Bobby Storey funeral: Independent probe ‘must focus on two alternative gates at Roselawn’

A council source has told the News Letter that “without a doubt” the pending probe into the fiasco surrounding Bobby Storey’s funeral needs to focus on two alternative entrances to the sprawling council-run Roselawn site in south-east Belfast.
Bobby StoreyBobby Storey
Bobby Storey

The individual said that whilst the front gate of the crematorium/graveyard complex is monitored by CCTV, a smaller gate at Ryan Park (a little housing estate at the north end of the cemetery) and the so-called Kissing Gate turnstile at Crossnacreevy (on the south side of Roselawn) have no cameras.

“The only cameras at Roselawn are cameras at the entrance and exit gates,” they said.

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The source added that whilst an internal council report found there were 28 mourners (plus seven specially-brought in stewards) at Mr Storey’s service by the crematorium, some mourners had entered the site via these smaller gates and had not been counted in the total.

Residents in the surrounding area had seen people “dropped off by car” at the other gates.

The council is in the process of setting up an independent probe into the affair.

The council said nothing when asked about people entering via the two other gates.

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It just repeated its previous statement: “A decision has been taken by Members to carry out an independent investigation therefore it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”

Sinn Fein also did not respond.

It has already been established that whilst the Storey family were permitted to hold a funeral service at the crematorium, eight other grieving families were barred that day.

At the time, only 30 people were allowed to gather outside. Also, the rules stated that friends or family were able to attend funerals at the time - not both.

Mr Storey was formerly “officer commanding” of prisoners in the Maze, and it is understood he later rose to become a senior intelligence-gatherer and enforcer for the Provos (with the Northern Bank robbery believed to have been among the plots he helped mastermind).

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