Derry & Strabane Councillors hold minute’s silence for Ballymurphy victims

A minute’s silence was held by members of Derry City and Strabane Council’s Business and Culture Committee to remember the 10 people shot and killed in Ballymurphy and all loved ones murdered by the British Army.
By Gillian Anderson
Published 11th May 2021, 17:05 BST
Updated 11th May 2021, 17:10 BST
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A minute’s silence was held by members of Derry City and Strabane Council’s Business and Culture Committee to remember the 10 people shot and killed in Ballymurphy and all loved ones murdered by the British Army.

The tribute was proposed by Committee Chair SDLP Councillor Rory Farrell, who read out the names of the 10 Ballymurphy victims.

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Councillor Farrell said: “Today the judge has declared the 10 people shot and killed by the Parachute Regiment in Belfast in August 1971 were entirely innocent of any wrongdoing.

Undated Ballymurphy Massacre Committee handout file photos of (left to right top row) Joseph Corr, Danny Taggart, Eddie Doherty, Father Hugh Mullan, Frank Quinn, Paddy McCarthy, (left to right, bottom row) Joan Connolly, John McKerr, Noel Philips, John Laverty and Joseph Murphy, who were all gunshot victims of the Ballymurphy massacre in west Belfast in 1971. Issue date: Tuesday May 11, 2021.Undated Ballymurphy Massacre Committee handout file photos of (left to right top row) Joseph Corr, Danny Taggart, Eddie Doherty, Father Hugh Mullan, Frank Quinn, Paddy McCarthy, (left to right, bottom row) Joan Connolly, John McKerr, Noel Philips, John Laverty and Joseph Murphy, who were all gunshot victims of the Ballymurphy massacre in west Belfast in 1971. Issue date: Tuesday May 11, 2021.
Undated Ballymurphy Massacre Committee handout file photos of (left to right top row) Joseph Corr, Danny Taggart, Eddie Doherty, Father Hugh Mullan, Frank Quinn, Paddy McCarthy, (left to right, bottom row) Joan Connolly, John McKerr, Noel Philips, John Laverty and Joseph Murphy, who were all gunshot victims of the Ballymurphy massacre in west Belfast in 1971. Issue date: Tuesday May 11, 2021.

“I would like to pay tribute to the Ballymurphy families who conducted themselves with dignity and determination in the face of adversity.

“They spent 50 years campaigning and fighting for truth and justice so I want to send solidarity from this Council and from Derry because we have our own families, namely the Bloody Sunday families, who have faced a similar battle with the British state.”

SDLP Councillor Jason Barr seconded the proposal saying: “Condolences to the families. I am sure today the families are glad to hear their loved ones have been declared innocent by the coroner.”

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Before the minute’s silence Sinn Féin Councillor Conor Heaney said: “What has happened to the Ballymurphy families has particular significance to what has happened here in this city.

“It’s a great day for the people of Ballymurphy that they have been finally vindicated in that way and it’s to be welcomed.”

By Gillian Anderson

Local Democracy Reporter