Vigilance urged after killing
by Laura Friel
Nationalists are being urged to be vigilant following the
sectarian murder of a 36-year-old Catholic man at St Enda's GAA
club on the outskirts of North Belfast last Friday.
Gerry Devlin, a senior offical at the club, was shot dead as he
arrived for an evening business meeting. An eyewitness saw a lone
gunman standing over his victim in the car park ``in a shooting
stance''. The GAA man was shot four times in the head and body at
close range before his attacker ran off down a laneway. He died
instantly at the scene. No group has claimed responsibilty but
the killing has all the hallmarks of a random sectarian attack by
loyalists.
``It had been feared,'' says Sinn Fein's Gerry Kelly, ``that
loyalist murder gangs, who have recently been feuding, would
attempt to divert attention from their internal difficulties by
targeting catholics. Such fears seem to have been borne out.''
Kelly urged nationalists to be ``extremely vigilant in the days
ahead''. The shooting took place hours after Irish President Mary
McAleese visited the nationalist Ardoyne area of North Belfast.
``Loyalists have never needed an excuse to kill Catholics,'' said
Kelly, but the timing may be significant. Three Catholics were
shot dead during Mary Robinson's first visit to the Six counties
in 1992.
St Enda's GAA club, sited in a remote spot surrounded by loyalist
areas, has been targeted for numerous sectarian attacks.
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