International Women’s Day: Tributes for last UDR Greenfinch murdered by IRA

Irene Kerrigan paid tribute to Corporal Heather Kerrigan in a video clip published on the website of the South East Fermanagh Foundation.

Irene said her sister-in-law was born in 1964 and was one of eight children of Jim and Isobel Kerrigan, growing up about half a mile from the Donegal border.

“Heather was a non-armed Greenfinch and part of a UDR patrol on the Corrigee Road, Castlederg on 14 July 1984,” Irene said.

“She was a member of the first patrol that was blown up by an IRA culvert landmine explosion.

“Heather and her brother [David] were seriously injured. They were flown to the Tyrone County Hospital in the army helicopter that had dropped them off earlier for the patrol.

“Heather was bleeding heavily and her blood was running under David and out the helicopter door.

“Sadly Heather died on the operating table shortly after arriving at hospital. Heather was just 20 years old. She never had a chance to get married or have children. Both her parents have since passed and never seen justice for Heather.”

She said that four Greenfinches were murdered by the IRA, Heather being the last.

Another who paid tribute to their loved ones was Elizabeth Poole, who remembered her Auntie Linda Haughton.

Linda was brutally murdered by Provisional IRA terrorists as a result of the M62 Coach bomb in 1974. Her husband Cliff and their two little boys; Lee aged five and Robert aged two were also killed. Eight others perished in the same attack and many others on the Coach suffered serious injuries.

Margaret Veitch and Ruth Blair also remembered their Mum, Agnes Mullan. She was one off 12 killed in the 1987 IRA Poppy Day Bomb Attack. Agnes’ husband William was also murdered.

Brian Johnston also remembered his sister, Jillian Johnston. A civilian, she was brutally murdered by the IRA and her partner seriously injured when they were attacked in a hail of bullets fired into the car they were in at her home in 1988 near the Kesh border with Donegal.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Ben Lowry

Editor