Daughter of Glenanne Gang victim set to sue documentary makers

Denis Mullen, a prominent SDLP activist and civil rights campaigner, was shot dead at the front door of the family home near Moy on the night of September 1, 1975.

His then-four-year-old daughter Denise, now an SDLP councillor on Mid Ulster Council, is now preparing to sue the makers of Unquiet Graves, a feature-length documentary investigating the activities of the gang.

Ms Mullen said that while she had initially agreed to cooperate in the production, she later changed her mind and stipulated that her father’s case was not to appear.

“When I had time to think about it, due to my family’s position and their beliefs, it just wouldn’t sit well with me to be part of this project,” she told the News Letter.

She said she contacted victims’ lobby group the Pat Finucane Centre.

But Ms Mullen spoke of her “disgust” when she eventually watched the documentary.

“My father’s picture is in it along with a brief synopsis of his murder case. That really shocked and upset me,” she added.

“This has retraumatised me. I am shaking just talking about it.”

Ms Mullen claims her family’s information has been used in the documentary without her consent and that her privacy has been breached.

She has instructed a solicitor to take legal action against the filmmaker.

“As a victim and survivor, I have had enough of being used,” the SDLP representative said.

“I am not disputing the fact that this documentary is informative for those who are not aware of the story of the Glenanne Gang. It is well produced and well done.

“But that does not excuse what has happened here. People have toured the world on the back of victims, taking advantage of us. When we express concerns they are ignored. I am just sick of it. We are being used and abused.”

Ms Mullen also attacked Sinn Fein for “latching on” to the production and using it as a “political PR tool”.

She claimed that the republican party is hosting a showing of the film in Carrickmore, Co Tyrone next month.

“It makes it even more difficult for me to see my father’s name being used in something that is now basically Sinn Fein election propaganda,” Ms Mullen continued.

A Sinn Fein spokesperson said: “Our only motivation is supporting families and campaigners in exposing British State collusion with the Glenanne Gang.”

In a statement to the Irish News, those behind the documentary said they were “genuinely sorry” that Ms Mullen did not support the film, and claimed the response from other family members has been “emotional, cathartic and positive”.

They also stated that “no individual has benefited financially” from the production, adding: “Should any profits be made, itself a difficult challenge, these would be put back into the Glenanne families’ campaign for justice.”

The Glenanne Gang is linked to over 100 murders during the 1970s, mostly in counties Tyrone and Armagh.