Prison visits cancelled for funeral of Adrian Ismay

All prison visits across Northern Ireland have been cancelled for Tuesday as the funeral takes place of murdered prison officer Adrian Ismay.
By The Newsroom
Published 21st Mar 2016, 19:03 BST
Updated 21st Mar 2016, 19:12 BST
Prison Officer Adrian Ismay who died 11 days after he sustained injuries in an under car booby trap attackPrison Officer Adrian Ismay who died 11 days after he sustained injuries in an under car booby trap attack
Prison Officer Adrian Ismay who died 11 days after he sustained injuries in an under car booby trap attack

Mr Ismay died last Tuesday, 11 days after a republican bomb detonated under his van in Belfast.

Following a post mortem examination, the state pathologist concluded that the 52-year-old’s death was a direct result of the injuries he had received in the blast on March 4 - even though he was deemed to have been recovering and had been released from hospital.

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As a result of the post mortem results, a 45-year-old man who had been charged with the attempted murder of Mr Ismay was charged with murder.

Christopher Alphonsos Robinson, from Aspen Park in the Twinbrook area of Dunmurry, appeared in court on Friday and was remanded in custody.

At Friday’s court hearing, defence solicitor Padraig O’Muirigh said a second post mortem was being carried out, at his request, by a pathologist from Glasgow University.

The second examination was carried out on Saturday but the result has not been made public.

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Mr Ismay’s body has been released to his family and a funeral service will take place at Woodvale Methodist Church in Belfast at noon.

Meanwhile, a trade union-organised silent vigil is being held at Belfast City Hall at 1pm on Tuesday as a show of unity against ongoing terrorism.

Peter Bunting of the ICTU said: “All workers across the communities that make up Northern Ireland must unite to ensure that our peace process will not be derailed. Those behind this murder must be faced down with a public display of the unity of the people of Northern Ireland.”

Related topics:Northern IrelandBelfast