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Loughinisland families hold vigil 25 years on from Heights Bar massacre

Pictures of the six Loughinisland victims at the vigil held in the Co Down village last night 
Pictures of the six Loughinisland victims at the vigil held in the Co Down village last night  Pictures of the six Loughinisland victims at the vigil held in the Co Down village last night 

FAMILIES of those killed in the Loughinisland massacre last night gathered with friends and supporters in the Co Down village for a vigil to mark the 25th anniversary of the UVF atrocity.

Six men were murdered when masked gunmen burst into the Heights Bar as customers watched a Word Cup match between the Republic of Ireland and Italy.

Those killed were Barney Green (87), Adrian Rogan (34), Malcolm Jenkinson (53), Daniel McCreanor (59), Patrick O’Hare (35), and 35-year-old Eamon Byrne. Five other people in the bar were wounded.

The vigil took place at 10.10 pm, the time the atrocity took place in 1994.

Relatives of Adrian Rogan also held a Mass in his memory last night.

Mr Rogan's daughter Emma, a Sinn Féin MLA who was seven at the time of her father's murder, said it was time for the British government to honour its obligations and implement the legacy mechanisms of the Stormont House Agreement.

She said the Loughinisland Justice Group had long campaigned against state collusion and for truth and justice for their loved ones.

"Now thanks to our campaigning and the award-winning documentary, 'No Stone Unturned' the depth of collusion, the cover-ups, the failed investigations and continued attempts to hide the truth are now known," she said.

"We now need justice and accountability from those in authority."

Journalists Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Birney, who were detained last year over the alleged theft of a police watchdog document that appeared in the award-winning film, were among those who attended last night's vigil.

Earlier this month it was confirmed that a police investigation into the Belfast-based journalists, who were arrested over confidential material they aired in the documentary, was dropped.

It emerged yesterday that the pair received more than 20,000 messages of support during a 10-month campaign to overturn their arrests

The correspondence was collected by Amnesty International and handed over to the journalists in mailbags outside the Royal Mail depot in Belfast by the campaign group's director Patrick Corrigan.

The aftermath of 1994's Loughinisland massacre
The aftermath of 1994's Loughinisland massacre The aftermath of 1994's Loughinisland massacre
The aftermath of 1994's Loughinisland massacre
The aftermath of 1994's Loughinisland massacre The aftermath of 1994's Loughinisland massacre