Relatives tell of their sense of betrayal at collusion

Relatives of the two men killed in the loyalist bombing of Kay’s Tavern, Crowe St on Friday 19th December 1975 told members of the Oireachtas Justice Sub-Committee into the Barron Report of their sense of betrayal when they learned of allegations of collusion and have called for a public inquiry into the Garda investigation.

Mrs Margaret English told the hearing that her father, Hugh Watters, “was a quiet, innocent man. Some of his greatest words were those of human charity and human dignity and, therefore, it was shocking that he was killed in this way.

“I hate to say this but I only realised in 1998 that there was such a thing as collusion. I always thought that nobody could be got for Daddy's bombing; I thought the forensic evidence was not there. That is the way the family thought about it. When the peace agreement was made, I was so happy. I was delighted because at least then I could turn on a television. I would not look at the television because I was afraid of what I would see. Every time I heard about a bombing, I was taken back to my life so I always kept that away. I would not look at the television.

She recalled going to see John Wilson in 1998.

“I thought we were to talk about the peace we would have. I thought there would be rallies and everything. He asked me my story and I told him about Dad. His remark to me was: “Yes, that was the Robin Jackson gang that killed your Dad”. I said: “No, no. Nobody was got for Daddy's killing”. He went on and said: “Yes, that was a known fact”. I said it was not. We talked. When I went home I wondered to myself where that had come from. He had said to me: “Did you never hear of that gang?” I had never heard of anybody. That left me thinking about what was going on so I tried to push it back in my mind. I thought that if I could zip it back in again, I would not have to think about it again but I could not get rid of it.

“So I am appealing to all the Members of the Oireachtas to put this in God's hands and to go the road God would go - truth and justice. Truth and justice are all the families want. As Daddy used to say, and he never got it in his life, I would love you to show each of the families Christian charity. All we are looking for is Christian charity, truth and justice.

Maura McKeever, whose father Jack Rooney died three days after the bombing told the sub-committee that her mother was to attend the hearing but was unwell.

“I asked her last night what she would have said. She said that as two citizens of the State, two innocent victims, they should have been treated more fairly. Nobody wanted to know; nobody ever came near us to say anything. She is now 89 and she is still waiting for somebody to come and tell her there was collusion.”

“She has always maintained there was collusion. It was well known in the town. But she wants somebody to come and say: “Yes, you were right”. I have watched that woman for 30 years and it is very hard. It is very hard for me and it must be worse for her. I am very upset.

She says that she believes that when the Gardai got a warning that there was a bomb, “they should have gone around all the Government buildings and given some kind of warning. They should have had some kind of checkpoints but they had nothing. It was like, “Oh well, there is going to be a bomb. It does not really matter about these lives”. There were children on the street shortly before that bomb and some of them were injured. It did not seem to matter.

“I think the gardaí really failed and should have given some sort of warning. They were told and they should have done something about it.

“Then, when it actually happened, we got no support whatsoever. Nobody ever came near us and no garda even came to officially say this had happened. I have two aunts still alive and my father's brother only died a couple of years ago. They were long lived so he would have been alive. He loved Christmas and was quite happy in his life. He was a great man for everything and loved his community. He collected in the chapel but neither the Government, Garda nor the priests - nobody - came near my mother. It was like saying: “We will ignore it and it will go away”. Nobody cared and I am living with that. I knew there was collusion and I still say there was but where were you to go to get any answers because no one wanted to know? Even when we we had a  ceremony at the town hall and we had a plaque unveiled, they would not even stop the traffic on the street so that the man could talk. There was just no respect. Mammy got nothing - neither did Margaret's mother. There was nothing and it is still the same and I would like to see that change. I would actually like to see somebody come forward and say: "Yes, you are right; this is what happened" That is what I am really hoping for from today - that I will get some answers.

"I want a public inquiry because I feel we should have it. After all, the guards were supposed to be doing their duty and the Government was supposed to be doing its. We are citizens of this State. We are supposed to be protected by this State. We are not being protected. We have been ignored. It is a case of if you just go away, it will be fine. I am asking for a public inquiry today. I really feel we should get better treatment and I hope we do."