Here’s an example of why it pisses me off. Still can’t believe one of our party claimed they are the force of good in the Irish conflict in the pub last week. Yes indeed, we are very lucky to have Britain keeping an eye on matters and ensuring we reside in an equitable and prosperous world for all:
I remember the footage from when Tyrone won their first All Ireland in 2003 and stopped the bus in Aughnacloy on their victory parade home to have a minute silence for Aiden Mc Anespie who was murdered in cold blood in his way to the Gaelic Grounds. It brought a tear to my eye.
THE EXECUTION OF AIDAN MC ANESPIE
Eilish Mc Anespie
It is of paramount importance that the killing of my brother, Aidan Mc Anespie, on the 21st of February 1988, is not viewed as an isolated incident but rather as the result of systematic and routine victimisation for several years by British crown forces. These include members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, the Ulster Defence Regiment and the British Army.
My brother, Aidan McAnespie, was the youngest of a family of six children. He was born in Aughnacloy,
a predominantly loyalist village situated on the border with the Republic of Ireland. The area historically had a high unemployment rate, that is, for those nationalists living there. As a consequence, Aidan looked for work across the border and was fortunate enough to get a job in a poultry processing plant in Monaghan town, some ten miles south of Aughnacloy. To go to work each day, Aidan had to pass through a permanent British Army checkpoint at the southern side of the village. As a result, the security forces became
familiar with him and often asked him to remove his car from the road for what was termed a
“routine search”. They would then take the car apart, removing door panels and wheels. They would
also search through his lunch with their bare hands saying, “You’ll be late for work today
Aidan”. Aidan made complaints to his trade union about these incidents who made representations on
his behalf, but the harassment continued unabated.
On other occasions they would ask him to remove his coat, shoes and socks in the rain. When he
refused, they would put him on the ground and one soldier stood on his throat while another pulled
off his shoes and socks. Aidan made complaints to his local R.U.C. station. It was not unusual for Aidan to be taken into the British Army base for a vehicle search two or three times a week and the car pulled apart. The harassment got so bad that he stopped driving through the checkpoint, instead he would drive to
the filling station just south of the checkpoint and would phone my mother. She would then cycle
down through the town and out past the checkpoint and walk back through with Aidan. On one occasion
a soldier shouted after them, “Are you trying to protect your son Mrs McAnespie?”.
Aidan contacted newspapers seeking the protection that publicity might have given him and one
national newspaper carried a story describing him as the most harassed person in Ireland. He could
have wallpapered his room with official complaints made to the R.U.C. both through solicitors and the
local parish priest. Aidan’s life evolved around the continual threat of harassment and physical
violence at best and the real threat of being killed at worst. A soldier stopped my father about
a year before the shooting and asked, “Are you Aidan’s father?”. When he said he was, the soldier
said, “We have a bullet here for him.”
On the 21st of February 1988, Aidan parked his car at the northern side of the checkpoint and walked
towards the local G.A.A. pitch, which was just south of the checkpoint. He had only walked three
hundred yards when a single bullet from a heavy calibre machine gun cut him down, in the prime of
his life, on a lovely sunny afternoon, while on the way to a Gaelic football match. Aidan’s life
was taken, his killer watched him walk towards the football pitch, aimed and fired to kill. This is
the view of our family and many community and church leaders. The then Cardinal and Primate of
all Ireland described the killing as murder.
In stark contrast the British Army described the incident as a tragic accident. They claimed,
firstly, that the gun used was being passed from one soldier to another when it was accidentally
discharged. This account later changed to one of accidental discharge when the gun was in the
process of being cleaned. Because the Northern Ireland Office’s statement of what happened
supported this version, all subsequent investigations carried out by the R.U.C. was
mobilised to support this explanation of events.
In actual fact, the security force explanation was so incredible that they had to create evidence to
support their claim. For example, eye witnesses saw a man coming out of a sanger from which Aidan
was shot, wearing casual clothes and sports shoes. The next day the army had a number of their people
painting the checkpoint in casual clothing. Aidan’s car was parked close to the checkpoint in
a nationalist housing estate. On the day of the funeral eye witnesses saw a man remove it. Our
family phoned the local R.U.C. station to report it missing. They said that they knew nothing about
it but to try C.I.D. in Dungannon. C.I.D. in Dungannon were not aware of the missing car, we
then phoned the local police to report the stolen car. The press got to hear about the missing car
and shortly after speaking to the police a local journalist could tell the family that the car was
removed by the police for its safety. It seems incredible that of all the cars parked in the
housing estate this was the only car in some kind of danger.
In addition, the army claimed, that due to the accidental discharge of the weapon three shots
were fired, one of which ricocheted off the road hitting Aidan. Local people living nearby say the
army reconstructed this account of things when, as darkness fell, a flashing light was placed at the
spot where Aidan was shot and three shots were heard to be fired. It is widely believed that the
army fired the shots to mark the road to support their ricochet theory. When challenged by the
press, the army claimed that they came under fire from terrorists, a claim denied by the I.R.A. and
local people nearby who say no attack of the kind took place.
A soldier, David J.Holden, was charged with unlawful killing. While on this charge he was
allowed to go home to his family in England. Approximately six months later all charges were
dropped. At Aidan’s inquest, the coroner, Roger Mc Lernon, said the death was a cause of “profound regret”
and was “avoidable and should have been avoided”. The R.U.C. stated at the inquest and it was
repeated by the coroner, that there was no suggestion that Aidan had ever been involved in
any form of illegal activity. Guardsman Holden was not compelled to attend the inquest. The coroner
advised the jury that although the soldier was entitled under law not to attend his unsworn
statement should be treated with caution. The only other soldier in the sanger when the fatal shot
was fired was conveniently absent without leave for the six months previous to the inquest. The
coroner said, this was “amazing” and of “profound concern”. Our family was not present at this
inquest because we had no faith in its ability to discover the truth and we have a series of
unanswered questions:
Why did the gun that killed Aidan have a live round in its breach while being cleaned?
Why was it cocked?
Why was the safety catch off?
How couldDavid Holden’s hands still be slippery and wet, ten minutes after he finished washing sanger
walls?
Is it possible to accidentally exert nine pounds of pressure on a weapon’s trigger, pulling
it backwards and upwards?
Why was Holden out of uniform, wearing what appeared to be a track suit when he left the sanger under police escort after the shooting?
How could the Northern Ireland Office release a definitive statement of the shooting less than an hour after it had taken place?
Was this a rigorous investigation?
It must be remembered that this is in no way the only incident of its type. The S.A.S., the British
Army and R.U.C. have been involved in the murders of hundreds of nationalists in controversial
circumstances. On the day of Aidan’s funeral the only serving member of the British Army, Private
Thain, to be convicted of killing an Irish person, Kidso Reilly, was set free after serving
just over two years of a life sentence and is back with the army on “active service”. Holden was
subsequently released on charges of not taking proper care of a weapon and was disciplined in a
military tribunal. He has since been discharged on medical grounds and is a free man.
We are now told that it is important to build for the future.
If we are to overcome our past we must come to terms with it and we can only do that if we know the truth about it. The British must acknowledge the atrocities which they have carried out on the Irish people.