Irish Republican News · September 17, 2004

Orange ‘Master’ jailed for sectarian killing

A former district master in the Orange Order has been sentenced to at least 15 years of a life term for the sectarian murder of Glengormley man Trevor Lowry, a 49-year-old Protestant father of two who was mistaken for a Catholic.

The murder was blamed on the unionist pramilitary UDA:

Harry Speers from Newtownabbey was was sentenced along with 20-year-old Ron Craig from Glengormley, who was told he would have to serve at least 11 years.

Mr Lowry died on March 31 2001, two days after being lured into an alleyway by Speers and Craig and another teenager and savagely beaten.

Justice Girvan said that during the unprovoked attack, in which Mr Lowry had little or no chance to defend himself, it appeared his attackers “didn’t care whether he lived or died - they didn’t care what happened to him”.

Speers, who is a past Orange Order District Master in Carnmoney and a former councillor for the UDA-linked UDP, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum tariff of 15 years.

‘SPY’ RELEASED

A man found to have information on Conservative politicians and air force bases in Britain has been released after being sentenced to 27 months for possessing “information of use to terrorists”.

John Jude O’Hagan, 31, who the New Lodge area of north Belfast, had been accused of gathering the information from the internet and a public library for the IRA.

Mr O’Hagan walked free from Belfast Crown Court as he had served over three years on remand awaiting his trial.

Justice Morgan said he had to consider whether or not the public interest would be served by sending O’Hagan back to jail and concluded that it would not.

BOMB PLOT ARRESTS

Three men and a woman have been arrested in Belfast under the “Prevention of Terrorism” Act.

A large amount of ammunition and bomb making equipment was found during planned searches in the north and west of the city on Friday.

The operation follows a recent threat issued by the breakaway ‘Continuity IRA’ that a bomb would be left at a police station somewhere in Belfast.

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