Caoimhe Hanna doesn't know how many bullets hit her brother but he probably
died instantly. The SAS fired 534 shots when they killed Kevin Barry
O'Donnell and three other IRA members that night. They were all aged under
23.
The throat of Paul McIlwaine's son David was so badly slashed he had to be
buried in a polo neck. The undertakers worked on him for 34 hours before
letting his parents see the body. His hands were ripped to pieces from
trying to defend himself in the stabbing. He was only 18.
Caoimhe Hanna and Paul McIlwaine live just 12 miles apart, yet in normal
circumstances they'd never meet. Hanna is from Coalisland, Co Tyrone, a
staunchly republican town. McIlwaine is from hardline Protestant Portadown.
"I never thought I'd meet the sister of an IRA man," he says. "But then I
never thought a lot of things until my son was murdered." Kevin Barry
O'Donnell was shot dead on February 16 1992. David McIlwaine died three
days and eight years later. Death has united the families against the
authorities.
In some ways, they were very different young men. Kevin Barry O'Donnell
lived up to his name. At 21, he was already an 'IRA legend'. He hadn't
travelled further than England, to attend agricultural college, and even
then he was homesick.
He wasn't just a student. Guns were found in his car in London but he
pleaded not guilty. He was so well-dressed and well-spoken that the jury
believed him. He was a fluent Irish speaker and was "mad about Gaelic
football". He played the tin whistle and accordion.
McIlwaine had no interest in politics but he loved music. He was always
blasting UB40, Oasis and Elvis. He'd probably have been too embarrassed to
admit it but he liked Gareth Brooks too. A graphic design student at Upper
Bann Institute, he wanted to be a cartoonist.
He was a brilliant sportsman. The house is coming down with plaques and
trophies for soccer and athletics. He had been abroad, although not far. He
"had a ball" in Tenerife shortly before he died.
Northern Catholics and Protestants joining together can be strained and
artificial. Hands-across-the-divide events are organised by professional
do-gooders and government bodies. The O'Donnells' and McIlwaines'
experiences unite them naturally.
Both have been denied death certificates and inquests. Both are involved in
protracted legal battles to establish the facts surrounding the killings.
The O'Donnells allege a shoot-to-kill operation. The McIlwaines claim their
son's murder investigation hasn't progressed because at least one of the
killers is a police or British military informer.
Both families cases have been taken up by Relatives For Justice, which
campaigns for the victims of state violence. It's holding a major conference
in Belfast next weekend.
Save for the 1,000 sympathy cards, David McIlwaine's bedroom is almost as he
left it. It's a real boy's bedroom - blue walls and posters of David Ginola
and Courtney Cox. It's littered with football and concert tickets. His
father points to a wardrobe of designer clothes: "He'd spend more on one
shirt than I would on eight."
He remembers his son heading off to the Spot nightclub in Tandragee,
"laughing as he went out the door". At 2 a.m., David moved on to a house
party with Andrew Robb (19). They met a crowd there and left in two cars.
The pair didn't suspect danger.
They were driven to an isolated spot on the Druminure Road. Andrew was
killed. David made a run for it. He got 200 yards and was recaptured. A
farmer found them that morning in a pool of blood. Police at the murder
scene needed counselling.
Paul McIlwaine had bought a new mobile that weekend. The first call received
told him his son was dead. He is plagued by mixed feelings over David
drinking that night: "Sometimes I think it was good because it would have
eased the pain. Then, I think he might have escaped had he been sober."
The UVF told McIlwaine several 'rogue' members were involved in the
unsanctioned attack. Neither teenager was a paramilitary. One theory is
they were mistaken for LVF men and killed in retaliation for the murder of
UVF Mid-Ulster leader, Richard Jameson.
One man was arrested and charged with the double murder. Police said they
had forensic evidence. A year later, the DPP dropped the charges. The
family say no reason was given. They claim blood-stained clothing found in
raids on other suspects' homes was ignored.
A dozen people, including a woman and a Protestant pastor, were allegedly
involved in the murder. The family believe there have been no successful
prosecutions because some are informers. The Police Ombudsman, Nuala O'Loan,
is investigating their complaints.
"We've been denied a death certificate and inquest. They haven't even
returned David's personal effects. We went to court to get the murder files
and, when he got them, the vital stuff was mostly blacked out.
"They still won't show us Special Branch material and Huge Orde, the Chief
Constable, says if we try for that he may apply for a Public Interest
Immunity Certificate which is normally only to stop the release of documents
endangering national security.
"Protestants aren't meant to go against the police. I've friends who are
ordinary officers. It's the ones at the top who anger me. Every door has
been slammed in our face. We've met red tape left, right and centre."
It's been traumatic for the family. McIlwaine's wife Gail couldn't hold down
her job as a school care-taker. His satellite dish business collapsed and,
at one point, the house was almost repossessed. "I want to go to bed and
not wake up. My daughter's graduating this summer and my other son has just
had a baby. You try to keep going for them but it's hard."
Caoimhe Hanna never had faith in the state. Yet she didn't expect to be
waiting 13 years after her brother's killing for a death certificate and an
inquest. "We didn't think they'd still be hiding things. We haven't even a
date for the inquest.
"We've had 23 preliminary hearings. It's emotionally draining, going to
court so often. You're forced to relive things over and over again. Any
documents disclosed to us have important information blacked out."
"Glad the bastard's dead!" screamed an English tabloid when Kevin Barry
O'Donnell was killed. O'Donnell had aimed to inflict death and destruction
on the security forces. Hanna knows some believe he got his just desserts.
"Yes, he was in the IRA and I make no apology for that. He made a decision
to join. He didn't drift into it. He didn't drift into anything, he wasn't
the type. But he was my brother, and I loved him dearly, and he was a
citizen of a state which claims to operate within certain rules. If they've
nothing to hide, tell us what happened."
A ruthless republican to some, he was "just Barry" to his sister who was
older by a year. "He was great craic and very good-looking - tall, with jet
black hair and blue eyes," she says, showing a photograph to prove it. The
picture, was taken the month before he was killed, after the christening of
his son Ruairi.
When he was 17, O'Donnell and his best friend, Sean O'Farrell, went to the
funerals of eight IRA men executed in an SAS ambush at Loughall. The next
year, they joined the IRA. O'Donnell's father wasn't surprised. The house
was raided regularly as his son grew up with "police pulling young Barry
from his bed at night to search under it".
Kevin Barry O'Donnell was killed after attacking Coalisland police station.
The IRA men stood in the rear of a lorry, firing a heavy-machine gun. It
didn't penetrate the well-fortified base. The assault was symbolic,
reportedly for a propaganda video.
But the security forces had advance knowledge, some claim from an informer.
When the IRA men drove into St Patrick's Church at Clonoe, a mile away, to
dismantle the gun and switch to getaway cars, the SAS were waiting and
opened up. There was no return fire.
"It was an ambush. They didn't even try to make arrests. They should admit
that," says Hanna. The family expected "transparency and openness" with the
peace process: "We're trying to move with the times but it's hard to have
faith and believe in a new beginning with this veil of secrecy."
Hanna fully supports the McIlwaines' campaign: "Everyone who has lost a
loved one in the conflict deserves the truth. The McIlwaines, just like the
O'Donnells, are in pain. My heart goes out to them."
Paul McIlwaine feels the same way: "This is a justice issue. My personal
opinion of the IRA is irrelevant. It doesn't matter that Caoimhe's brother
was a member. Until six years ago, I was naïve. I'd have dismissed her
claims as propaganda, just as plenty of people probably now dismiss me."
