Today marks the 25th anniversary of the murder of my brother, Bernard O’Hagan. He was shot by an undisguised gunman in front of a large number of staff and students as he arrived at Magherafelt college, County Derry, where he worked as a lecturer. Bernard was a Sinn Féin councillor on the Magherafelt district council. He was also the last elected representative to be murdered before the Good Friday peace agreement. No one was subsequently detained, arrested or convicted of the killing.
My family have always believed that the killing involved collusion between security forces and loyalist terror organisations and the case is part of an investigation into collusion in Northern Ireland during the time of the Troubles.
This week while visiting my family in Northern Ireland I was shown a copy of the inquest report into Bernard’s murder. One point that struck me deeply was that there were only two witness statements. I was incredulous that only two such statements had been presented to the coroner when so many people had witnessed the killing. I also thought it strange that photofit pictures of the killer were produced but were never published.
Back in England, the victims of Hillsborough have been finally been given justice; a major inquiry into child abuse is ongoing and there calls for an inquiry into police mistreatment of striking miners at Orgreave.
We must not forget that in Northern Ireland justice is still being sought by the families of people who believed their loved ones were effectively murdered by the state whose duty it was to try and protect them. It is essential that the current British government acts to ensure that the necessary funding is available and that the process of investigation is allowed to progress without any hindrance.
Mary Gilhooley
Stanley, County Durham
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