‘I will honour my UDR brothers until the day I close my eyes’

The 32-year-old father of a new-born baby, was one of four siblings who would make the ultimate sacrifice while serving their community as member of the Ulster Defence Regiment.

In a five-year period, between 1981 and 1985, three Graham brothers would be murdered by the IRA – decimating a family already grieving the loss of sister Hilary while operating a UDR checkpoint in 1979.

The only remaining sibling, Pam Morrison from Lisnaskea, said the 40th anniversay of Cecil’s death will hurt no more or no less that then previous anniversaries.

“All the anniversaries are the same. It is just something you have got to learn to live with,” she said.

“The hurt is always still there with you no matter how many years go by.”

Cecil was cut down a hail of IRA bullets as he visited his wife and five-week-old son at his in-laws house in Donagh on November 9, 1981. He died two days later on November 11 – Armistice Day.

Brother Ronnie, 39, was ambushed and shot dead by the IRA just five months earlier. The drummer with the Colebrooke Pipe Band was delivering coal when the terrorists struck.

The third brother to die was Jimmy Graham – killed while parking the school bus he drove at Derrylin.

“We were a very close-knit family and it’s a lonely, lonely life without them, but there are other members of the family now and you have to keep going for them,” Pam, who has been supported by the SEFF victims’ group, said.

“Sometimes it seems like a bad dream. They were all so young and had their lives ahead of them.

“I often think about what they would be like now if they were still alive, what they would be doing. They never got the opportunity to see their families grow up.

“There was pressure on them to walk away [from the UDR], but they just decided that they wouldn’t do it.

“There was certainly pressure put on my third brother (Jimmy) to leave, but it was his own affair and own business and he didn’t want to discuss it. He just he wasn’t leaving.”

Pam added : “They were out guarding people around the country. They were trying to keep people safe. It was just in them to do it and that was it.

“I was proud of my brothers when they were alive, and I am still proud of them to this day. I will honour them until the day I close my eyes.”

No one has ever been convicted in connection with any of the murders.

Asked if there was ever any talk of revenge or retaliation within the family, Pam said: “We were brought up to live and let live. We never retaliated, because you were just going to leave more sad homes, like we were living in ourselves.”

Commenting on new legislation proposed by the government, which will effectively prevent prosecutions for all Troubles-related crimes, Pam said Prime Minister Boris Johnson and NI Secretary Brandon Lewis would not be so keen on such an amnesty if their own families’ lives had been blighted by terrorism.

She also said no one has the right to snuff out the prospect of the perpetrators being brought to justice – no matter how slim that chance is.

“If it was some of them who lost their son or brother like this, leaving a family behind, they would know what it was like,” she said.

“It would make a big difference to me, and many other families, if we were to get justice.

“It’s not going to bring them back but at least it would be something. They were actually brutally murdered, it’s as simple as that.”

Pam added: “I think [an amnesty] would be very unfair. There should be justice for the families. It means a lot to the families to at least have that door open.”

Kenny Donaldson of SEFF (South East Fermanagh Foundation) paid tribute to the Grahams, “who have not allowed the cruelty visited upon them to break them” in any way.

“They are an example to all of us,” he said.

“The Graham family are the sole family in the Troubles where three siblings were murdered in separate incidents – we of course also think of the Reavey’s and the O’Dowd’s where three brothers were each murdered together by loyalist terrorists.”

Mr Donaldson said: “The experiences of the Graham family are beyond words, they were systematically targeted by Provisional IRA terrorists, and were assassinated.

“The family, alongside the Beacom family, will feature strongly in SEFF’s Annual Act of Remembrance event taking place on Thursday this week – on Remembrance Day.”

Albert Beacom, also a part-time UDR soldier, was shot dead while off-duty near Maguiresbridge just one week after Cecil Graham’s murder.

Mr Donaldson added: “A granddaughter of Albert Beacom (Kellie) will sound the last post; a son-in-law play a piper’s lament (Gordon) and the son of Cecil Graham (Darren) and a daughter of Albert Beacom (Barbara) will lay the wreath at SEFF’s memorial”.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the Graham family at this time”.

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“It would make a big difference to me, and many other families, if we were to get justice.

“It’s not going to bring them back but at least it would be something.