Bobby Storey funeral: Ex-RUC men remember how IRA murdered their comrade ... then blew up Roselawn so his coffin could not enter

An ex-policeman who attended a colleague’s funeral, only to have the cortege blocked by a bomb purposely placed at Roselawn, has slammed the handling of Bobby Storey’s funeral.
Firefighters pictured beside the barely-recognisible shell of a car, which housed a bomb that was placed deliberately at the gates of Roselawn cemetery / crematorium to disrupt an RUC funeralFirefighters pictured beside the barely-recognisible shell of a car, which housed a bomb that was placed deliberately at the gates of Roselawn cemetery / crematorium to disrupt an RUC funeral
Firefighters pictured beside the barely-recognisible shell of a car, which housed a bomb that was placed deliberately at the gates of Roselawn cemetery / crematorium to disrupt an RUC funeral

Meanwhile, yesterday the chief executive of Belfast City Council issued a personal apology over the affair – but via a private PR firm, not the ratepayer-funded council press office.

The DUP is pressing for a special council meeting on the Storey funeral tomorrow.

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Speaking to the News Letter yesterday, Nevin Brown, an ex-police sergeant, recalled being part of a team who were lured into an IRA trap in 1987, in the republican-dominated Ardoyne area of north Belfast.

The News Letter front page on the day of Mr Nesbitt's deathThe News Letter front page on the day of Mr Nesbitt's death
The News Letter front page on the day of Mr Nesbitt's death

While Mr Brown was inside a shop responding to a report of an armed robbery, the IRA exploded a bomb nearby, killing reservist Peter Nesbitt.

But the IRA then went further – they planted another bomb days later at the entrance to the Roselawn crematorium/cemetery site in south-east Belfast, before his hearse was due to arrive.

Mr Brown has now spoken out about the original attack, the cemetery bombing, and Mr Storey’s funeral – which ended in a controversial cremation at Roselawn last Tuesday, when the Storeys were the only family out of nine who were permitted a service there that day (bringing their own stewards while many council staff left early).

He described it as an “insult” and a “betrayal”.

Peter NesbittPeter Nesbitt
Peter Nesbitt
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Mr Brown, who is now an advocacy support worker for the South East Fermanagh Foundation, recalled that on the evening of March 10, 1987, he and colleagues were policing a loyalist-republican interface in north Belfast, when he left the vehicle to investigate a theft at the Ardoyne shops.

Unbeknownst to him Peter Nesbitt also got out to provide cover outside the shop while he was inside.

Mr Brown said that, although he was in a republican zone, he felt the IRA would not dare attack because there had been children in the shop.

Then a blast – believed to have been remote-controlled – obliterated 32-year-old Mr Nesbitt, leaving his body strewn across the area.

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Following a funeral service at Ballysillan Presbyterian Church, Mr Nesbitt’s coffin was due to travel to Roselawn.

But before it could get there word came through of a security alert, which turned out to be another bombing.

The Associated Press reported at the time that the bomb at the main gates of Roselawn wounded three officers and delayed seven funerals.

It quoted Northern Ireland minister Nicholas Scott: “Even in war, people are allowed to bury their dead in peace and dignity. But this action breaks every conceivable standard of human behaviour.”

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Mr Brown, who was 23 at the time, recalled that Mr Nesbitt’s family was instead diverted to a police station where they had to wait for the post-blast security operation to end.

Associated Press also quoted the IRA as saying the bomb was retaliation for “police brutality” at republican funerals.

“It was just effectively unbelievable that the terrorists would then [inflict] incredible pain and anguish on the immediate family, so that they couldn’t go through the last part: a final farewell to their son,” said Mr Brown.

“That was the final insult – they could not allow that, despite having murdered him.”

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When it came to the events of Mr Storey’s funeral at Roselawn, he said: “The general public of the Belfast City Council area have the right to have their cremation service for their loved one held in their city council cemetery.

“To have that sidelined for a convicted terrorist – and everything that’s been repeated ad infinitum in the press the last 10 days – it’s beyond belief... It’s insulting to families who have been unable to have the use of the Roselawn facility for their families.

“It’s been a betrayal of their natural desire to have [their own] expected service which they, as taxpayers, are entitled to – as much as Mr Storey is.

“Belfast City Council have questions to answer. There’ll have to be a clinical analysis of who made what decisions and now. There should be a full independent review.”

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Mr Brown was speaking to the News Letter alongside another retired officer, who also witnessed the aftermath of Mr Nesbitt’s murder in 1987.

The other officer (whom the News Letter knows but is keeping anonymous due to a personal threat) served from 1975 to 1990. He said of the Roselawn bombing: “I think in this day and age they’re just oblivious to the facts of what they did over 30 years.”

He too used the word “betrayal” – laying that accusation against the council and the authorities more generally.

Asked to respond, the council reissued its statement from Monday, saying the preferential treatment given to the Storey family was an “error of judgment”, and apologising to affected families.

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Alistair Bushe