In the matter of a series of deaths that occurred in August 1971 at Ballymurphy, West Belfast
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Judge | Keegan J |
| Judgment Date | 11 May 2021 |
| Neutral Citation | [2021] NICoroner 6 |
| Court | Coroners Court (NI) |
| Date | 11 May 2021 |
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Neutral Citation No:
Judgment: approved by the Court for handing down
(subject to editorial corrections)*
Ref: KEE11379
Delivered: 11/05/2021
IN THE MATTER OF THE CORONERS ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1959
__________
IN THE MATTER OF A SERIES OF DEATHS THAT OCCURRED IN
AUGUST 1971 AT BALLYMURPHY, WEST BELFAST
__________
Appearances on behalf of Properly Interested Persons:
Mr Sean Doran QC, Mr David Heraghty, Mr Michael McCartan, Ms Denise Kiley,
(instructed by Ms Rosalind Johnston on behalf of the Coroner)
Mr Kevin Rooney QC, Mr Peter Coll QC, Mr Martin Wolfe QC, Mr Mark Robinson,
Mr Joseph Aiken, Mr Andrew McGuinness, Mr Mark McEvoy
(instructed by the Crown Solicitor’s Office on behalf of the Ministry of Defence and
Police Service of Northern Ireland)
Mr Michael Mansfield QC, Ms Karen Quinlivan QC, Ms Fiona Doherty QC, Ms Brenda
Campbell QC, Mr Desmond Hutton, Mr Des Fahy, Mr Sean Devine, Mr Eugene McKenna
(instructed by Ó’Muirigh Solicitors),
Mr Barry Macdonald QC and Ms Laura McMahon (instructed by Phoenix Law Solicitors)
on behalf of the Next of Kin
__________
Sections Paragraphs
I. Introduction [1]-[10]
II. Scope [11]-[12]
III. Case management [13]-[60]
IV. Legal considerations [61]-[85]
V. Rules of Engagement/ Investigation [86]-[89]
VI. Conclusion [90]
KEEGAN J
I. INTRODUCTION
[1]The series of inquests known as the Ballymurphy Inquests comprise five
incidents. Therefore I heard this case in modular format. The inquest is a fact finding
exercise, it is not a criminal or civil trial. Incident 1 concerns the deaths of Francis
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Quinn and Father Hugh Mullan on 9 August 1971. Incident 2 concerns the deaths of
Noel Phillips, Joan Connolly and Daniel Teggart on 9 August 1971 and the
subsequent death of Joseph Murphy on 22 August 1971 (Mr Murphy having been
shot on 9 August 1971). Incident 3 concerns the death of Edward Doherty on
10 August 1971. Incident 4 concerns the deaths of John Laverty on 11 August 1971
and of Joseph Corr on 27 August 1971 (Mr Corr having been shot on 11 August
1971). Incident 5 concerns the death of John James McKerr on 20 August 1971
(Mr McKerr having been shot on 11 August 1971). This chapter deals with some
contextual background, case management issues and the legal issues which arise.
[2] As will be apparent, these incidents occurred over a three day period from
9 to 11 August 1971 in the Ballymurphy area. Incident 1 occurred in an area of waste
ground that lay between Springfield Park and Moyard Park in this area. Incident 2
occurred at a location known locally as the Manse on the Springfield Road.
Incident 3 occurred on the Whiterock Road. Incident 4 occurred in an area known as
the Mountain Loney close to Dermot Hill Park. Incident 5 occurred on Westrock
Drive close to Corpus Christi Church.
[3] These deaths are now in their 50th anniversary year and yet the effect of them
remains stark for the bereaved families and the other persons involved. The context
of this case is the so-called “Troubles” which were taking place in Northern Ireland
at the time. That highly charged and difficult environment is something that the
people of Northern Ireland still remember and hope is behind us. The Troubles are
one aspect but the specific backdrop to Ballymurphy was the internment operation
that was initiated by the British Government in 1971 and code named Operation
Demetrius. That operation had been proposed by the Northern Ireland Executive at
a meeting with the Prime Minister Edward Heath on 5 August 1971.
[4] This policy was designed to stymie the growth of paramilitary activity in
Northern Ireland and as part and parcel of it the Government agreed to military
support. Inevitably, the target of the operation was the Irish Republican Army
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(“IRA”) which was active at the time. It was to be a planned operation carried out
under Regulations pursuant to the Civil Authorities (Special Powers) Act
(Northern Ireland) 1922. The aim was to take those suspected of being members of
the IRA out of circulation and have them interned. This operation was enacted with
military support and commenced at around 4.00am on 9 August 1971.
[5] The arrests that occurred on that day were widespread and spanned
throughout Northern Ireland and not just West Belfast where these deaths occurred.
However, there were a considerable number of arrests in West Belfast which was
known to be an area of Republican activity. Following the introduction of
internment there was a reaction from the local population throughout Northern
Ireland. This manifested itself as disorder on the streets of Belfast and elsewhere.
The RUC duty officers’ reports for 9 and 10 August 1971 paint a picture of the scale
of unrest and strife as follows. Across Belfast alone on 9 and 10 August 1971 it is
recorded that there were approximately 12 explosions, 59 shooting incidents, 17
reported deaths, 25 reported injuries, 13 incidents of rioting, 18 reports of arson and
other reports of civil disorder of various kinds. It is hard to imagine now the extent
of the difficulties that the local people faced in Northern Ireland when all of this was
at its height.
[6] This background provides the context in which these deaths occurred.
However, whilst the broad background frames each incident, there are many
different considerations and complexities in these cases. The deaths themselves
occurred at different times and in different ways and in each of the inquests it is
apparent that different questions are raised. For these reasons, I have prepared a
specific set of narrative findings in each case.
[7] I heard oral evidence over 100 court sitting days making this the longest
running inquest in Northern Ireland to date. I also read thousands of pages of
evidence and detailed legal submissions which were filed at the conclusion of the
evidence. All properly interested persons had the benefit of expert legal
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