| | THE DISAPPEARED FINAL DUB SCRIPT |
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| Sync: Baroness Nuala Oloan
Can you imagine being a little boy and watching men and women come and take your mother and going and talking to people and asking them where she was, begging for her to come back. The children lived in fear, the family was broken up, and they couldn't find their mother.
And they went on and on and on looking for their mother over the decades.
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| Darragh V/O Jean McConville, a widow and mother of ten, was killed and secretly buried by the IRA |
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| Darragh V/O
She would become known as one of the ‘disappeared’.
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Darragh V/O
Others – disposed of the same way - remain missing
They are thought to be buried in bogs somewhere in Ireland …. |
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| Poem: Heaney ‘Bog Queen’
I LAY WAITING BETWEEN TURF-FACE AND DEMESNE WALL, BETWEEN HEATHERY LEVELS AND GLASS-TOOTHED STONE. MY BODY WAS BRAILLE FOR THE CREEPING INFLUENCES. DAWN SUNS GROPED OVER MY HEAD AND COOLED AT MY FEET. THROUGH MY FABRICS AND SKINS THE SEEPS OF WINTER DIGESTED ME. THE ILLITERATE ROOTS PONDERED AND DIED IN THE CAVINGS OF STOMACH AND SOCKET. I LAY WAITING ON THE GRAVEL BOTTOM, MY BRAIN DARKENING.
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| Darragh VO
If there was a hierarchy of victims of the Troubles – the Disappeared were at the bottom - the invisible dead.
Killing them wasn’t punishment enough.
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| Darragh VO I want to know why they were killed and their bodies hidden from their families.
And who was responsible? And above all I want to put these questions to the Republican movement – and it’s leader Gerry Adams – seen here in 1970 as a young IRA volunteer and for the last thirty years the president of Sinn Fein.
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| Darragh I HAVE LEARNT FROM A TOP REPUBLICAN SOURCE THAT YOU WERE IN FACT THE BELFAST BRIGADE COMMANDER WHEN JEAN MCCONVILLE WAS TAKEN, MURDERED AND EXECUTED AND THAT YOU IN FACT WERE ULTIMATELY RESPONSIBLE, FOR THEIR FATE.
ANS WELL , THATS NOT TRUE DARRAGH
DARRAGH DO YOU BEAR ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR WHAT HAPPENED TO THESE PEOPLE
ANS 03.27.8 ALL OF US BEAR RESPONSIBILITY, THOSE OF US WHO ARE IN LEADERSHIP AND I HAVE NEVER SHIRKED THAT
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| THE DISAPPEARED: |
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Darragh VO The explosion of violence from 1969 forced thousands out of their homes in Belfast. Housing became rigidly segregated, areas dominated by one religion or the other.
A Protestant, Jean McConville made the mistake of marrying a Catholic and raising their children in his faith, but in the wrong place and at the wrong time.
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| Mickey sync THERE WAS TEN OF US ALL IN THE ONE BEDROOM.. WE WERE LIKE TEN WEE RATS SO WE WERE ( HE LAUGHS) AT THAT POINT OF LIFE WE HADN’T, HADN’T GOT MUCH BUT, EH, WE HAD EACH OTHER.
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| Darragh V/O But in these unreasonable times –mob culture prevailed – and the family wasn’t safe.
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| Mickey Sync PROTESTANT PEOPLE CAME TO THE HOUSE AND FIRST OF ALL THEY PUT MY FATHER OUT SO THEY DID AND 4 WEEKS LATER THEN THEY TOLD US TO GET OUT
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| Darragh V/O The McConvilles were forced to move from Protestant east Belfast to the Catholic west. They set up home in the newly built Divis Flats
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Darragh V/O But the McConvilles were people apart here too. Most of their neighbours had lived in this area the lower falls for generations. with dense family networks . The McConvilles were strangers in a strange place.
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| Darragh VO If there was an epicentre for the conflict, it was here.
This was a war zone.
Children, mothers, families were caught between the British Army and the IRA.
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| Mickey McConville SYNC THEY MADE ALL THE DIVIS FLATS AND CATHOLIC PLACES ALL NO GO AREAS
THERE WAS GUN BATTLES GOING ON. AND BOMBING
A SHOOTING WAS NOTHING. IT WAS JUST PART OF GROWING UP, WHAT I THOUGHT WHEN I WAS A KID JUST GROWING UP IN THESE TIMES THIS IS THE WAY LIFE WAS.
AT THAT POINT IN LIFE ALL I WAS INTERESTED IN WAS PIGEONS..
ALTHOUGH ALL THE BAD THINGS WERE HAPPENING AROUND THE DIVIS FLATS BUT I THINK WE WERE STILL HAPPY THEN
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| Darragh VO
1972 was just days old when Michael’s father died of cancer. Mother Jean was left to raise the ten children alone.
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| Darragh VO
Outside the war intensified. And alongside it - an atmosphere of suspicion and paranoia.
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| Darragh VO Few would make even eye contact with soldiers –
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Actuality sync “WHAT ARE YOU LIFTING ME FOR?” |
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Darragh VO Complete loyalty was demanded by the IRA – it was given freely by most |
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| Darragh VO There were odd contradictions in the early days. The army ran discos in nearby bases. |
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| SYNC TV DoC
TV REPORTER YOU'RE BOTH CATHOLIC GIRLS WHO'VE COME FOR A NIGHT OUT WITH BRITISH SOLDIERS. ISN'T THAT A DANGEROUS THING TO DO IN YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES?
GIRL IT IS, YES. BUT, EM, WE STILL TAKE RISKS, WE THINK IT'S WORTH IT
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| Darragh VO
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| Darragh VO
These were war time rules – with the IRA exerting strict social control.
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| Darragh V/O Jean McConville’s children say their mother came to the attention of the IRA – because she helped an injured British soldier. |
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| Mickey SYNC MY MOTHER PUT A CUSHION UNDER HIS HEAD MY MOTHER WOULD HAVE HELPED ANYBODY THAT’S JUST THE SORT OF PERSON SHE WAS. THAT’S WHERE IT ALL STARTED TO GO WRONG FOR US. |
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| Darragh VO
The McConvilles believe their mother was in the IRA’s sights from that night.
Soon after, Jean was at the local Bingo and got called out, she was told that one of her children had been injured and a car was waiting to take her to the hospital. It was a trap.
The IRA took her away and interrogated her. In the early hours of the morning she was found wandering the streets beaten and disorientated. Her daughter Agnes remembers her coming home. |
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| Agnes McConville Sync
A LOT OF BLOOD ON HER. HER FACE WAS ALL SWOLLEN BLACK AND BLUE AND ALL SHE COULD SAY WAS WHEN WE GOT HER SETTLED .. GOT HER A CUP OF TEA AND GIVE HER CIGARETTES AND – MUST HAVE SMOKED THE CIGARETTES ONE AFTER ANOTHER AND DRANK THE TEA, AND SHE STARTED TO GET SICK, SO SHE DID, WITH HER NERVES, |
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| Darragh VO Later that day the IRA came back for Jean.
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| Mickey McConville Sync
AROUND TEA TIME A RAP CAME TO THE DOOR |
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| Agnes McConville sync
SHE WAS IN THE, THE BATHROOM GETTING WASHED AND THE NEXT THING THERE WAS SHOUTING WHERE IS SHE, WHERE IS SHE.
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| Mickey McConville sync
ALL THE PEOPLE JUST BARGED INTO THE HOUSE. THERE WERE SOME OF THESE, PEOPLE HAD A MASK ON, SOME OF THEM HADN’T GOT A MASK ON |
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| Agnes McConville sync SHE WAS SCREAMING. SQUEALING HER HEAD OFF, SHE WAS SHOUTING HELP ME, HELP ME. |
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| Mickey McConville sync ALL OF US WAS JUST WRAPPED ROUND HER. ALL CRYING AND SQUEALING. |
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I | Mickey McConville I REMEMBER ONE OF THE GIRLS TALKING, SO I DO, WHICH I KNEW 'COZ SHE HADN’T GOT A MASK ON, WHICH – SHE USED TO BE A NEIGHBOUR OF OURS. HER AND HER SISTER WAS THERE. THEY KEPT TRYING TO CALM US DOWN 'CUS THEY KNEW US AND THEY KNEW US BY NAME.
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| Darragh VO Michael’s older brother Archie followed their mother outside until the IRA put a gun to his head – and ordered him away.
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| Agnes McConville sync WE COULD HEAR HER SQUEALING STILL SQUEALING AND WE |
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| Mickey McConville sync I THINK IT WAS ABOUT FIVE DAYS LATER, AN IRA MAN CAME TO THE DOOR AND RAPPED THE DOOR, AND EH, HANDED MY MOTHER'S PURSE AND HER WEDDING RINGS. |
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| Mickey McConville sync WE ASKED WHERE MY MOTHER WAS AND THEY JUST SAID LOOK I WAS JUST TOLD TO BRING THESE ROUND TO YOU . I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT IT. AND THAT WAS IT. WALKED AWAY.
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| Agnes McConville I KNEW SHE WASN’T GOING TO COME BACK. I KNEW STRAIGHT AWAY. AND WHEN THE PURSE AND ALL CAME THROUGH, I SAID, NO RETURN. |
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Darragh V/O Michael says he then got a direct threat from the IRA – Say nothing or else. He says a gang of boys – from the IRA’s youth wing Na Fianna- abducted him.
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| Mickey sync THEY PULLED A HOOD OVER MY HEAD AND IT WAS THE SLEEVE OF A JUMPER, a WOOLLY JUMPER COS I COULD SEE THROUGH THE MASK – THEY TOOK ME DOWN OUT OF THE DIVIS FLATS INTO A HOUSE. THEY TIED ME TO THE CHAIR. THEY WERE HITTING ME WITH STICKS. THEY WERE PUTTING A GUN TO MY HEAD AND THEY SAID THEY WERE GOING TO SHOOT ME I LOOKED OUT THE SIDE OF MY EYE AND THERE WAS AND HE WAS TELLING THE YOUNGER ONES WHAT TO DO WITH ME. SO THEY HAD ME FOR I WOULD SAY FOR ABOUT 3 HOURS AND THEY SAYS THEY WOULD SHOOT ME IF I TOLD ANYTHING ABOUT ANY MEMBER OF THE IRA THAT THEY WOULD SHOOT ME OR SHOOT SOME OF MY FAMILY MEMBERS – SO THEY FIRED A GUN, THE CAP GUN, ONE OF THEM STUCK A PENKNIFE INTO MY LEG. THEY TOOK ME OVER TO THE DIVIS FLATS AND I HOBBLED UP THE STAIRS INTO THE HOUSE. I HAD JUST TURNED ELEVEN YEARS AT THE TIME
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| Darragh VO
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| Mickey McConville sync IT WAS COMING UP TO CHRISTMAS AND THAT CHRISTMAS I REALISED THAT THERE WAS NO SANTA CLAUS… CHRISTMAS CAME AND WENT |
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| Darragh VO
It was fully six weeks after Jean’s disappearance that newspapers caught up with the story. It was front page across Ireland – TV cameras followed.. |
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| TV Archive 1973
REPORTER: AGNES, EH, YOU WERE IN THE NIGHT YOUR MUMMY DISAPPEARED, CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED?
AGNES MY MUMMY – MY...MUMMY WAS OVER AT MY GRANNY'S AND SHE JUST CAME OVER AND FOUR YOUNG GIRLS CAME IN INTO THE HALL, SHE WAS ONLY COMING INTO THE KITCHEN, THEY CAME IN, THEY ORDERED ALL THE KIDS UP TO – UP THE STAIRS AND...JUST WALKED IN AND THEY TOOK MY MUMMY.
TV REPORTER DO YOU KNOW WHY YOUR MUMMY WENT AWAY? DO YOU KNOW WHY SHE WAS TAKEN AWAY?
AGNES NO, SHE NEVER DONE ANYTHING, SO SHE NEVER.
TV REPORTER SHE NEVER DONE ANYTHING...ANYBODY –
AGNES SHE WAS WITH US IN THE HOUSE, AT NIGHTS SHE JUST WENT TO BINGO.
TV REPORTER WHEN DO YOU THINK YOU'LL SEE YOUR MUMMY AGAIN?
HELEN: DON'T KNOW.
AGNES WE KEEP OUR FINGERS CROSSED AND PRAY HARD FOR HER COMING BACK. |
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| Darragh & Agnes
DARRAGH – CAN YOU REMEMBER WHAT SHE WAS WEARING THAT NIGHT ?
AGNES: I CAN, SHE WAS WEARING HER RED SHOES, AND A TWEEDY COAT SO I CAN AND THE HEAD SCARF ..
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| TV archive Agnes:
“SHE PUT ON HER COAT AND HER SCARF, SHE HAD ON HEE HER RED SLIPPERS AND BLUE TROUSERS, AN ORANGE CHECK COAT AND A BROWN AND WHITE JUMPER “….
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| Darragh VO Even in the madness of the times this was a sensational story – and might have run for weeks – but Republicans concocted a lie. And a message was sent out – Jean McConville - wasn’t being held captive, just in hiding because of publicity. She had been murdered weeks earlier but the lie worked. The headlines were amended. The public had been conned. And the McConvilles had been wronged - again.
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| Darragh V/O The children were hearing a different story on the streets.
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| Agnes CHILDREN GROWING UP ROUND DIVIS FLATS WOULD HEAR WHAT THEIR PARENTS WERE SAYING YOUR MUMMY’S A TOUT AND YOUR MUMMY’S THIS AND YOUR MUMMY’S THAT AND YOUR MUMMY WILL NEVER BE BACK YOU’RE YOU’RE A CHILD AND SHES GONE WITH A BRITISH SOLDIER.. THIS WASN’T COMING FROM THE ADULTS THIS WAS COMING FROM THE CHILDREN.
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| Darragh VO
These welfare notes of one of the children – have just been released to the family . They confirm in official documentation just exactly how isolated they were.
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DARRAGH PTC
THE FIRST NOTE GOES TO THE 13TH OF DECEMBER '72, DAYS AFTER THEIR MUM HAS BEEN TAKEN AWAY. , AN OFFICIAL WITH THE SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO CHILDREN PHONES TO SAY THAT THIS FAMILY HAVE BEEN APPARENTLY LOOKING AFTER THEMSELVES FOR THE PAST FOUR, FIVE DAYS, A GROUP OF CHILDREN AGED BETWEEN 16 AND 6 'SINCE THEIR MOTHER HAS APPARENTLY BEEN ABDUCTED BY AN ORGANISATION.' NOW ISN’T THAT ASTONISHING WITHIN DAYS. THE WORD WAS OUT .THIS IS ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTATION. A NOTE IS MADE HERE THAT THE NEIGHBOURS ETC ARE UNSYMPATHETIC TOWARDS HER, THAT’S THE MOTHER JEAN, ALTHOUGH LESS SO TOWARDS THE CHILDREN.
WE HAVE REPORTS OF THE PARISH PRIEST IN THE RUN UP TO CHRISTMAS SAYING HE WAS AWARE OF THE CIRCUMSTANCE BUT BEING DESCRIBED HERE AS BEING VERY UNSYMPATHETIC TOWARDS THE FAMILY AND THEIR PLIGHT. THE PARISH PRIEST APPARENTLY SAYS HE WOULD CALL BUT DIDN'T THINK HE WOULD HELP. WE'RE SEVEN DAYS OUT OF CHRISTMAS.
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Darragh VO Jean McConville was not the only person disappeared by the IRA in 1972.
The IRA took and buried three of their own men that same year.
Joe Lynskey, Seamus Wright and the youngest of them all - 17 year old Kevin McKee.
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TV Archive KIDS SINGING IF YOU HATE THE BRITISH ARMY CLAP YOUR HANDS IF YOU HATE THE BRITISH ARMY CLAP YOUR HANDS , IF YOU HATE THE BRITISH ARMY, HATE THE BRITISH ARMY, HATE THE BRITISH ARMY CLAP YOUR HANDS |
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| Darragh VO
Kevin McKee, like many of his age, had progressed from stone throwing into more serious violence – He was a member of the IRA’s youth wing – Na Fianna in Ballymurphy - West Belfast. This was Republican base camp. The home place of Gerry Adams - where kids fell into line. Kevin’s sister Marie saw it all.
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| Marie McKee Sync Marie: TO ME HE WAS JUST LIKE ALL THE OTHER TEENAGERS, HE DIDN’T DO ANYTHING DIFFERENT TO WHAT EVERYONE ELSE WAS DOING. THROWING STONES, THEY USED TO PUT UNION JACKS UP – HE WOULD SCALE UP TO THE VERY TOP , AND TAKE THE UNINION JACK DOWN AND SET FIRE TO IT AND THEN EVERYONE CLAPPED. KEVIN NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY HE DONE, HE WAS A CHILD. HE WAS 17 YEARS OF AGE.
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| Darragh VO When Kevin joined the IRA’s Belfast Second Battalion - Richard O’Rawe joined with him.
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| Ricky SYNC I KNEW KEVIN VERY WELL, VERY WELL .KEVIN WAS A LOVELY LAD TRUTH BE TOLD . I LIVED JUST ON THE NEXT STREET SO WE WERE VERY VERY CLOSE IN TERMS OF OUR FRIENDSHIP. KEVIN WAS THE FIRST PERSON THAT I EVER HAD A DRINK WITH AND I WASN’T ALLOWED TO DRINK – MY FATHER ALLOWED ME TO JOIN THE IRA BUT HE WOULDN’T ALLOW ME TO HAVE A BOTTLE OF BEER.
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DARRAGH: WHAT WAS IN YOUR HEAD THOUGH WHEN YOU WENT OUT THERE WHEN YOU SIGNED UP TO THE IRA ? RICKY: I WAS AN IRISH PATRIOT … Darragh IN VISION YOU SAW YOURSELF AS A FREEDOM FIGHTER ? RICKY :NOTHING ELSE , AS FAR AS I WAS CONCERNED THIS WAS ABOUT FREEING IRELAND FROM BRITAIN
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| Darragh VO Things went awfully wrong for Kevin McKee shortly afterwards. He and another IRA man Seamus Wright were recruited by British Army intelligence. But the IRA found out about them and the two men confessed.
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| Darragh & Ricky Darragh:
RICKY: WELL IT WAS BAD BUSINESS. HE WENT FROM BEING AN IRA VOLUNTEER TO BEING ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN ANTI IRA ACTIVITIES FOR THE ENEMY SO NO MATTER WHAT WAY YOU LOOK AT HE WAS A TRAITOR .
Ricky – YOU LOOK BACK AND YOU SAY WHAT IT WAS ALL ABOUT
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| Darragh VO
Kevin McKee and Seamus Wright revealed to the IRA details about a covert British army operation – in which a mobile laundry van called the ‘4 square’ - was used to spy on the IRA.
The IRA then ambushed the van killing a British soldier. It was a propaganda coup for the Republicans.
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| DARRAGH VO
Kevin may have thought his role in exposing the Army spying operation had saved him. But the IRA came knocking anyway.
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| AUNTIE PHIL Sync I HAD SAID TO HIM THE IRA'S BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU. HE SAYS I'VE DONE NOTHING WRONG. I SAYS WELL THEY'RE DEFINITELY LOOKING FOR YOU AND I'M JUST WARNING YOU OFF...AND IT WAS THEN I TOOK A, A PHOTOGRAPH OF HIM AND THAT WAS IT. AND THAT WAS THE DAY THAT THE IRA SAID HE WAS UNDER ARREST. I NEVER SEEN HIM AGAIN, THAT WAS THE LAST.
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| Darragh V/O The family said nothing to the police because they were afraid – and because of rumours, thought to have been spread by the IRA - that Kevin was staying away of his own accord. Those rumours suited the IRA.
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| Auntie Phil ALL YOU HEARD WAS OH WE SEEN KEVIN IF YOU ASKED ANYBODY WE SEEN HIM OH HE WAS IN ART SCHOOL OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT AND THEN SOMEBODY SAID WE SEEN HIM IN ENGLAND…… |
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| Darragh V/O It was too much for Kevin’ mother Mary - she suffered a nervous breakdown
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| Auntie Phil
MY SISTER DIDN'T WANT TO ACCEPT IT, DIDN'T WANT TO ACCEPT THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING WRONG SO... I THINK SHE BUILT IT ALL UP INSIDE HER HOPING THAT HE WAS COMING BACK EVERY DAY. |
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| Marie McKee Sync SHE IMAGINED HIM PLACES. SHE STOPPED CARS, ASKED TO CHECK THE BOOTS...
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| AUNTIE PHIL sync
AND SHE WAS RUNNING EVRYWHERE LOOKING FOR HIM, GETTING US TO COME AND GETTING THE KIDS OUT OF THE HOUSE, GETTING THEIR COATS ON AT NIGHT, HE MIGHT BE HERE AND HE MIGHT BE THERE. AND THE KIDS WERE RUNNING ABOUT IN THE COLD IN THE WINTER. IT WAS WILD |
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| Marie McKee sync SO YOU WERE TRYING TO DEAL WITH LOSING YOUR BROTHER AND THEN YOU WERE TRYING TO DEAL WITH YOUR MOTHER LOSING HER MIND OVER LOSING HER SON. |
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| Darragh VO
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| Auntie Phil: MY SISTER GOT A PHONECALL HE WAS DOWN IN MONAGHAN AND RINGING FROM A PRIESTS HOUSE HE SAID HE WAS STAYING AT A MAN’S HOUSE AND ASKED HIS MOTHER WOULD SHE COME UP AND THAT WAS ON A FRIDAY AND SHES SAYS YOU WILL HAVE TO WAIT TIL MONDAY BECAUSE SHE DIDN’T HAVE A CLUE WHAT WAS GOING ON SHE WAS IN AND OUT OF THE MENTAL HOSPITAL SHE DIDN’T TELL US TO THE MONDAY |
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| Darragh VO When the family eventually set off to Monaghan - three days later- – they expected to be reunited with Kevin |
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| Auntie Phil ME AND MY SISTER WENT DOWN AND MY HUSBAND JIM ALONG WITH MARY, BROUGHT HIM DOWN CLOTHES AND WHEN WE WENT TO THE DOOR THE MAN SAID HE IS NOT HERE. HE HAS JUST LEFT AND YOUSE CAN TAKE YOUR CLOTHES BACK WITH YOUSE. |
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| Darragh VO I’ve discovered that house where Kevin McKee, possibly with Seamus Wright, was staying in, a terraced house in Monaghan town. |
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Darragh VO It was the home of Fergal O’Hanlon, a legendary IRA figure from the 1950’s. The McKees say that it was his father that answered the door to them after Kevin phoned
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| – 10:22:44.03 AUNTIE PHIL I DON'T THINK KEVIN KNEW THAT HE WAS GOING TO HIS DEATH. I DON'T THINK SO. 'CUS HE WOULDN'T HAVE ASKED FOR HIS CLOTHES IF HE HAD HAVE.
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| Darragh Four decades later Kevin’s aunt and his sister Phil are going back to Monaghan to the house that Kevin called them to . They’re hoping for information that might help them find his remains.
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| Phil McKee, Darragh and Sister Phil Aunt Phil AHH..JUST A BIT OF A FEELING COMING OVER ME – JUST WHENEVER YOU KNOW YOU ARE COMING TO THE SPOT THAT HE WAS – THE LAST SPOT THAT WE KNOW WHERE HE WAS.
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| Darragh VO
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DARRAGH: HOW DID YOU FEEL IN THERE?
AUNTIE PHIL I WAS ACTUALLY CRYING ..I SAYS TO THINK THAT KEVIN WAS HERE, SHE SAID ARE YOU SURE IT WAS MY FATHER? I SAID YES HE ADDRESSED HIMSELF AS MISTER O'HANLON.
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| Darragh BUT SHE HAD NO NOTION THAT HER HOUSE WAS WHERE KEVIN WAS LAST.HEARD OF?.
AUNTIE PHIL NO SHE SAID DEFINITELY IT'S THE FIRST SHE'S HEARD OF IT
WE JUST NEED HIM BACK BECAUSE HE – HE'S MISSED BY EVERYBODY AND WE JUST WANT TO GET HIS BODY BACK SO THAT WE CAN PUT HIS NAME ON THE GRAVE AND WE CAN PRAY AND JUST GO UP AND TELL HIM HOW SORRY WE ARE THAT WE WEREN'T THERE THAT FRIDAY. SO TERRIBLE ME NOT GOING UP THAT FRIDAY, AND I FEEL AWFUL THAT MARY DIDN'T TELL US, YOU KNOW, THE FRIDAY.
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| Darragh VO The McKee’s never heard from Kevin again. Seamus Wright also vanished. |
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| Darragh The practice of disappearing inconvenient bodies in the Irish countryside goes back to back to the 1920s and the Irish War of Independence. The practice was resurrected by the IRA in 1972. |
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| Darragh VO Traditionally alleged informers were shot dead - bodies displayed on roadsides - as examples to all. The rules for informants are the same the world over. |
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| Darragh VO
Veteran Republican Billy McKee knows those rules. He helped set up the Provisional IRA in 1969.
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| Darragh and Billy McKee
BILLY: I WAS OC BELFAST
DARRAGH YOU WERE THE BOSS MAN ?
BILLY NODS
DARRAGH :DID YOU HAVE MANY PEOPLE WORKING WITH YOU ? WERE THERE MANY IN THE IRA AT THE TIME?
BILLY : THE IRA WAS NEVER AS STRONG SINCE 1920 AS IT WAS WHEN I WAS IN CHARGE
DARRAGH: FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE -PEOPLE KNEW THE RULES?
BILLY: YES YOU WERE WARNED ABOUT IT WHEN YOU JOINED THE IRA YOU WERE TOLD THEN WHAT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU , YOU COULD BE ARRESTED PRISON BEATEN TAKEN AWAY SHOT DEAD SOMEWHERE – BUT YOU WERE WARNED NOT TO INFORM. AND YOU WERE TOLD WHAT THE PENALTY WAS .
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Darragh VO
At the time of the 1972 disappearances Billy McKee was in jail and no longer in charge.
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| DARRAGH: LOOKING BACK WHAT WAS THE POINT OF DISAPPEARING PEOPLE?
BILLY: I COULDN’T TELL YOU THAT I WASN’T IN COMMAND I HAVE NO SAY IN THE MATTER. I WASN’T APPROACHED ABOUT IT. IT WAS UP TO THE PEOPLE IN CHARGE TO DO WHAT THEY THOUGHT WAS RIGHT .THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE DOING RIGHT, WELL IT WAS UP TO THEM |
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Darragh VO Billy McKee was from an older generation of IRA activists - Gerry Adams was part of the next generation - though he has always denied being a member |
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| Darragh GERRY ADAMS SAYS HE WASN'T IN THE IRA.
BILLY GERRY ADAMS SPEAKING FOR HIMSELF? WAS GERRY ADAMS IN THE IRA? ASK HIM WOULD HE COME UP AND SAY THAT TO ME FACE TO FACE.
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| Darragh V/O
I understand that Gerry Adams joined the IRA around 1966. He rose up the ranks quickly. Here is accompanied by senior IRA men at the funeral of a volunteer in 1970.
Interned in Long Kesh prison camp – in June 1972 the 23 year old was released to represent the IRA in talks with the British government.
Later that same year – the bloodiest of the conflict – he was promoted to the post of O/C- Officer Commanding – the top rank in the Belfast Brigade of the IRA.
Former IRA members from that era that I have spoken to say that he was in charge there when Jean McConville was taken in December that year. Gerry Adams today leads Sinn Fein and can claim to be the head of Irish republicanism .
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| DARRAGH VO
Over the course of the Troubles at least 16 people were disappeared. 15 of them by the IRA – who finally stopped the practice in 1981. The IRA’s governing Army Council is said to have ordered an end to it.
As for those disappeared –– they were swallowed up in the silence of their unmarked graves. |
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| HEANEY THE BOG QUEEN
I KNEW WINTER COLD LIKE THE NUZZLE OF FIJORDS AT MY THIGHS THE SOAKED FLEDGE THE HEAVY SWADDLE OF HIDES. MY SKULL HIBERNATED IN THE WET NEST OF MY HAIR.
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| Darragh VO It was the IRA ceasefire in 1994 that changed everything. With the guns silent – the families of the disappeared –could finally be heard.
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Darragh VO A campaign to recover the disappeared began – and it had powerful allies –
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| Clinton speech sync 1995 Bill Clinton “ TODAY THERE ARE FAMILIES THAT HAVE STILL NOT HAD THE CHANCE TO GRIEVE IN PEACE, TO VISIT THE GRAVES OF THEIR LOVED ONES, TO REUNITE AFTER YEARS OF SEPARATION. IT IS TIME TO ALLOW FAMILIES TO BE WHOLE AGAIN” [applause] |
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| Darragh & Bill
YOU FIRST SPOKE ABOUT THIS BACK IN 1995, AND GERRY ADAMS WAS IN THE AUDIENCE THAT DAY, WERE YOU AWARE OF IT, AS AN ISSUE AS FAR BACK THEN
ANS 08.56.8 I WAS, BECAUSE I HAD TRIED TO BECOME AWARE OF EVERYTHING, BUT I HAVE TO SAY THAT IT WAS DIFFERENT AND MORE PERSONAL TO ME |
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| Darragh VO That woman was Margaret McKinney whose son Brian was disappeared in 1978. She had succeeded in getting the ear and the support of the most powerful politician in the world. |
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| Margaret McKinney SITTING OUTSIDE THE OVAL OFFICE AND WHEN THE DOOR OPENED PRESIDENT CLINTON AND HIS WIFE WAS JUST THERE AND COULDN’T BELIEVE IT AND HE WAS SO LOVELY. |
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| AND HE TOOK MY HAND AND HE SAIDTO ME THAT DAY HE SAYS I PROMISE YOU I’LL HELP YOU FIND YOUR SON. |
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| Bill: SHE WAS A VERY IMPRESSIVE WOMAN I THOUGHT, JUST IN HER SIMPLE, LOVE FOR HER SON, SHE WAS WILLING TO GO ON WITH HER LIFE, BUT SHE WANTED HER BABY BACK, SO SHE COULD BURY HIM PROPERLY |
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| Margaret McKinney AND HE DID YOU KNOW, HE DID HELP ME . I WILL NEVER FORGET PRESIDENT CLINTON HE WILL ALWAYS BE MY PRESIDENT. |
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| Darragh VO Margaret’s son Brian and his friend John McClory had been accused of taking IRA weapons and using them in a robbery. The money had been paid back but it made no difference. . |
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| Margaret sync HE WAS THE ONE CHILD YOU HAD TO BE VERY PROTECTIVE OF AND HIS FRIENDS WERE VERY PROTECTIVE OF HIM TOO FOR HE WAS VERY CHILDISH. GOD LOVE HE WAS A GREAT SINGER. HIS FAVOURITE WAS ENGELBERT HUMPERDINK PLEASE RELEASE ME LET ME GO. AND I KNOW IN MY HEART TOO HE WOULD HAVE BEEN CRYING OUT FOR ME ..OH GOD LOVE HIM |
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| Darragh VO President Clinton spoke to Gerry Adams who promised to help. It was around this time that a special IRA team was told to find the remains of the disappeared – and report back. Fr Alec Reid, Adam’s long-time friend and confidante agreed to be an intermediary.
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| Fr Alec Reid
THE IRA LEADERSHIP DECIDED TO HELP THE FAMILIES AND THESE PEOPLE WHO NEEDED HELP. THEY SPENT ONE YEAR LOOKING FOR THE IRA PEOPLE WHO DUG GRAVES FOR THESE PEOPLE AND HOPED THEY’D BE ABLE TO LEAD PEOPLE LIKE TO ME TO WHERE THESE BODIES WERE
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| Darragh VO
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| Alec Reid WAS TAKEN TO A COUNTRY ROAD OR A REMOTE COUNTRY ROAD AND TOLD TO WAIT THERE. .. AND AFTER A FEW MINUTES THESE TWO MEN IN BALACLAVAS CAME OUT OF A WOOD. .. THEN THEY BROUGHT ME TO A FIELD. IT WAS A PLACE WHERE THE IRA USES AS A SHOOTING RANGE, YOU KNOW, FOR PRACTICING ITS SHOOTING. .. AND SO THEY BROUGHT US INTO THIS TENT THEY COOKED SAUSAGES AND RASHERS FRIED EGGS FOR US ALL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT
DARRAGH WHY WERE YOU TAKEN THERE?
FATHER ALEC THERE BECAUSE SOME OF THE BODIES WERE THERE, YOU SEE. THEN THEY BROUGHT ME...TO A FIELD, AND THEY SAID THERE ARE TWO BODIES HERE AND THE ONLY CLUE WE HAVE IS THAT THE TWO OF THEM WERE BURIED BY THE SIDE OF A TREE. SO LOOK FOR A TREE – THAT'S 20 YEARS AGO, SO LOOK FOR A TREE THAT'S ABOUT 20 YEARS OLD, AND IF YOU FIND ONE THE BODIES SHOULD BE THERE.AND THERE WAS ANOTHER ONE AND THE BODY HAD BEEN BURIED IN THE FRONT GARDEN OF THE HOUSE
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| Darragh VO
When the IRA decided they had found out as much as they could – nine families were contacted individually.
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| Darragh VO Among them - the family of Columba McVeigh. 19 year old Columba from Tyrone had disappeared in 1975. The IRA told his brother they’d killed and buried him.
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| Ollie McVeigh
MY IMMEDIATE THOUGHTS WENT BACK HOW AM I GOING TO TELL MY MOTHER THIS?
PROBABLY THE HARDEST THING I'VE EVER HAD TO DO IN MY LIFE. AND I MEAN, WITH ANY SHADOW OF A DOUBT, WAS TO GO AND BREAK THAT NEWS. NOT, YOU KNOW, THAT HE WAS DEAD, BUT THAT THIS HORRIBLE THING THAT HE HAD BEEN SHOT AND BURIED LIKE A DOG. AND I'LL NEVER FORGET THE FIRST WORDS SHE SAID TO ME. YOU KNOW, SHE SAYS, THE BASTARDS HADN’T THE BALLS TO TELL ME THEMSELVES.
AND I REMEMBER THINKING, YOU KNOW WHAT - THAT’s CORRECT.
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| Darragh PTC
AFTERWARDS THE IRA ISSUED A STATEMENTMENT IN WHICH THEY ADMITTED KILLING AND DISAPPEARING NINE PEOPLE, JEAN MCONVILLE, COLUMBA MCVEIGH, OVER HERE WEE BRIAN MCKINNEY AND AS FAR AS THEY WERE CONCERNED THERE WEREN’T ANY OTHERS THAT THEY WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR, THAT WASN’T TO PROVE TO BE THE CASE. NOW THEY DID ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THEY HAD CAUSED INCALCUABLE PAIN AND DISTRESS AND THEY SAID HERE THAT THEY THOUGH THEY HAD ESTABLISHED THE BURIAL SITES OF THESE PEOPLE AND THAT THEY HOPED FOR A SPEEDY RETRIEVAL OF THE BODIES..
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| Darragh VO Gerry Adams - almost completely recast as a statesman in waiting was clearly committed to achieving this dramatic turnabout of IRA policy. The organisation had moved – from burying people – to helping to find them
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| Gerry Adams
THESE FOLKS WERE KILLED, SECRETLY BURIED AND THEIR FAMILIES DIDN’T HAVE A GRAVE TO GO TO AND I THINK THATS A GRAVE INJUSTICE TO THEM. I THINK IT IS SOMETHING WHICH REPUBLICANS HAVE ACKNOWLEDGED, CERTAINLY THE IRA FOR ITS PART HAS APOLOGISED...
SO IT’S VERY MUCH AN ISSUE THAT REPUBLICANS HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY IN MY OPINION TO RECTIFY IN SO FAR AS THATS POSSIBLE AND SOMETHING WHICH I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO DO FOR SOME TIME... |
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Darragh VO
In May 1999 behind the scenes a deal was done with the Irish and British governments – to find the disappeared. IRA members could give information about the killings and burials without fear of prosecution.
A matter of HOURS after the deal was formalised– the body of alleged IRA informant Eamon Molloy was recovered - in a brand new coffin at the ancient church yard of Faughart on the southern side of the border..
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| darragh & Mick Finnegan
Darragh: WHAT WAS IT LIKE THAT DAY WHEN YOU CAME HERE? MICK: IT WAS UNUSUAL AND EERIE SCENE IF YOU LIKE, CERTAINLY ONE WE’D NEVER SEE BEFORE OR SINCE EITHER. ABOUT WHERE WE ARE NOW WHEN YOU LOOK DOWN YOU COULD SEE IT, A BRAND NEW CLEAN COFFIN SITTING DOWN IN THE TREES DOWN THERE. THAT’S WHATS KNOWN AS THE BLESSED TREE AND THERES A BLESSED WELL AT THE BACK OF IT.
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| Darragh VO
The coffin had been left under the sacred tree of St Bridget t, the patron saint of lost children.
Eamon Molloy’s family then discovered that before he been shot Eamon had been given the last rites by a priest. The priest – now dead- told the family that Eamon wanted them to know that he wasn’t an informer.
Searches began for the others.
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| DARRAGH & Mick Finnegan
THIS IS AT THE VERY START OF THE PROCESS NOW DID YOU GUYS THINK THAT YOU KNOW THIS WAS VERY EASY ALL THE OTHER FINDS ARE GOING TO BE JUST AS SIMPLE
Mick: WELL WE KNEW THAT A NUMBER OF DIGS WERE ABOUT TO COMMENCE AND I SUPPOSE THE FACT THAT THIS BODY WAS LEFT HERE TO BE COLLECTED AND TAKEN AWAY WOULD LEAD ONE TO BELIEVE THAT A NUMBER OF BODIES WOULD BE RECOVERED IN THE SHORT TERM |
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| Darragh VO
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| Margaret McKinney
WE DON’T WANT ANYBODY PROSECUTED. WE DON’T WANT TO KNOW ANYTHING OTHER THAN THE WHEREABOUTS OF THE BODIES.
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| Darragh VO Six weeks later Margaret McKinney who had taken her campaign to President Clinton got her son back. |
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| Margaret McKinney IN THE THE FIRST FEW SHOVELFULS WAS BRIAN'S WEE SHOES AND HIS WEE MOUTH ORGAN. HE LOVED PLAYING THE MOUTH ORGAN.. GOD ...HOW COULD THEY DO THAT TO HIM? AND HE IS ALWAYS WITH ME . ANYWAY HES ALWAYS WITH ME... … |
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| Darragh VO Brian was found in a double grave with his friend John McClory in County Monaghan just across the border.
The deal with the IRA meant that no evidence could be collected at the burial sites for use in prosecution but the actual cause of death was recorded |
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Brendan McArdle Ret forensic detective
Darragh : YOU WERE INVOLVED QUITE A FEW OF THE CASES OF THE DISAPPEARED. WHAT’S COMMON?
Brendan McArdle: THOSE OF US THAT WORKED ON THESE CASES WERE OF THE OPINION...THAT A VEHICLE HAD BEEN USED, THAT THE PERSON WHO WAS ABDUCTED AND GOING TO BE MURDERED WAS BROUGHT TO THE LOCATION ACCOMPANIED BY PROBABLY TWO, THREE OTHERS. THE PERSON WAS BOUND. THEY WERE WALKED A SHORT DISTANCE, PROBABLY TO A GRAVE THAT HAD BEEN PARTIALLY DUG OR WAS TO BE DUG THERE AND THEN, AND THE BODIES WERE DUMPED AND...CONCEALED IN A SHALLOW GRAVE. IN GENERAL A SINGLE SHOT, PROBABLY A SMALL CALIBRE AT THE BASE OF THE SKULL, CORRESPONDING WITH THE STEM OF THE BRAIN WHICH WOULD RESULT IN INSTANTANEOUS DEATH. IN ONE OR TWO INSTANCES I CAME ACROSS WHERE LARGE STONES HAD BEEN PLACED ON TOP OF THE BODY.
DARRAGH WHY WAS THAT?
BRENDAN MCARDLE THIS MAY HAVE BEEN BECAUSE IN SOME OF THE SUMMERS OF THE PAST...WHICH WERE VERY GOOD, THE...BOG SHRINKS AND SO YOUR BODY MAY RISE.
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| Darragh vo
When the digs began that summer of 1999 the expectation among the families was that the disappeared would be found in days.
Jean McConville’s daughter Agnes dreamt about her mother - imagining her by a beach on Dundalk Bay.
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Agnes I HAD A DREAM ONE NIGHT, I HEARD THIS CRY AND I SEEN MY MOTHER WITH A HEADSCARF ON HER AND ALL I COULD HEAR WAS HER SAYING I’M OUT ON THE BEACH, PLEASE FIND ME , I’M OUT ON THE BEACH PLEASE FIND ME. I WENT OUT TO THE BEACH TO SEE OUT OF CURIOSITY COULD THERE BE ANY SIGN OF HER? AND THE FOLLOWING WEEK I HEARD THEY WERE STARTING TO DIG OUT IN TEMPLETOWN. |
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| Darragh Vo Agnes’s dreams had led her right to where the IRA said they had buried her mother – Templetown beach on Dundalk Bay where a search began.
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| Agnes SIX AND A HALF WEEKS WAS A LONG LONG TIME FOR ANYBODY TO BE SITTING LYING WAITING ON THEIR MOTHER’S REMAINS. THERE WASN’T A DAY WENT PAST I NEVER BROUGHT FLOWERS .. THE DAYS SEEMED LONGER AND LONGER.. SHE WASN’T THERE . WE ALL SAID TO OURSELVES WE’RE NEVER GOING TO GET HER NOW BECAUSE THEY’D DUG THE WHOLE BEACH UP. AND THE WORST THING WAS WHEN WE GOT THE NEWS WAS THAT THE DIG WAS STOPPING. WE WERE SURE, ONE HUNDRED PERCENT SURE , THAT SHE WAS HERE, SO WE WERE, WE WERE JUST HEART BROKEN LEAVING THIS BEACH.
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! | Darragh VO The information was wrong.
Just three of the victims identified by the IRA were recovered that first year.
Four more years passed before Jean McConville’s body was found by a local man out walking on another beach nearby. |
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| John Garland
AND THIS WAS JUST PLAIN, JUST SAND. JUST THIS SPOT WHERE THE BANK AND EVERYTHING HAD FALLEN DOWN AND I JUST SEEN THE PIECE OF CLOTH. IT PULLED UP, AND KEPT PULLING, I COULD SEE LIKE A, A PATTERN COMING IN THE...
DARRAGH: IN THE FABRIC?
JOHN GARLAND: IN THE FABRIC, YEA. AND I PUT MY HAND DOWN AND I, I KNEW IT WAS A BONE, I...THE FIRST THING THAT CAME INTO MY HEAD WAS JEAN MCCONVILLE.
I WENT OVER TO THE CAR AND I GOT A LITTLE BOTTLE, BOTTLE OF HOLY WATER. SO I BLESSED AND SAID A LITTLE PRAYER . I KNEW THERE WAS A BODY THERE THAT HAD LAIN FOR A LONG TIME ON THEIR OWN AND I JUST JUST FELT LIKE I HAD TO DO IT
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| Darragh VO
31 years after she had been taken Jean McConville’s children were now able to grieve.
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| Darragh VO Her funeral took her past Divis –– for the last time. By the standards of Republican west Belfast it was a small affair . But her nine surviving children – long ago farmed out to various orphanages – came together to lay their mother to rest.
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| Mickey McConville:
ALWAYS WONDERING WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH MY MOTHER'S HEAD, KNOWING THE STEPS WHAT I'M TAKING THERE MYSELF, EH, THAT WAS THE LAST STEPS OF MY MOTHER'S LIFE WHICH SHE WAS TAKING COMING DOWN HERETO HER DEATH. I JUST CAN'T GET MY HEAD ROUND IT HOW ANOTHER HUMAN BEING CAN DO THIS TO ANOTHER HUMAN BEING. WE WERE GOING TO BE ORPHANS WHEN THEY DONE THIS HERE TO US. WHEN THEY KILLED OUR MOTHER, THEY KNEW WE WERE GOING TO BE ORPHANS, THEY KNEW THERE WAS NOBODY ELSE THERE TO LOOK AFTER US. THEY KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING, AND THEY KNEW WHAT THEY WERE LEAVING BEHIND. I JUST CAN'T GET MY HEAD ROUND THAT, SO I CAN'T. THE SAME NIGHTMARES IS THERE ALL THE TIME, SEEING THEM COMING IN. IT NEVER GOES AWAY SO IT DOESN'T. AND THE HURT'S, HURT'S ALWAYS THERE TOO SO IT IS.
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| Darragh VO
Maybe because some involved in the burials were dead, or the terrain had changed - and also because some of the IRA just didn’t want to help.
But there were others who weren’t even on the IRA list - like two men disappeared by the organisation in the borderlands of south Armagh.
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Darragh VO More than 150 members of the British security forces were killed in the countryside around the town of Crossmaglen.
Here the IRA’s South Armagh Brigade, waged a ruthless war – by their own particular rules. If you fell foul of them everyone knew the consequences. |
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| DARRAGH VO Gerry Evans , 24, from Crossmaglen was disappeared in 1979. He wasn’t on the list because the IRA never admitted taking him. |
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WE DID REPORT IT, HIM MISSING. THEY DIDN'T THINK MUCH...THEY SAID MAYBE HE'D TURN UP IN A FIELD SOMEWHERE, YOU KNOW, IN YEARS TO COME. SO THAT WASN'T VERY NICE. AND YOU WERE AFRAID TO ASK ANYONE. BUT SURE THERE WAS NO ONE COMING FORWARD WITH ANY INFORMATION. THERE WAS A SILENCE.. AND CHARLIE WAS OUT IN THE GROUP LOOKING FOR HIM TOO – THAT’S CHARLIE ARMSTRONG |
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| Darragh VO rewrite Gerry’s neighbour Charlie Armstrong was himself taken and disappeared 2 years later. His name wasn’t on the IRA list either. |
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| ANNA MCSHANE (CHARLIE’S DAUGHTER) I REMEMBER HIM MAKING THINGS. I REMEMBER THE SMELL OF SAWDUST, THAT WOULD BE THE BIG THING WITH ME – WHERE AS - IF WE BEHAVED OURSELVES WE COULD SIT UP ON THE COUCH AND HE'D START MAKING THINGS ON THE FLOOR CUTTING IT OUT, AND I JUST LOVED THE SMELL OF THE SAWDUST. HE'D MAKE DOLLS HOUSES, CRIBS, CHAPELS, DIDN'T MATTER WHAT IT WAS. HE WAS ALWAYS MAKING SOMETHING |
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Kathleen Armstrong sync
HE WAS JUST AN ORDINARY MAN, HE LIKED A WEE GAMBLE ON THE HORSES. NOW AND AGAIN.
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| CHURCH BELLS RINGING FOR MASS
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| Darragh VO One Sunday morning Charlie left on his regular mission to drive an elderly neighbour to mass.
He was never heard of again.
As with other victims - almost immediately - rumours began circulating –that Charlie was alive and well.
The family blame the IRA - a cynical ploy to keep them guessing – |
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| ANNA People SAYING OH, HE WAS SEEN SITTING IN A BAR CHATTING TWO WOMEN UP IN CARRICK...ANOTHER MAN SAID THAT OH, HE SEEN HIM GETTING OFF, OFF A BUS IN DROGHEDA. WE CHECKED THEM ALL OUT, THERE WAS NOTHING. |
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| Kathleen Armstrong EVERYBODY WENT LOOKING. WE WENT ROUND THE ROADS EVERY SUNDAY...NOTHING. THAT WENT ON FOR 29 YEARS. |
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| Darragh VO The IRA remained silent. But in 2001 one individual appeared to break ranks and wrote to Kathleen. |
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Anna McShane:
WENT UP AT LUNCH ONE DAY AND MY MOTHER WAS IN TEARS IN THE KITCHEN, AND SHE SAYS LOOK AT THIS...ADDRESSED TO THE ARMSTRONG FAMILY, CULLAVILLE ROAD
AND, EM, IT WAS JUST SCRAWLED ALONG, THE LETTERS STATING ‘WHY NOW, I DON'T KNOW,’ CHARLIE IS BURIED THREE FEET DOWN, EM, 50 METRES OR SO IN OFF THE ROAD, AND A MAP ROUGHLY DRAWN.
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| Darragh VO This first map was inaccurate. But by this time a special forensic team had been set up to find the bodies. Sent more accurate maps, the team found Charlie in 2010, buried just across the border. |
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Kathleen
WE WEREN'T SURE WHETHER IT WAS HIM OR NOT, AND THEY TOOK US OUT TO DUNDALK AND THEY HAD ALL THIS WEE BITS AND PIECES THAT HE HAD. AND EVERYONE I KNEW, THEY WERE. EVEN HIS SHOES...EVERYTHING. EVEN SOCKS. SO – AFTER SO LONG, AND HE HAD A MEDAL ON THE WAIST OF HIS TROUSERS...IT WAS WONDERFUL IN ONE WAY...ANOTHER WAY IT WAS VERY SAD.
I DON'T KNOW HOW I GOT OVER IT. BUT I WAS GLAD, GLAD TO HAVE HIM BACK. |
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| Darragh VO Gerry Evans’ body was found a few months later .
‘Whatever you say, say nothing’ is a local mantra – but there is one man who knows this place and isn’t afraid to speak up. Martin McAllister is a former member of the IRA’s South Armagh brigade, with the scars and the prison terms to prove it.
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| DARRAGH:
WHO CARRIED OUT THESE DISAPPEARANCES?
MARTIN: THE IRA. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE LOCAL IRA, BE IN NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT.
DARRAGH: YOU’RE SURE OF THAT?
MARTIN: YEAH CERTAINLY AND THE REASON FOR DISAPPEARING THEM IS A VERY SIMPLE ONE. THE COMMUNITY, THE LOCAL COMMUNITY, ORDINARY DECENT PEOPLE IN CROSSMAGLEN WOULD NOT HAVE STOOD FOR IT. WOULD NOT HAVE PUT UP WITH IT, WOULD NOT HAVE SUPPORTED IT. SO NO CLAIM, NO BLAME. EVERYBODY WAS AWARE WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO THEM. THE FACT THAT THEY DIDN’T LEAVE THEM AT THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, SO TO SPEAK, MAYBE SAVED THEIR OWN GRACE A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE THEY COULD SAY WELL WE DIDN’T DO THIS.
ANOTHER THING THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN DONE VERY COMPREHENSIVELY WOULD HAVE WOULD HAVE BEEN THE RUMOUR MILL WOULD HAVE BEEN STARTED YOU KNOW TO TRY AND KILL THE STORY OFF. SUCH AS THEY’VE DISAPPEARED HERE OR THERE OR THEY WERE SPOTTED IN SUCH A TOWN AND SUCH A PLACE IN ENGLAND OR WHATEVER. ALL ABSOLUTE NONSENSE, NONE OF IT, ALL IT DONE WAS ADD MORE DISTRESS TO THE FAMILIES OF THE PEOPLE CONCERNED – HUGE DISTRESS TO THE PEOPLE. |
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| Darragh & Gerry
Darragh: The IRA HAS NEVER ADMITTED THE MURDERS OF CHARLIE ARMSTRONG AND GERRY EVANS, WHY IS THAT
Adams
THERE ARE ONLY TWO REASONS FOR IT. FIRST OF THE IRA LEADERSHIP DIDN’T AUTHORISE THAT KILLING. HE IRA LEADERSHIP WHICH CARRIED OUT THE INVESTIGATION WOULD HAVE UNCOVERED THAT AND SAID THAT AT THE TIME, SO WHETHER THE IRA DIDN’T KILL GERARD EVANS AND CHARLIE ARMSTRONG, THEY WERE KILLED BY OTHERS, WHICH COULD INCLUDE OTHER REPUBLICANS COULD EVEN INCLUDE LOCAL REPUBLICANS
DARRAGH BUT EVERYONE KNOWS THEY WERE KILLED BY THE IRA
ANS 47.52.7 WELL AGAIN I AM NOT GOING TO SPECULATE, YOU ASKED ME THE QUESTION I HAVE GIVEN YOU DARRAGH BUT YOU KNOW THEY WERE KILLED BY THE IRA
ANS NO I DON’T.
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| Darragh and Martin McAllister
DARRAGH: GERRY ADAMS SAYS HE CAN’T BE SURE THAT THE IRA WAS RESPONSIBLE.
MARTIN: WELL THERE’S LOTS OF THINGS IN YOUR LIFE THAT YOU CAN’T BE CERTAIN OF. I CAN’T BE CERTAIN THE SUN’S GOING TO COME UP IN THE MORNING BUT I COULD PUT MONEY ON IT, YOU KNOW. IT’S AS SIMPLE AS THAT. I THINK GERRY ADAMS PERHAPS…HE CHOOSES MAYBE TO COME UP WITH THAT ANSWER AS OPPOSED TO FACING THE REALITY THAT HE HIMSELF HAS BEEN TOLD LIES BY THEM HERE LOCALLY AND PERHAPS HE WANTS TO BELIEVE IT.
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| Darragh VO A local IRA source told me that Charlie Armstrong was not an informer – but often dallied about the town square – and someone decided he might have seen something that he shouldn’t have.
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| DARRAGH and Anna Darragh:
HE WAS VERY CLOSE TO YOU ALL OF THOSE YEARS TOO WASN’T HE? ANNA YES 3 MILES AS THE CROW FLIES YOU’D BE HERE IN A FEW MINUTES DARRAGH HOW WAS YOUR FATHER KILLED? ANNA THE HALF OF HIS HEAD WAS MISSING, HALF A SKULL THE HANDS AND HIS FEET WERE TIED TO THE FRONT WHICH MEANT THAT HE WAS KILLED AND THEN DUMPED AND DROPPED OFF ANNA THE IRA HAVE NEVER ACTUALLY ADMITTTED KILLING YOUR DAD HAVE THEY? DARRAGH NO HE WASN’T MENTIONED AT ALL. I BELIEVE I KNOW THE PEOPLE WHO DONE IT AND I’LL ALWAYS KNOW THEM. |
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| Anna
AND EVEN THE DAY OF MY FATHER'S FUNERAL I HAD TO THANK THOSE PEOPLE. I FELT IT WAS SOMETHING I HAD TO DO. I HAD TO GET UP AND THANK WHOEVER GAVE US THAT INFORMATION.
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| DARRAGH SO WOULD YOUR MUM EVER COME HERE, COME HERE TO SEE THIS?
ANNA NO, NO SHE WOULD PREFER TO GO TO THE GRAVE THAN THINK OF HIM LYING OUT HERE.
DARRAGH WHERE HE SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN.
ANNA HE NEVER SHOULD HAVE BEEN OUT HERE.
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Kathleen at grave SYNC
CHARLIE, HELP ME DOWN THE STEPS. THANK YOU CHARLIE FOR HELPING ME DOWN THE STEPS.
THANK YOU CHARLIE, CHARLIE ARE YOU LISTENING ? GOD BLESS YOU AND TAKE CARE
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| Darragh
Recovering the dead has been a protracted and often disappointing process.
This summer the only active search was for Columba McVeigh. In 1999 his brother was told that his burial site had been identified - fourteen years on his remains are still to be found.
He’s supposed to be buried at Braggan bog in Monaghan. Earlier searches here have failed but this time the specialist search time was cautiously optimistic.
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| Up soft Music
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| Darragh VO Columba's sister Dympna has one keepsake of him, a present he gave to their mother. |
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| .Dympna McVeigh GALWAY BAY...THIS WAS IN THE GLASS CABINET, THAT KEPT PRIDE OF PLACE. COLUMBA BOUGHT HER THAT. CAN'T HEAR THAT SONG NOW. CAN'T LISTEN TO THAT SONG NOW.
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| Darragh VO The IRA branded him an informer – But to Dympna – he will always be a younger brother.
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| Dympna LOOK AT IT, 1975. THAT’S COLUMBA IN THE ARMCHAIR WITH HIS LEGS CROSSED DARRAGH HE LOOKS IN TOTAL CHARGE OF HIS WORLD THERE DYMPNA OH HE WAS ALWAYS IN TOTAL CHARGE OF EVERYTHING THAT WAS HIS FRONT. |
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| Dympna
I’VE ALWAYS SAID HE WAS DEAD DAY ONE, WHEN HE WAS MISSING. AND WHY DID I SAY HE WAS DEAD? BECAUSE HE NEEDED MY MUM TOO MUCH. HE COULD NOT HAVE STAYED AWAY. YOU’VE HEARD THE THING ATTACHED TO APRON STRINGS? HE WAS TIED TO MUMMYS APRON STRINGS.
DARRAGH
SHE WAS LIVING WASN’T SHE TO SEE HER SON HOME?
DYMPNA
GOD YEAH
DARRAGH
WASN’T TO BE
DYMPNA I NEVER DONE ANYTHING TO THE IRA NEITHER DID ME MUM SO WHY ARE THEY TORTURING US? 38 YEARS ON AND THEY’RE STILL TORTURING US. AND THAT’S WHAT IT IS. HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF IT WAS YOUR BROTHER?
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| Darragh: HAVE YOU BEEN TO BRAGGAN? HAVE YOU BEEN TO THE BOG?
DYMPNA: NO. NO. REFUSE TO GO
DARRAGH
WHY
DYMPNA
COZ I HAVE AN IMAGE IN MY HEAD
DARRAGH AN IMAGE OF? COLUMBA?
DYMPNA AHHMM
Darragh THE WAY HE WAS?
DYMPNA NO. I’VE GOT AN IMAGE IN MY HEAD OF COLUMBA STANDING THERE CRYING LOOKING INTO A HOLE. NOBODY GOT TO SAY GOODBYE TO HIM. ..........
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Darragh VO
Braggan - where Columba is thought to have been shot and buried, is, like most of the burial sites – isolated – miles from anywhere.
tied up, guns pressed to your side, your last minutes alive. it might make a lovely drive on a summer's day but not this night. as quiet as rural Ireland gets, a terrifyingly lonely place being driven to your certain death.
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| Darragh VO
In the absence of fresh information – other searches have been abandoned – like that for Kevin McKee and Seamus Wright - who were said to have been buried in County Meath less than 40 miles from Dublin city centre.
They were the pair who were accused of informing on the IRA but who had later helped them ambush the British Army’s undercover Four Square Laundry operation.
I’ve been trying to piece together the crucial events in the last months of their lives.
The IRA leader who dealt with them in 1972, Brendan Hughes, said they should never have been killed.
The following explanation from Hughes himself has never been broadcast before. |
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Brendan: YOU HAD TO UNDERSTAND THAT MCKEE AND WRIGHT BELIEVED THEMSELVES TO BE - HAVE IMMUNITY.. THEY WERE GIVEN THAT. THEY WERE TAKEN AWAY ACROSS THE BORDER. I MEAN, THEY WERE HELD FOR WEEKS AND WEEKS AND WEEKS, ACROSS THE BORDER. |
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| Darragh VO Kevin, remember, was just 17 – a kid. Most his age have a life time to make and atone for mistakes. Brendan Hughes bitterly regretted what happened next.
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| BRENDAN:
ACTUALLY MCKEE, THE PEOPLE WHO WERE HOLDING HIM LIKED HIM - GOOD COOK, GOOD CRACK, AND THE ORDER WAS GIVEN FOR THEM TO BE PUT DOWN, RIGHT. I DIDN’T GIVE THE ORDER……………… …….
I FELT BETRAYED TO SOME EXTENT.
BRENDAN:, NOW THIS IS HEARSAY ON MY BEHALF, I DON’T KNOW, THE PEOPLE WHO WERE HOLDING THEM LIKED THEM AND COULDN’T EXECUTE THEM AND PEOPLE WERE SENT FROM BELFAST TO DO THE ACTUAL EXECUTION.
BRENDAN: THERE WAS NO PURPOSE IN IT, IT WAS PURE REVENGE, I THINK, |
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| DARRAGH VO Brendan Hughes also explained that Gerry Adams was involved at this time, planning IRA attacks against the army intelligence teams that Seamus Wright and Kevin McKee revealed. Brendan Hughes didn’t accuse him of having any part in their deaths. But if he is correct, wouldn’t Gerry Adams have known about their role?
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| ADAMS
DID YOU KNOW KEVIN MCKEE
ANS
DID I KNOW KEVIN MCKEE
DARRAGH BALLYMURPHY LAD
ANS I KNOW WHERE HE IS FROM. I KNOW HIS FAMILY WELL. I CAN’T SAY I KNOW HIM PERSON TO PERSON, BUT I KNOW HIS FAMILY, I KNOW HIS SIBLINGS
DARRAGH DID YOU KNOW HIM AS A YOUNG LAD IN BALLYMURPHY
ANS
NOT THAT I CAN RECALL, BUT I MAY HAVE, BUT I CAN’T RECALL THAT
DARRAGH DID YOU KNOW SEAMUS WRIGHT
ANS I KNOW THE WRIGHT FAMILY, AGAIN I KNOW HIS SIBLINGS, VERY STRONG REPUBLICAN FAMILY,
DARRAGH DID YOU HEAR WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM BACK THEN IN 1972, DID YOU HEAR THAT THEY HAD BEEN INVOLVED IN THE FOUR SQUARE LAUNDRY
ANS YES THERE WERE RUMOURS ABOUT, THERE ALWAYS ARE, THERE ALWAYS ARE RUMOURS WHEN SOMETHING HAPPENS
DARRAGH BUT YOU WERE A SERIOUSLY PLACED REPUBLICAN LEADER IN BELFAST IN 1972, YOU HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT THE FOUR SQUARE LAUNDRY OPERATION IN GLOWING TERMS, I ASSUME YOU MUST HAVE HEARD ABOUT THESE TWO MEN AND THEIR INVOLVEMENT IN IT, BACK THEN, DID YOU, I AM ASSUMING YOU DID, BUT MAYBE YOU DIDN’T
ANS I LEARNT A LONG TIME AGO, IF YOU DON’T ASK YOU CAN’T TELL AND YOU ARE ALSO TALKING ABOUT VERY TURBULENT TIMES,
DARRAGH DID YOU NOT KNOW THAT SEAMUS WRIGHT, WHOSE RELATIVES WERE WELL KNOWN TO YOU, DID YOU NOT KNOW THAT SEAMUS WRIGHT HAD DISAPPEARED
ANS SURE NOBODY KNOWS THESE THINGS, DARRAGH,
DARRAGH BUT YOU KNEW HIS FAMILY
ANS HOLD ON A SECOND, WHAT SORT OF WORLD DO YOU LIVE IN.
DARRAGH KEVIN MCKEE’S MUM WAS LOOKING FOR HIM, THE ENTIRE FAMILY SEARCHING FOR HIM
ANS PLEASE BEAR WITH ME YOU ARE NOT LIVING IN THE REAL WORLD, PEOPLE GO OFF, PEOPLE DISAPPEAR, PEOPLE BRING BACK REPORTS OF HAVING SEEN SUCH AND SUCH A PERSON |
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| Darragh VO
But what about Jean McConville the mother of ten disappeared in 1972. After she was found in 2003 her family persuaded the police ombudsman to inquire into why there had been no proper police investigation in the first place..
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| Nuala Oloan
THE REASON THEY DIDN’T START AN INVESTIGATION WAS THAT, THAT AREA WAS SO DANGEROUS THAT THEY ONLY INVESTIGATED WHAT THEY CALLED SERIOUS CRIMES AND THEY CLEARLY DIDN’T REGARD POOR JEAN MCCONVILLE’S ABDUCTION AS A SERIOUS CRIME.
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| Darragh VO As part of her inquiry Nuala Oloan wanted to establish the truth about claims that Jean McConville was an informer.
There were two main allegations – that she had revealed the whereabouts a gun or that she had concealed Army transmitters. Both were false - according to Nuala Oloan |
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| Nuala Oloan Darragh Q: WHY WAS SHE DISAPPEARED DO YOU THINK? I THINK SHE WAS THE WRONG PERSON IN THE WRONG PLACE AT THE WRONG TIME. SHE WAS AN EAST BELFAST PROTESTANT, |
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Darragh VO
Murder is sometimes a solitary act – Not Jean McConville’s. It’s thought that up to 20 people may have been involved in her killing. A source who believes their life would be at risk if identified told me that Jean was held and interrogated close to her home, never more than 3/4s of a miles away. She was held for up to six days in Belfast – not for interrogation but to finalise the logistics of disappearing her – a team to drive her across the border – a team to shoot her – a team to dig her grave. |
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| Darragh VO For certain the IRA though she was an informant but none of this explains why she was disappeared. Billy McKee the former IRA Belfast commander wasn’t in charge then but he knows what he would have done. |
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| Darragh and Billy McKee
DARRAGH: WOULD YOU HAVE BURIED JEAN MCCONVILLE?
BILLY MCKEE NO. I'M TELLING YOU I WOULDN'T HAVE BURIED THEM. I WOULD HAVE EXECUTED HER ALL RIGHT, NO PROBLEM. BUT I WOULD NOT HAVE BURIED HER.
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| Darragh and Billy McKee
DARRAGH: SINN FEIN HAVE TOLD ME THAT THE POLICY OF DISAPPEARING PEOPLE WAS A POLICY INHERITED FROM THE OLD MEN OF THE IRA, THE MEN FROM THE 1940S AND 1950S CAMPAIGN, IS THAT TRUE? Billy McKee THAT'S A GOD DAMN LIE. IN MY TIME I NEVER KNEW ANYBODY TO BE BURIED. EXECUTED YES, BUT NOT TO BE BURIED. THAT – THEY WERE NEVER DISAPPEARED. NOT THE '40S, NOT IN THE '50S.
[DARRAGH BUT WHY ARE THEY TELLING IT BILLY ...THEY WOULD NEAR TELL YOU THEY WEREN'T INVOLVED IN THE CAMPAIGN AT ANY TIME. THAT'S CONFOUNDED LIES, WHAT THEY'RE SAYING.
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Darragh VO Alone of the disappeared - the killing Jean McConville killing is a live police investigation. This is in large part because she was found by a member of the public so the special deal with the IRA doesn’t apply. So who ordered her death and disappearance? Republican sources who don’t want to be identified have told me that a special Belfast IRA intelligence team was in charge. This unit – has been called the Unknowns.
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| Darragh V/O
One of its members was Dolours Price. Once very close to Gerry Adams – she became bitterly critical of him. She struggled with before her death earlier this year she did a number of interviews in which she admitted driving Jean McConville across the border. She also admitted helping to disappear three others in 1972. Crucially she said she was acting under the orders of Gerry Adams. |
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| Darragh VO |
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| Brendan Hughes: THIS WOMAN WAS TAKEN AWAY AND EXECUTED
HUGHES JEAN MCCONVILLE
THERE WAS ONLY ONE MAN WHO GAVE THE ORDER FOR THAT WOMAN TO BE EXECUTED. THAT MAN IS NOW THE HEAD OF SINN FEIN. HE WENT TO THIS FAMILY’S HOUSE AND PROMISED AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE WOMAN’S DISAPPEARANCE. THAT MAN IS THE MAN THAT GAVE THE ORDER FOR THAT WOMAN TO BE EXECUTED. . I DID NOT GIVE THE ORDER TO EXECUTE THAT WOMAN - HE DID.
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| Darragh VO More than forty years after her death the circumstances of Jean McConvilles killing still follow Gerry Adams though he insists he had no knowledge of her then. |
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Enda Kenny
I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR YOU SPEAK THE TRUTH ABOUT SOME ELEMENTS OF YOUR PAST, DEPUTY ADAMS CUT OUT THE WAFFLE AND HAVE SOME STRAIGHT TALK PERHAPS YOU MIGHT SOME DAY TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT THE TRAGEDY AND ABOUT THE REMORSE AND ABOUT THE COMPASSION THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO JEAN MCCONVILLE MAYBE YOU MIGHT DO THAT DEPUTY ADAMS YOU MIGHT DO THAT AT SOMETIME
ADAMS POINT OF ORDER…. (unclear) |
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| Adams and darragh
Darragh: BRENDAN HUGHES HAS ALLEGED THAT THERE WAS ONLY ONE MAN WHO GAVE THE ORDER FOR THAT WOMAN, MEANING JEAN MCCONVILLE TO BE EXECUTED, THAT MAN IS NOW THE HEAD OF SINN FEIN, THATS WHAT BRENDAN HUGHES HAS SAID, DID YOU GIVE THE ORDER FOR THE EXECUTION OF JEAN MCCONVILLE AS HE CLAIMS
ANS No I HAD NO ACT or PART TO PLAY IN EITHER THE ABDUCTION THE KILLING OR THE BURIAL OF JEAN MCCONVILLE OR INDEED ANY OF THESE OTHER INDIVIDUALS AND BRENDAN IS TELLING LIES AND HIMSELF AND DOLOURS PRICE ,OPPONENTS OF THE SINN FEIN LEADERSHIP, OPPONENTS OF OUR STRATEGY, FROM THEIR POINT OF VIEW AND OBVIOUSLY I PROFUNDLY DISAGREE WITH THEM, THEY SEE US AS HAVING SOLD OUT, THEY SEE US AS BEING TRAITORS AND THEY ALSO HAVE THEIR OWN DEMONS TO DEAL WITH, SO ALL OF THIS AND THESE ALLEGATIONS HAVE TO BE SET IN THAT CONTEXT.
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| Darragh VO Brendan Hughes recordings were made as part of an American history project based at Boston College. I wanted to get an insight into the thinking of Brendan Hughes, his motivation for accusing his once close friend of the killing and disappearance of Jean McConville The project director, author and journalist Ed Moloney - himself a critic of Adams - says the answer is clear enough.
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| Ed Moloney I THINK WHAT MOTIVATED BRENDAN HUGHES IN COMING FORWARD AND TALKING ABOUT THIS SORT OF THING WAS HIS ANGER AT GERRY ADAMS’ DENIAL OF HIS OWN PAST AND THEIR SHARED PAST AS SENIOR FIGURES IN THE IRA AND BRENDAN HUGHES, I THINK WAS VERY STRONGLY INFLUENCED BY THE FACT THAT THERE WAS GERRY ADAMS DENYING THAT HE HAD GIVEN ORDERS TO BRENDAN HUGHES TO DO CERTAIN THINGS, WHEN BOTH BRENDAN HUGHES AND GERRY ADAMS KNEW THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED AND I THINK THAT DENIAL, I THINK ANGERED HIM AND I THINK ANGERED OTHER PEOPLE AND IN HIS CASE PERSUADED HIM TO ACTUALLY TAKE A BIG STEP AND GIVE THIS INTERVIEW TO BOSTON COLLEGE
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Darragh VO
Dolours Price and Brendan Hughes are both dead. In Ireland I established contact with another former senior IRA figure whose identity I have agreed to keep secret. It was stated to me that Dolours Price and Brendan Hughes were telling the truth.
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| Darragh:
ITS NOT JUST PEOPLE LIKE BRENDAN HUGHES AND DOLORES PRICE THAT MAKE THESE ALLEGATIONS ABOUT YOU AND JEAN MCCONVILLE, I HAVE LEARNT FROM A TOP REPUBLICAN SOURCE THAT YOU WERE IN FACT THE BELFAST BRIGADE COMMANDER WHEN JEAN MCCONVILLE WAS TAKEN, MURDERED AND EXECUTED AND THAT YOU IN FACT WERE ULTIMATELY RESPONSIBLE, YOU AS BELFAST COMMANDER AS THE OC IN BELFAST OF THE IRA, WERE ULTIMATELY RESPONBSIBLE FOR HER FATE, BECAUSE THE UNIT, THE INTELLIGENCE UNIT, SOME PEOPLE CALL IT, THE UNKNOWNS THAT TOOK HER AWAY THAT DEALT WITH HER, ANSWERED TO ONE PERSON AND THAT PERSON WAS YOU
ANS WELL THATS JUST A RECYCLING OF THE SAME STORY, THATS NOT TRUE DARRAGH
DARRAGH BUT I HAVE BEEN TOLD
ANS COME HERE, YOU CAN REPEAT IT AD NAUSEUM, BUT I AM TELLING YOU ITS NOT TRUE DARRAGH DO YOU REGRET WHAT HAPPENED TO HER, DO YOU REGRET IT FROM A PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE
ANS
BEAR WTH ME… MY FOCUS IS IN TRYING TO DO WHAT I CAN AS AN INDIVIDUAL TO BRING THOSE REMAINING BODIES TO THE FAMILIES WHO GRIEVE THEM AND WHO WANT A BURIAL PLACE TO GO TO, OF COURSE I REGRET OF COURSE ONE WOULDN’T BE A THINKING LIVING HUMAN BEING IF ONE DIDN’T HAVE THE
DARRAGH DO YOU BEAR ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR WHAT HAPPENED TO THESE PEOPLE
ANS: ALL OF US BEAR RESPONSIBILITY, THOSE OF US WHO ARE IN LEADERSHIP AND I HAVE NEVER SHIRKED THAT
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| Darragh VO |
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| Mickey McConville
I CAN’T REMEMBER A TIME WHEN THERE WASN’T PIGEONS AROUND MY FAMILY. ONE OF THE REASONS WHY I KEEP PIGEONS TODAY IS THAT IT PUTS ME BACK TO MY CHILDHOOD MEMORIES WHAT WERE HAPPY, WHEN WE WERE ALL TOGETHER.
I WILL ALWAYS HOPE TO GET THE TRUTH, ITS ONE OF THINGS THAT I AM FIGHTING FOR IS TO GET THE TUTH, WHY THEY KILLED MY MOTHER. IT WAS WRONG. THEY MADE US SUFFER ALL THEM YEARS NOT KNOWING WHERE SHE WAS. I SUPPOSE THEY’LL HAVE TO ANSWER FOR IT SOME DAY.
WHEN I SEND THEM AWAY THEY ALWAYS RETURN M, THEY ALWAYS COME B ACK TO ME.
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| Darragh VO The latest dig for Columba McVeigh has again ended in failure.
Four of the six IRA victims not found are thought to be buried in bogs in County Meath in the heart of Ireland – like here at Orristown -
All the families can do for those still missing is hope for new and better information
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| Darragh PTC JUST LOOK AT THE SIZE OF IT. IT'S HUNDREDS OF ACRES. HOW ON EARTH ARE YOU GOING TO FIND SOMEBODY? AND ALL YOU'RE LOOKING OF COURSE NOW IS FOR SOME BONE, DIED TURF BROWN. MAYBE A BELT BUCKLE OR A SHOE. BUT IN A PLACE THIS SIZE YOU COULD BE DIGGING FROM NOW UNTIL DOOMSDAY AND NEVER FIND SOMEBODY.
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| Darragh VO
It’s clear that certain people are still holding onto secrets – but secrets kept die – secrets told can heal.
One day – maybe the bogs of Ireland will give up their dead - but before then certainly - there will be time to contemplate the truths of our historic conflict.
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| SEAMUS HEANEY
THE PLAIT OF MY HAIR A SLIMY BIRTH-CORD OF BOG, HAD BEEN CUT
AND I ROSE FROM THE DARK, HACKED BONE, SKULL-WARE, FRAYED STITCHES, TUFTS, SMALL GLEAMS ON THE BANK |
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