Brothers climb UK's highest peak in memory of their father, an IRA victim shot dead in front of them 35 years ago
Daring Co Tyrone brothers are set to scale the UK’s highest mountain for charity, creating a positive impact on the anniversary of the brutal paramilitary murder of their father.
Bryan and Andrew Finlay were just kids when they witnessed their ex-UDR father Ronnie's death at the hands of republican gunmen.
This Saturday marks 35 years since that traumatic event, and the adventurous pair are set to mark it by leading an expedition up Ben Nevis to raise money for a youth centre at the Castlederg church their dad loved.
As Bryan explained, the pair wanted a challenge to keep his memory alive. Since Ronnie had been rector’s churchwarden at Derg Parish Church, they realised they could both honour him and create a lasting legacy by raising much-need money for its youth centre.
“I live in Omagh, I’ve been in Scotland, but I look on this as ‘my church’ and it’s good to give something back to the community,” said Bryan. “There’s a lot of press about legacy, nowadays; this is a positive legacy, something good, something positive coming out of something so horrific.”
Andrew remembers being buoyed by the church community in the aftermath of his father’s murder, going on trips organised by Derg Parish after the murder shattered their young lives.
“The church would’ve rallied around us and supported us,” he said.
“I live in Castlederg and my daughter and son were christened in the church, so it means a lot to be giving something back – not just [for] now but into the future, so that’s a positive way of honouring Dad’s memory.”
A fundraiser set up by the brothers has so far gathered more than £3,000 for the church centre, and tonight local parishioners hold a 5k run and 3k walk in Castlederg as a send-off to the group of 20 hikers heading up Ben Nevis.
A former UDR man, Ronnie Finlay served part-time for 18 years but left the regiment three years before his murder, and was working on a farm in Co Tyrone countryside.
IRA gunmen held the farm’s owner and his family hostage overnight, cutting phone lines as they lay in wait for Ronnie to arrive.
He was driven to work on the morning of August 15, 1991 by his wife Kathleen, with the boys in the car – Bryan was then aged 10 and Andrew just three years old.
The gunmen opened fire as he stepped out of the car. They also shot out the vehicle’s tyres, forcing Kathleen to walk three-quarters of a mile to raise the alarm, with Andrew in her arms and and pulling a hysterical Bryan along with her by the hand.
The killers stole the owner’s car and fled across the border to the Republic. It was later found abandoned a few yards from a border crossing.
A Christian and dedicated family man from Castlederg, Ronnie was an Orangeman and was serving as rector’s churchwarden of Derg Parish Church at the time of his death.
His captain in the UDR described him as a “model part-time soldier, someone who fitted and wore his uniform with pride and who always took great pride in what he was doing”.