Claudy bombing victims’ families and wounded lead remembrance 50 years on

The victims of the Claudy bombing were joined by Church representatives, politicians and hundreds of people from across the community on Sunday as they remembered all those impacted by the explosions which ripped through the town just yards from where they were standing five decades ago.

Bereaved relatives read prayers at the service and afterwards laid floral tributes at individual plaques dedicated to the victims, children and adults, Catholic and Protestant.

Those killed included nine-year-old Kathryn Eakin, who had been cleaning the windows of her family’s grocery business, Patrick Connolly, 15, and 16-year-old William Temple.

The adults who died were Artie Hone, 38, Joseph McCloskey, 39, Elizabeth McElhinney, 59, James McClelland, 65, Rose McLaughlin, 52, and David Miller, 60.

James Miller, grandson of David Miller, said it was important to keep remembering those who lost their lives.

“I’m here today to remember my grandfather, the grandfather that I never got to enjoy,” he said.

“I was three years of age at the time he was killed, he was brutally taken away from me and the family. We come to remember because we don’t want to forget these people, we don’t want to forget what happened to all nine innocent victims of Claudy.

“They were brutally mown down, some of them in the prime of their life – there was young, there was old, there was Catholic, there was Protestant, male and female and they were all brutally taken away.”

The family of the oldest victim of the Claudy bombing, Jim McClelland, has said the passing of 50 years since the IRA attack has not diminished the “horror, loss, or sheer senselessness of what happened”.

Mr McClelland, David Miller and William Temple all lost their lives to the explosion outside a hotel.

Mr McClelland’s niece, Tracy Deans, described the bomb victim as “unassuming, gentle and kind, with a great sense of humour and the loveliest laugh”.

In a moving tribute on behalf of the McClelland family for the 50th anniversary, she added: “The family home was close to Cumber Presbyterian Church where they worshipped, and the church was very much at the centre of his life.

“Jim was a devout man with a deep love of God and the Bible. He loved singing in church, especially his favourite hymn, ‘What A Friend We Have In Jesus’, and he also enjoyed the different social activities the church ran, especially the bowling club.”

Reflecting on the horror inflicted on Claudy 50 years ago, she said: “There are so many people who still carry the pain of what happened in Claudy 50 years ago. The passing of time does not diminish the horror, loss, or sheer senselessness of what happened, and nor does it diminish the memories of those who died.

“Jim lived a very ordinary life, but the mark he left in the memories of those who knew him is testament to how special he actually was.

“When we talk to people who remember him, their faces soften and they begin to smile as they talk of a man who was quiet and unassuming, gentle and kind, with a great sense of humour and the loveliest laugh.”

After the service, guests were invited to a nearby community centre for the official launch of a new book about the bombings.

The foreword was written by former world champion boxer Barry McGuigan, who has a family connection with the youngest victim, Kathryn Eakin. An artwork created by pupils from two local primary schools was also displayed in the centre.