looking at how the PIRA dealt with accountability on those occasions when they held their hands up to making a mistake.
Tellingly in all the cases considered above they sought to justify their actions by the context and of course there was no suggestion that those responsible would be held to account by the lawful authorities - or even the unlawful authorities in the Republican movement for that matter.
In the case of Alice Purvis they also used the statement to warn people not to permit members of the security forces into their homes and if they chose to ignore the warning they might have to "accept the consequences of their actions”.
Even if they left a bomb in someone’s bin they caveated the apology to the family of the man murdered by adding "that if the British army would withdraw from the North of Ireland peace would ensue.”
But perhaps most tellingly of all in a 2018 context when the Government is consulting on setting up an Independent Commission for Information Retrieval (ICIR) as part of their package on “Addressing the Legacy of Northern Ireland’s Past” in the Stormont House Agreement Bill is the Gordon Gallagher case.
Here we had situation where for 40 years Republicans claimed that the Army was responsible for detonating the bomb. And even when it admitted that that was always nonsense they claimed that the bomb ended up in a child’s garden because "the British Army heavily saturated the area”.
Little Gordon Gallagher died because the nasty British Army might have arrested or shot members of the PIRA who just happened to have a bomb.
No names were mentioned in the statement issued in 2012.
Those who provided it were not subject to questioning to establish the varsity of what they said much less subjected to a trial.
It sounds remarkably similar to how the Independent Commission for Information Retrieval (ICIR) will operate. The ICIR will facilitate people telling their version of what happened anonymously, without cross examination and in the knowledge that what they say cannot be used in court.
Back in 2012 Billy Gallagher said:
"I accept the IRA's responsibility for the murder of Gordon - even though it came through a third party and they didn't speak to me directly.
"This has opened the door for further investigation - I want to know who did it and why.”
Six years later there is no evidence of Mr Gallagher’s questions being answered (and incidentally apparent silence from the Pat Finucane Centre on the issue).
I venture to predict that the ICIR will leave innocent victims of PIRA murder similarly frustrated.
A note on sources
To write this blog I have drawn material from the following sources:
Lost Lives by McKittrick et al
Years of Darkness: The Troubles Remembered by Gordon Gillespie
I have sought to be careful but if anyone spots factual errors in the above piece please email me at onthisdayni@gmail.com , message the Facebook page or PM me on Twitter.
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