Second inquest collapses as coroner seeks public inquiry

A coroner at the inquest of a second Catholic man murdered by a British death squad has halted the inquest and urged the British government to hold a public inquiry.

Paddy McGurgan made the call as he stopped the inquest into the death of Fergal McCusker on Wednesday.

Mr McCusker was shot dead in Maghera, County Derry, as he made his way home from a night out in January, 1998. No-one has ever been charged with the murder of the 28-year-old, although four men were arrested and later released.

High-level collusion between the Crown forces and the LVF (‘Loyalist Volunteer Force’) is suspected in the murder.

The killing came months after the likely related murder of prominent Gaelic sports official Sean Brown, also by the LVF, in nearby Bellaghy in May 1997. That inquest was similarly brought to a halt after it emerged that up to 25 people are suspected of colluding in his killing.

As in the Brown case, an attempt to prevent the coroner from issuing a limited summary, or gist, of ‘sensitive’ information linked to the case is the subject of a legal battle by the British government.

One week from the introduction of the Legacy Act, it is clear that the British government is seeking to ‘run down the clock’ in order to shut down the investigations.

In a provisional ruling on the viability of the inquest, Mr McGurgan said he was of the view that that the information that is being kept secret by a PII (‘Public Interest Immunity’) order is “of central importance” to the inquest.

“Without it being considered by the inquest I am not conducting what I consider to be a sufficient investigation into the death,” he said, but added a public inquiry would allow the process to reach a conclusion.

In a statement the McCusker family said they have been “robbed of a lifetime of memories” and described their loved one as an innocent civilian and a family man who was “murdered by cowards in his own hometown with no proper investigation or convictions over his death”.

“How could an inquest of the kind conclude with the amount of redacted material, the use of PII and the intervention of the secretary of state before the May 1 deadline?

“Our question to [British Direct Ruler, Chris Heaton-Harris] is if this had of been his relative how he would feel in our position? What is he trying to hide on behalf of the British state?”

Lawyer Pádraig Ó Muirigh, of Ó Muirigh Solicitors, described the development as “very sad” for the McCusker family.

“It is imperative that a prompt decision is made by the secretary of state and certainly in advance of the May 1,” he said.

“This is the only suitable legal mechanism now available to the McCusker family to have a fearless investigation into his death that will expose the full extent of the role of agents in his death.”

Last month a coroner was similarly forced to abandon an inquest into the murder of Mr Brown after confirming he was unable to complete the legal process due to PSNI and MI5 failures to disclose vital information. He has also written to Chris Heaton-Harris, requesting a public inquiry into that murder.

But a new documentary broadcast last week on RTE, ‘Murder of a GAA Chairman’ has brought new attention to the murder.

In an interview as part of of the broadcast, Mr Brown’s widow has told how she desperately searched for her husband unaware he had been abducted and killed by a pro-British murder gang.

Bridie Brown, now an 86-year-old, recalls the evening her husband’s life was brought to a violent end. The 61-year-old was abducted as he locked the gates at Bellaghy Wolfe Tones GAA club in May 1997. He was then taken in the boot of his own car to a laneway near Randalstown, Co Antrim, where he was shot six times.

Mrs Brown reveals how she went in search of her husband after he failed to return home.

“If he was going to be late he would have let me know, he would have been very attentive like that,” she said.

“At 2.30 in the morning I took a torch out of the cupboard and decided I would take a walk out to the club.

“I came up the pitch and went in through the turnstile and had the torch with me and shone it right around and walked around the buildings again. No, there was nobody about, not a sinner, no cars, no nothing.”

Mrs Brown remembers how she concluded that someone may have taken ill and that her husband had brought them to the hospital, adding, “I was happy with that.”

However, at 6.30am the appearance of two RUC men on the street where the Brown family lived raised concerns.

“I thought ‘there’s something going on so I just went down to them and I said ‘my husband didn’t come home last night, where’s his body at?’” she said.

Mrs Brown explains how the two RUC officers showed little sympathy.

“Then whenever the policemen came up and into the house, they were anything but nice,” she said.

“Whenever they did come in, they were saying very little.”

Mr Brown’s daughter Siobhan Brown urged members of the public to watch the documentary.

“The documentary is a very emotional account of daddy’s life that not only portrayed the events around the time of his murder and the events leading up to the collapse of his inquest but also what his life was like beforehand,” she said.

“I would appeal to everyone to watch this documentary to get an insight into the life of Sean Brown and how an innocent hard working family man came to lose his life in such a tragic way and the uphill battle that we as a family have faced during the last 26 plus years in order to find the truth as to how and why he was murdered and ultimately to seek justice.”

Ms Brown thanked the makers and all those who took part in the documentary.

“They did an excellent job in such a short time and treated us with the utmost respect when we were facing difficult days before the collapse of the inquest and indeed since,” she said.

“We were also glad that they could incorporate reference to our brother Damian who sadly passed away. His fight for justice for daddy has not gone unnoticed either.”

* ‘Murder of a GAA Chairman’, produced and directed by Trevor Birney, is available on RTÉ Player and other streaming sites.

Urgent Appeal