Relatives of those murdered during the Northern Ireland Troubles have given a cautious welcome to the anniversary of the deal that brought peace to the province.
On April 10, 1998, the Good Friday Agreement was signed off by Irish and British political leaders in a diplomatic achievement still hailed today as one of the world’s best examples of ending conflict between opposing communities.
The deal brought an end to 30 years of bloodshed that cost the lives of over 3,500 people.
However, many of those who lost loved ones during the three decades of violence that preceded the historic agreement, feel that victims, and their families, have been “left behind.”
“I’ve been walking behind coffins since I was five years of age,” Belfast man Billy McManus told The Epoch Times.
“I’ve been burying people all my life, and then when the Good Friday Agreement happened, it was all going to stop.
“But what about the people that were killed? What did their families get out of it?”
For the last 30 years, Billy McManus has been fighting for truth and justice surrounding his father’s 1992 murder.
William McManus, 54, was shot multiple times as he stood inside a bookmakers on Belfast’s Ormeau Road.
Five people were killed and seven others seriously injured when loyalist paramilitary attackers burst into the shop and opened fire mercilessly.
The tragedy—carried out by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA)—is known as the Sean Graham bookie massacre.
Police Informants
In 2010, an inquiry carried out by the Historical Enquiries Team (HET) into the UDA murders found that a Browning pistol used in the attack came from the security forces.A UDA informant handed the gun to his police handlers who then gave it back to him, investigators revealed.
The report also stated that the gun was used in other UDA killings.
Police told HET investigators that another rifle used in the attack to murder William McManus and others had been “disposed of.”
It was later found on display in London’s Imperial War Museum.
Last year, a report published by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland (PONI) identified “collusive behaviours” in the handling of the tragedy.
That included the “deliberate destruction” of files relating to the shootings.
The report also revealed that eight UDA members had been linked by intelligence to the murders or attempted murders of 27 people.
“It’s terrible to think that so many years after the Good Friday Agreement we still have to go to court and still have to fight for everything,” said McManus.
“I thought that was all part of getting to the truth, but nothings changed for us.
“Victims on both sides of the community are all in the same boat.
“Lost is a big word I always say because if this legacy bill goes through, where do we go?
“At the end of the day, I think the British government want to forget about us, that it’s never happened.
“It’s always 1998 to us, we are still in same boat, we’ve still got no justice.”
‘Betrayed’
Months before the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, Raymond McCord buried his 22-year-old son.Raymond Jnr—who had worked as a radar operator with the Royal Air Force—was murdered on Nov. 9, 1997, after being lured to the grounds of a disused quarry not far from his Belfast home.
He was beaten to death by members of the outlawed Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF).
His killing would go on to spark one of the most damning public inquiries into the workings of the UVF, and the paramilitary gang’s close relationship with Northern Ireland’s now-defunct police force, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC).
Operation Ballast, headed by then-police ombudsman Nuala O’Loan, revealed how paramilitary killers were protected from prosecution because they were police agents.
Raymond Snr, who is now a well-known cross-community victims campaigner in Northern Ireland, does not believe the Good Friday Agreement did much for those who lost loved ones during the Troubles.
“Victims were not represented at those talks and they suffered and lost most in the Good Friday Agreement,” McCord told The Epoch Times.
“The release of prisoners would have been rejected by victims.
“We all wanted a ceasefire and peace, but not on the terms of the paramilitaries.
“No deterrent, no money stopped for paramilitary organisations using the peace process to plunder the money pots while still carrying out murders.”
McCord believes politicians failed him and his family in seeking justice for Raymond Jnr.
He also believes that unionist politicians are still not doing enough to remove the existence of loyalist paramilitaries.
“Twenty-five years later, these gangsters are still here and unionist politicians are making excuses to speak to them while they are nothing more than criminal gangs.
“Our politicians betrayed more than the victims while getting pats on their backs.
“Power took away their morals and justice.”
‘Bittersweet’
Just four months after the signing of the historic peace deal, Northern Ireland would suffer its most deadliest bomb attack.Twenty-nine people were killed and 220 others injured in a Real IRA bomb attack that detonated in the centre of Omagh, Co Tyrone on Aug. 15, 1998.
The victims included unborn twins, and 21-year-old Aiden Gallagher, whose father Michael has campaigned for years for an independent inquiry into the atrocity.
Speaking to The Epoch Times, Michael Gallagher described the Good Friday Agreement as “bittersweet.”
“We paid a huge price for the Good Friday Agreement,” he said.
“But we have grandchildren, and we want this country to move forward peacefully and in a healthier state than it was 25 years ago.
“So from our point of view, I think it’s enormously important that we grabbed the gains with our two hands.”
Gallagher said it was important for Northern Ireland that the Good Friday Agreement is continued to be “worked at.”
He said, “It is important that we don’t just rest on our laurels on the Good Friday Agreement.
“It’s something that needs to be worked at.
“The country is facing huge difficulties at the moment with the Democratic Unionist Party not going back into government.
“But whatever the difficulties are, these need to be resolved. And we need to get back on track because the people elected public representatives to act on their behalf.”
Promises ‘Not Fulfilled’
Pat Irvine was just 14 years old when her mother Kathleen and father John were caught up in a UVF bomb attack on a north Belfast pub on Dec. 4, 1971.The couple had just finished some Christmas shopping when they called in to McGurk’s Bar, not far from the city centre.
Fifteen people, including two children, were murdered after a four-man loyalist gang detonated a 50-pound bomb at the door of the packed pub.
John Irvine survived the blast, but his 53-year-old wife did not.
Almost 52 years later, their daughter is continuing to fight for truth and justice in their case
Irvine, 66, said the Good Friday Agreement represented a “promise of truth” and “hope for reconciliation.”
“The thought of living without fear. Not only for me, but for my children, my family,” she told The Epoch Times.
“I’d lived through the Troubles and didn’t want that for my children, but as far as the promises made to victims, it hasn’t fulfilled them.
“I'd hoped for some sort of closure.
“I believed that at last, I was going to get answers, that my mother’s murder was going to be investigated properly, that she would get the justice she deserved, that I wouldn’t have to continue to plead, beg or fight anymore for truth and justice, but no it didn’t do any of that.”
In the immediate aftermath of the bombing, the RUC blamed the IRA, claiming the device had prematurely exploded after being brought inside the bar by Republicans before it was to be taken elsewhere.
It was also claimed the bar was a haunt for leading IRA figures.
However, that information was later proven to be false.
State files on the investigation into the McGurk’s Bar bomb blast have been sealed by the government for 75 years.
Relatives of those killed and injured continue in their legal fight for truth over the atrocity.
“I still believe that the Good Friday Agreement was, and is, good for us,” Irvine added.
“It has saved countless lives, and for that, I’m grateful.”
