Victim's sister in plea to new SF lord mayor

Sinn Fein councillor Deirdre Hargey – who was sworn in as the city’s first citizen on Monday night – was one of around 70 people in Magennis’s bar when a fracas erupted that ended with the brutal murder of the 33-year-old father of two on a pavement outside.

Mr McCartney’s death in 2005 was widely blamed on members of the Provisional IRA and came at a fragile time in the peace process – when Sinn Fein was under pressure to give its backing to the PSNI.

Despite the large number of people in the bar when the row began, no-one reported seeing anything of the incident.

Ms Hargey did not directly engage with PSNI detectives at the time of the murder investigation, but made statements to a solicitor insisting she saw nothing of the row inside the pub. Speaking ahead of her inauguration, she said: “If the PSNI or anyone else needs me in terms of helping in that investigation then I will do so”.

Ms Hargey, from Markets area of Belfast close to Magennis’s bar, has insisted she did all in her power to help the McCartney family achieve justice.

However, Catherine McCartney said the 38-year-old politican should speak to the police and let them decide if what she knows about her brother’s murder has any evidential value.

“Give the PSNI a statement and then let them judge if it’s of any use. It’s not for her to judge what’s relevant and what’s not,” Ms McCartney said.

“She [Ms Hargey] gave a statement at the time saying she didn’t see anything, didn’t hear anything and didn’t know anything. I don’t expect her to say something that’s going to crack open the case, but if you sign up to the rule of law, then the basics are that you deal with the police.”

Ms McCartney said: “She could volunteer to go to the police. The police might then say ‘you’re not needed’ or whatever but it’s important for someone in a leadership position to show leadership.

“Sinn Fein are now calling for people to cooperate with the police on many important issues but I don’t know if Sinn Fein have ever themselves shown leadership in that regard. This would be a good opportunity to do that.

“If Deirdre had said nothing I would have been happy just to leave it, but you can’t stand by and say nothing to such absolute nonsense.

“She said that for 13 years she has supported the [McCartney] family – Deirdre Hargey has never reached out to my family. She has never contacted us directly.”

Ms McCartney added: “I think on any human level, if anyone was in a bar in which a member of the community, in a community they knew well, was murdered, most people would go to the family just to have a chat. On a personal level, on a human level, she has shown our family absolutely no concern over the past 13 years.

“I have no animosity or hostility towards Deirdre on a personal level, and it wouldn’t take much for her to draw a line under this for both her and my family. I know that she wasn’t in any way involved in what happened to Robert, but as families always say, ‘every detail matters to people.’”

Immediately following Mr McCartney’s murder, and the attempted murder of his friend, CCTV video tapes were stolen from city centre premises and there were widespread reports of republican movement involvement in the intimidation of witnesses.

Frustrated at the lack of witnesses coming foward, Mr McCartney’s sisters embarked on a high-profile campaign for justice, which included a visit to the White House in Washington DC.

Speaking ahead of her inauguration last night, taking over from Alliance’s Nuala McAllister, Ms Hargey said: “I want to take this opportunity to again extend my sincere condolences to the McCartney family. What happened to their brother Robert was wrong, it should not have happened.”

She told the Press Association: “I complied fully with the investigation and I am conscious that there is an ongoing investigation...but the family do deserve justice.”

In her first address as lord mayor, Ms Hargey said: “We live in a changing Belfast in a changed Ireland. During my year I will be engaging with every section of our society.

“I have worked with the many and diverse communities which make up our city, I have reached out and will continue to reach out to those in the unionist tradition who have contributed so much to the development of this city.”