Bridget Irvine's Application
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Judge | Humphreys J |
| Neutral Citation | [2022] NIQB 49 |
| Court | Queen's Bench Division (Northern Ireland) |
| Date | 29 June 2022 |
1
Neutral Citation No: [2022] NIQB 49
Judgment: approved by the court for handing down
(subject to editorial corrections)*
Ref: HUM11888
ICOS No. 15/068794
Delivered: 29/06/2022
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE IN NORTHERN IRELAND
___________
QUEEN’S BENCH DIVISION
(JUDICIAL REVIEW)
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IN THE MATTER OF AN APPLICATION BY BRIDGET IRVINE
FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW
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Frank O’Donoghue QC and David Heraghty (instructed by KRW Law) for the Applicant
Peter Coll QC and Philip McAteer (instructed by the Crown Solicitor’s Office) for the
Respondent
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HUMPHREYS J
Introduction
[1] On 4 December 1971 loyalist paramilitaries planted a bomb at McGurk’s Bar
in North Queen Street, Belfast which detonated and killed 15 people and injured
many more. It was one of the bloodiest attacks in the history of the conflict in
Northern Ireland. The target was selected simply because it was a public house
frequented by Catholics.
[2] The applicant’s mother, Kathleen Irvine, was one of the victims of this
massacre. The circumstances of the bombing have been the subject of several
investigations over the last 50 years.
[3] The initial investigation by the RUC did lead to one man, Robert Campbell,
being convicted of the murders and attempted murders in September 1978.
However, a number of agencies have criticised the police investigation as being
unduly and wrongly influenced by the theory that the attack was the work of
republican paramilitaries. It is said that this misconception infected the investigative
process until Mr Campbell was interviewed in July 1977.
[4] This judicial review relates to the report of the Historical Enquiries Team
(‘HET’) into the McGurk’s Bar bombing which was published on 20 May 2014. The
applicant seeks to quash that report on the basis that its finding that there was no
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