European Day for Victims of Terrorism: Victims of UVF and IRA attacks to tell stories at La Mon Hotel to mark 2004 Madrid train attacks

On 11 March 2004, Europe was left stunned when Islamist terrorists exploded ten bombs on Madrid trains, killing 191 people and leaving over 1,800 injured. The European Commission subsequently established the the European Day for Victims of Terrorism on the date, to remember all those who lost their lives or loved ones to terror, whether in Europe or beyond.

The event has been marked annually at Stormont at events hosted by TUV leader Jim Allister, with victims of loyalist and republican terrorism from across NI, GB, the Republic of Ireland and Europe sharing their stories.

Last year the event moved online due to Covid, but this year it is returning to an in-person event. In order to facilitate expected numbers it is being moved to the La Mon Hotel, itself the scene of an atrocity in 1978, when an IRA firebomb killed 12 members of the Irish Collie Club.

Mr Allister said: “This year’s event will take the form of a minute of silence in memory of murdered victims, followed by victims telling their stories so that we might hear some of the untold accounts of the consequences of terrorism, both republican and loyalist.

“I believe this will be a worthwhile effort and in previous years I received very positive feedback from those who attended. It is but right that one of the regions of Europe most savagely ravaged by terrorism should mark this important day.”

Mr Allister paid tribute to the South East Fermanagh Foundation for covering the cost of hiring the venue and hospitality and helping organise it.

Kenny Donaldson, Spokesman for Innocent Victims United said: “There will be contributors who have been impacted by both republican and loyalist terrorism. It is important to foster opportunities for people with different backgrounds and experiences to come together in a show of solidarity - Innocent Victims Uniting”.

Lynda Van Cuylenberg will be telling how her father Jackie Gibson (45), a bus driver, was one of nine people to be murdered as a result of ‘Bloody Friday’, when the Provisional IRA set off 22 bombs across the city of Belfast on 21 July 1972 in a coordinated effort to instill terror and to damage the economy. Those injured totalled 130.

Danny O’Reilly will tell the event how he was was one of eight children whose father Tony O’Reilly (43), was murdered alongside their Uncle Myles O’Reilly (41) by the UVF in 1976. They were shot dead in their own pub - The Golden Pheasant, near Lisburn, before it was blown up. Poignantly, Danny will be speaking on the anniversary of their murder.

Sandra Harrison will be telling how her brother Alan Johnston was murdered on 15 February 1988. The part-time UDR soldier was shot by the IRA as he turned up for work at a Kilkeel joinery works. In December 1988 a Kilkeel man was given a life sentence for the murder, but did not serve the full sentence due to the Belfast Agrement.

Kay and Wendy Burns will also be telling about the murder of their drandfather William Burns (45). He was a Prison Officer who was murdered outside the family home at Knocknagoney, east Belfast by the Loyalist Prisoners’ Action Force (viewed as a UVF cover name) in 1980.

DUP North Antrim MLA and Justice Committee Chair Mervyn Storey, who will be attending, said the “ruthless campaign of terror waged on our streets and in country lanes has left a legacy of pain and suffering in communities right across Northern Ireland”. He added: “It is not just appropriate but essential that we set time aside to remember those whose lives were unjustifiably and callously cut short by the bomb or bullet.”

Ulster Unionist MLA and former Victims’ Commissioner Mike Nesbitt said the most important thing that can be done to honour the memory of the victims and survivors of terrorism is to acknowledge the human cost of conflict. “These annual events offer a valuable opportunity not only for victims to tell their stories, but to have those experiences listened to and acknowledged,” he said.

Anyone who wishes to attend the event tonight at the La Mon Hotel, Comber from 7:30pm should register in advance with SEFF on tel 028 677 23884.

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