Man who was orphaned by IRA near Castlewellan hits out at Sinn Fein's Martina Anderson after she addressed parade in the town for IRA 'Adjudant' Paul Magorrian
A man who was orphaned by the IRA as a child near Castlewellan has hit out at Sinn Fein's Martina Anderson after she linked a leading IRA figure in the town to ‘democracy, justice, equality & Human Rights’.
Sammy Heenan was speaking after some 300 people paraded through the town on Sunday in memory of South Down IRA 'adjutant' Paul Magorrian, who was shot dead by the Army in Castlewellan in August 1974.
According to Troubles reference work ‘Lost Lives’, soldiers said Magorrian was aiming a gun at them when he was shot and that a rifle was found by his side.
The SDLP disputed the circumstances of his death, but An Phoblacht says he died "on active service".
This weekend marked 50th anniversary commemorations for the leading republican.
Sinn Fein held a commemoration for him at Finn Graveyard followed by a parade in Castlewellan with some 300 people.
Castlewellan GAC club previously turned down a request from Sinn Fein to host a commemoration evening for the IRA man, which was instead held in the Burrendale Hotel in Newcastle on Friday night.
Terror victims from south Down held an alternative public service on the main street of Newcastle at the same time to remember their loved ones.
On Sunday Sinn Fein's Martin Anderson, spoke at the Castlewellan event.
Later on Facebook she said: "I was honoured to speak in Castlewellan today for Vol Paul Magorrian’s 50th Anniversary.
"To those who have attacked our right to remember & to honour our dead your attempts to rewrite history have failed
"The alternative to the conflict that Paul was involved in was democracy, justice, equality & Human Rights."
(Anderson was previously jailed for conspiring to cause IRA explosions in England.)
But Sammy Heenan, who was orphaned when the IRA shot his father on their family farm near Castlewellan when he was only 12, said her comments were "deeply insensitive".
"I am absolutely scathing of those remarks by Martina Anderson because there was no justice and there was no human rights when the provisional IRA near Castlewellan came into my home and forced my father to his knees and shot him twice in the head at point blank range,” he said.
"Where was my justice? Where were my human rights? Where was my right to have a father growing up? Because the consequences of the IRA action that morning left me orphaned and I also lost my home.
"So for somebody like Martina Anderson - who is from Londonderry - to come to South Down and express that view is sheer hypocrisy and revisionism."
Mr Heenan said that hundreds turned out to remember loved ones murdered in terrorist attacks in an open air service on Newcastle Main Street on Friday night.
"We were absolutely overwhelmed by the level of support we received. Conservative estimates suggested 350 people attended but more realistically it was probably more like 450. All the innocent people who were murdered - both Protestant and Catholic - were remembered."
He added: “At the start of the Troubles a substantial number of Protestants lived in Castlewellan. But when Paul Magorrian was active there was an intensive campaign of bombings shootings and targeting of Protestants in the town, after which many left.
"Is this the democracy, justice, equality and Human Rights that Martina Anderson was talking about?"
DUP Councillor Alan Lewis, who represents the Castlewellan area, said in a statement: “The people of Castlewellan are no stranger to Magorrian or his actions, in the early 70’s many unionist owned businesses were firebombed days later the graffiti ‘Paul was here’ appeared on her ground outside. Just recently I have progressed victims pension applications for people who have been on the receiving end of Paul’s so-called brand of republicanism.
“It is no concern of mine who Republicans commemorate; however Sinn Fein need to come away from their efforts to rewrite history; the IRA of which Magorrian was a senior and active member terrorised the people of Castlewellan. The Provisionals sought to ethnically cleanse the town, force protestants out of their homes, destroy businesses, bomb and murder. There is nothing to commemorate other than the fact the army prevented him from using the rifle he was carrying the night he was killed.
“On Friday evening hundreds of ordinary decent people gathered in Newcastle, to stand in solidarity with victims and survivors, Those who gathered elsewhere to glorify the actions of terrorism and the aggressor will not silence or distort the truth of innocence.”
SEF'F's Director Kenny Donaldson said: "The Burrendale event followed by the commemorative march in Castlewellan was Sinn Féin's attempt to try to sanitise the legacy of Paul Magorrian.
"The inclusion of Martina Anderson, one of PIRA's key bombers further illustrates the absolute inextricable ties between the Provisional IRA and Sinn Fein.
"The Provo movement are infecting a further generation of young people with their poison, breeding division and disharmony and causing maximum hurt to victims/survivors of PIRA's actions.
Sinn Fein was invited to respond to all comments.