A man who was orphaned when both his parents died in the 1971 loyalist bombing of a north Belfast bar, has issued an appeal against Attorney General John Larkin's decision to refuse a fresh inquest into the atrocity.
Terence Keenan initiated proceedings in Belfast High Court yesterday, challenging the recent decision not to order a fresh inquest into the UVF attack, which claimed the lives of 15 people, including two children.
Mr Keenan's parents, Edward (69) and Sarah (58) were among those who lost their lives in the bombing.
Speaking yesterday Mr Keenan said: "There has been a vast amount of new information made available in recent years that was never put before the original inquest. That inquest had an 'open verdict' because it could not pin responsibility on the correct perpetrators.
"Despite the fact the UVF admitted responsibility in 1977, the British state has yet to acknowledge its role in the attack and its cover-up. A new inquest cannot only correct the open verdict that stands to this day, it can also uncover the level of state involvement in the atrocity".
Speaking for Kinnear & Co Solicitors who are representing Mr Keenan, Niall Ó’Murchú said that nearly half a century after the bombing of the bar, "the British state and its police continue to cover up the true facts of the massacre".
"The Attorney General has a significant role to play. There are 100s of documents now available that need proper and just examination in a court of law."
