Widows whose husbands were murdered settle cases against MOD and PSNI

Mary Loughrey, widow of Jim Loughrey, and Marie Newton, widow of John Toland, settled their cases for an undisclosed sum.

It is understood the MoD and PSNI are to pay the widows’ legal costs as part of the outcome, with no admission of liability.

The two families commenced civil proceedings following the publication of reports by the Historical Enquiries Team (HET).

The HET confirmed that the UDA gang that murdered John Toland and Jim Loughrey included members of the UDR and a former member of the RUC. This gang was also involved in the murders of Michael McHugh in Castlederg and Kevin Mulhern in Derry, and the attempted murder of another.

In relation to the murder of John Toland the report states ‘the HET concludes that it is likely that there was collusion between individual members of the security forces and those responsible for John’s murder.”

In relation to the murder of Jim Loughrey, the HET concluded that ‘collusion could not be ruled out.’

Sara Duddy from the PFC said: “Following the findings of the HET Report, the Toland and Loughrey families initiated civil proceedings against the Ministry of Defence. The PSNI were later added to the proceedings.

"This settlement is a positive outcome for two widows and two families devastated by these murders over forty years ago. Both widows had large, young families, and the emotional and financial impacts caused by Jim and John’s murders are still felt to this day. This settlement goes some way to acknowledge the hurt caused.

"It is a disappointing that other families will not be afforded the same opportunity to pursue this course of action due to the shameful Legacy Act that stops civil actions.”

Jim Loughrey (36) was shot several times at his home in Greysteel by UDA gunmen, on the evening of November 14, 1976. Two gunmen entered the home and shot him twelve times in front of his wife and all of his eight young children. Jim died 11 days later on November 25 as a result of his injuries.

The Ulster Freedom Fighters, a cover named used by the UDA, later admitted responsibility, stating it was in retaliation for the IRA murder a UDR man weeks earlier.

John Toland (36) was married to Marie, and they had seven children. John was managing the Happy Landings Bar in Eglinton, when, at approximately 5.50pm on November 22, 1976, two gunmen entered the bar. While one stood watch, the other shot John in the back multiple times. John was declared dead shortly afterwards.

The UFF also claimed responsibility for John’s murder.

Marie Newton, John Toland’s widow in a statement said: “John was such a happy person, he was the happiest person on this planet. He adored his family and his home. He never stopped working. Me and John had our lives planned. We wanted a whole gang of children, and we also wanted to work as hard as we could so that we could give them the best life.

“Although John was a Catholic, he never once said to me that he felt uncomfortable or uneasy in Eglinton. There were never any issues with the customers, many of which were RUC men. John never ever said to me that he felt unsafe. He would just treat them as he treated everyone.

“John felt safe as he wasn’t involved in anything, he was working from he was 14 and that was his life. John was a respected member of the community, and I thought they idolised him.

“It is hard to describe the devastation of John’s murder on my life and the lives of my children. He had done everything for us, he took care of everything, and I was completely lost without him.

“I knew it was loyalists responsible for the murder. They said something like John was giving information the IRA- it was completely untrue. Glenn Barr, who was in the UDA, was a regular in the bar. Glenn came out and publicly condemned the murder and said John was innocent. I was very pleased that he did this.

“I believe John was targeted because they didn’t like seeing a catholic doing so well, running the bar and thriving.

“John had managed all our money. My boys, who were just young children, became the men of the house and left school to go to work. They missed out on their education and future because of what happened.

"I could live through every second of that time. I can feel exactly what I felt back then. I remember every moment of it. The devastation was unbearable.”

Johnny Loughrey, Jim Loughrey’s son said: “Dad was raised and went to school in Portstewart. He left school after secondary level, and followed in his father’s footsteps when he enlisted to the Enniskilling Fusiliers, a local regiment of the British Army. During his time in the army he demonstrated leadership skills and rose to the rank of Corporal.

“It was when stationed with the army at Eglinton that Dad met our mother, Mary O’Kane. Our Mum has fond memories of her early romance with Dad. After a two year courtship, the couple married in 1960. The family would grow over the years ahead, until they had eight children, five girls and three boys.

“Dad’s interests were varied, and he enjoyed reading, gaelic football and soccer. He had an interest in world politics and was known to be a fan of John F Kennedy. He was also interested in human rights and civil rights, and had been a workers’ union activist, taking on the role of Shop Steward on a couple of occasions.

“Dad was an attentive husband and father. He was a believer in spending quality time with his family, to some extent before the term was truly invented. The immediate impact of Dad’s murder on our family was both shocking and dramatic. Aside from the obvious grief, the trauma from being there and watching our Dad being shot in the kitchen of the family home had a devastating effect. Psychological supports were not available at this time and each of the children suffered terrible mental and physical manifestations of the trauma.

“As a family we often talk about life without Dad and the loss of everyday experiences that a child has with their father while growing up, things that other families took for granted. We continued to feel the loss as adults, missing out on profound experiences such as my five sisters not having their father present at their weddings to give the bride away or make the father of the bride speeches as was the tradition, or my brothers and I never having our father there to see our achievements when playing football and soccer.

“Even more profound was the loss of a grandfather to our children, and a great grandfather to our children’s children. Our Mum still feels the loss of Dad emotionally, and says that she still misses him every day. Mum struggled to raise her eight children as a single parent with often little or no money. The hardships from this took its toll both physically and emotionally.

“The loss of Dad casts a long shadow over our family and will continue to do so for generations to come. Our lives, while happy and fulfilled at times, have been dominated by the grief and trauma caused by the murder of our Dad.”

Meanwhile the family of Michael Hugh, who was killed by the same group, said: “We, the family of Mick McHugh wish to extend our deepest solidarity with the Loughrey and Toland families in their steadfast efforts to ascertain the truth surrounding the murders of Jim and John.

“They pursued the investigation with unwavering dignity and endurance for over 40 years. Congratulations; we applaud your resilience and determination throughout this long and arduous journey.

“While justice may not have been fully realised, we hope this settlement and its implications bring some measure of closure.

“Our thoughts are with you during this time, and we sincerely wish for peace of mind now and in the future.”