Former SF councillor's home attacked
By Mick Naughton
A loyalist pipe bomb attack in the early hours of Tuesday morning
May 5 nearly cost former Craigavon Sinn Fein councillor Brendan
Curran his life. Brendan has already survived several loyalist
gun and bomb attacks. His partner Sheena Campbell was shot dead
by the UVF in 1992. An improvised pipe bomb packed with half inch
ball bearings and other shrapnel hit the front window before
falling into the front garden where it exploded leaving a large
hole in the flower bed. Brendan was sitting in the room at the
time of the attack. His 16 year old step son was also in the
house. Brendan believes the fact that the device failed to
penetrate through the window saved his life.
Expressing relief that no one was killed or seriously injured,
Sinn Fein Six-County Chairperson Gerry O hEara warned that others
may not be so lucky. ``I am calling on all republicans to reassess
their personal security. The lack of media attention and comment
from politicans who are normally very vocal in their outrage at
such incidents when they involve non-republicans is very
conspicuous. Once more the lives of republicans are treated with
less importance than others.''
Meanwhile, also on Tuesday night, four known loyalists were
spotted acting suspiciously in the Wood Grove area of Portadown,
close to the Garvarghy Road. Last weekend known loyalists were
spotted getting out of a car and scouting close to the Ashgrove
area of the town. Using either hand held raidos or mobile phones
they loitered for around ten minutes. The loyalist gang chatted
amicably to a passing RUC mobile patrol before returning to their
car and driving away. A nationalist family whose home was
attacked several years ago, around the same time as the last
attack on Brendan Curran, lives in this area. Local nationalists
believe another attack was being planned.
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