My name on Creggan bonfire shows I'm still a New IRA target, says ex-PSNI murder bid victim John Caldwell
A former senior police officer forced to retire after being shot in a dissident murder attempt says his name being put on a republican bonfire in Londonderry is proof he is still in the crosshairs of the New IRA.
The large bonfire, in the city’s Creggan housing estate, is to be set alight tonight. Pallets daubed with several notable names were hung from it during the week, in what has been described as a “disgraceful act of intimidation”.
Among them was the name of John Caldwell. Once a high-profile detective probing murder cases in Londonderry, he was forced to retire after New IRA gunmen opened fire on him outside a sports centre, hitting him multiple times as he and his son loaded footballs into a car after he’d coached a youth soccer team.
The former senior officer believes the public hanging of his name on such a prominent republican bonfire is evidence the dissident group still has him in its sights.
“As someone who served the Derry City and Strabane district area without fear of favour, this type of messaging shows that I am still a target for the New IRA,” he said, “and it impacts on my ability to lead a normal life.
“I am reassured by the overwhelming support for myself and my recovery, which is something the New IRA don’t have.”
Ulster Unionist MLA Jon Burrows, himself a former high-ranking police officer, called on the pallets to be probed as a hate crime.
“This is a disgraceful act of intimidation," he told the News Letter. “No one’s name should be put on any bonfire, let alone a victim of terrorism.
“Retired DCI John Caldwell KPM is a hero who served his community tirelessly for decades and who narrowly escaped death in a cowardly gun attack in 2023. This is bound to be re-traumatising for John and I utterly condemn.
“I trust the PSNI will thoroughly investigate this as a hate crime, and that there is cross-community and cross-political condemnation of it – and that steps are taken to have the sign removed.”
Other names appearing on the bonfire include those of a dead child – Kyle Bonnes, who drowned in 2010 – as well as LVF leader Billy Wright, assassinated by the INLA in 1997, and Foyle Sinn Fein MLA Padraig Delargy.
The pallet containing the names of Mr Caldwell, the drowned child and Billy Wright also had crosshairs daubed on it. There have been reports the names were taken down.
In a social media post, the people behind the bonfire described the pallets as a “message from the bonfire”, following that up with a crosshairs icon.
High-profile cases investigated by Mr Caldwell include the 2019 New IRA killing of journalist Lyra McKee, and the December 2022 murder of pregnant 32-year-old Natalie McNally. Two months after the latter incident, he was victim of the dissidents’ murder bid and in 2024 retired from the police on health grounds.
On Wednesday, two men appeared in court charged with the preparation of terrorist attacks and perverting the course of justice, connected to the attempted murder of Mr Caldwell. Several others were already awaiting trial.
During this week’s hearing, it was stated police now believe there was an earlier failed attempt to kill him three weeks before the shooting attack.