April 29 1975
The Official IRA’s Belfast Command Staff said last night that a definite line of investigation was being followed towards positively identifying the organisation and individuals responsible for yesterday’s murder of Republican leader, Liam McMillen. Until the investigation was completed no further statements would be issued.
McMillen (48) was shot and killed at the junction of Falls Road and Spinner Street, but his wife escaped uninjured.
Later the Irish Republican Socialist Party said that in the short time since the shooting they had done everything possible to determine whether any member of the organisation was involved.
A statement said: “In every area in Belfast we have been categorically assured that no member of this organisation had any knowledge of the killing or of those responsible”.
“We have further approached those groups who have for the past four weeks been retaliating against the Official IRA on our behalf, and they have assured us that in the light of information received from us last night and this morning to the effect that the Official IRA were in the process of responding to repeated peace initiatives either today or tomorrow, they had refrained from any action which would have damaged the chance of an end to the conflict between our respective organisations.
In the light of this conflict, it is understandable that both inside and outside the Official Republican Movement there are those who will automatically think that we must in some way, be connected with this killing. We would ask them to accept that while we had our differences with Liam McMillen, this organisation condemns the killing and genuinely regrets his death.
While realising that, due to the time factor, our inquiries are preliminary, we emphasise that during the past two days we have reasonably been satisfied that attempts were being made to bring an end to this senseless and inhuman conflict”.
The statement offered to the wife, family and friends of Liam McMillen deepest and sincere sympathy and asked that his death becomes not a source of further bitterness and strife but “helps us to realise that this situation offers scope to every sort of agent provocateur, sectarian killer or anyone with old scores to settle. To avoid further suffering to all our people, it must be resolved immediately”.
Although the IRSP emphatically denied responsibility for the killing of Liam McMillen, it is generally accepted that he was killed by one of its members, Gerard Steenson.
