The sister of murdered Belfast man, Robert McCartney, has given birth to a
baby boy whom she is naming after her dead brother.
Paula, 41, gave birth to her sixth child on Thursday. She managed to keep
the pregnancy hidden from the media.
Robert McCartney was beaten and fatally stabbed outside Magennis's bar last
year. His family claim IRA members were involved. Robert jnr weighed in at
almost seven pounds. He was 10 days premature and Paula said the birth
"wasn't too bad".
"We are absolutely delighted with him, he is a great wee fellow and he has a
mop of dark hair just like our Robert," she told the Sunday Tribune. "Our
family has been through an awful lot in the past year and this new life
gives us so much hope for the future.
"At first, I wasn't sure about calling the baby Robert. I didn't want to
upset anybody in the family, but everybody thinks it's a great idea. You
couldn't name a child after a better person than Robert. He was so kind and
decent. If he were alive, he'd be tickled pink the baby was being called
after him.
"He was just a big kid himself and he was great with children. He would get
down on the floor and wrestle with his wee nephews and nieces and he'd be
forever slagging the older ones."
Paula said the past few months had been tiring, looking after her other five
children, working on the campaign for her dead brother, and doing a women's
studies degree at Queen's University. She was also forced to move house in
October, leaving her Short Strand home after harassment from local
Provisionals.
"It has been exhausting and emotionally draining for us but it's been worth
it. My husband Jim has been great. I haven't been able to contribute as much
to Robert's campaign in recent weeks as I'd have liked but that will all
change now.
"Fifteen people were involved in Robert's murder, the attempted murder of
Brendan Devine, and the clean-up operation. Only two people have been
charged. There's still a lot of work for us to do."
Paula admitted the sisters had felt depressed at the start of the year. "We
found it a very hard time and for so long we haven't had much to look
forward to. But Robert's birth gives us a whole new perspective. We're
absolutely over the moon."
