Northern Ireland

Paras' Ballymurphy chaplain spoke to Catholic priest about a ceasefire

The Ballymurphy victims – top row, from left: Joseph Corr, Danny Teggart, Eddie Doherty, Fr Hugh Mullan and Frank Quinn; bottom row, from left: Joan Connolly, John McKerr, Noel Phillips, John Laverty and Joseph Murphy
The Ballymurphy victims – top row, from left: Joseph Corr, Danny Teggart, Eddie Doherty, Fr Hugh Mullan and Frank Quinn; bottom row, from left: Joan Connolly, John McKerr, Noel Phillips, John Laverty and Joseph Murphy The Ballymurphy victims – top row, from left: Joseph Corr, Danny Teggart, Eddie Doherty, Fr Hugh Mullan and Frank Quinn; bottom row, from left: Joan Connolly, John McKerr, Noel Phillips, John Laverty and Joseph Murphy

A FORMER Anglican chaplain in the Parachute Regiment has told the Ballymurphy inquest he spoke to a local Catholic priest about a ceasefire.

Soldier M118, who gave evidence anonymously from behind a screen, told the court how he drove with the battalion commander to Vere Foster School soon after the shootings outside Henry Taggart Hall.

He said he did not believe he went inside Henry Taggart hall and had been unaware that there were dead and wounded inside.

Ten people were killed in the shootings in August 1971.

The soldier said he remembered seeing two people sitting outside with what he thought were minor injures and arranged medical treatment for them.

He also recalled taking a phone call from a local Catholic priest who was asking for a ceasefire, although he said the shooting had stopped at that stage.

M118 said when he relayed to the priest claims that gunmen had started firing on his colleagues, the call was ended.

A note taken by the Historical Enquiries Team in 2011 recorded that the Paras' chaplain had told one of their investigators that he had said to the priest: "How can I call a ceasefire when it's your chaps that are doing most of the firing?"

The inquest has previously heard evidence that a priest rang the base twice asking for shooting to be stopped in a different area, at Springfield Park.

M118 said he was not involved in those conversations.

A barrister for two of the families asked if M118 had heard allegations from another witness that a British army chaplain had abused the wounded in Henry Taggart Hall.

"I have heard this, I have reason to disbelieve it," M118 told the court.

The soldier refuted suggestions from another barrister that his claims about not seeing the wounded were largely made-up.

The inquest has also heard other evidence that a chaplain at the Henry Taggart hall stepped in to prevent abuse of the wounded by soldiers though M118 said that wasn't him.

Earlier a different soldier, M156, gave evidence briefly about observing a soldier struck with a ricochet from a bullet fired at the Vere Foster School on that same evening, 9 August 1971.

M156 had applied for anonymity and last week he indicated he wanted full screening in court, however, he ended up giving evidence screened from the public gallery but visible by one representative from each of the victims' families.