Northern Ireland

15 men arrested after Dublin murder victim Mickey Barr's funeral

Men in paramilitary-style clothing flank the coffin of Michael Barr at his funeral in Strabane
Men in paramilitary-style clothing flank the coffin of Michael Barr at his funeral in Strabane Men in paramilitary-style clothing flank the coffin of Michael Barr at his funeral in Strabane

Fifteen people were still being held last night after men dressed in combat gear formed a guard of honour at the funeral of murdered Co Tyrone man Mickey Barr.

Around a dozen men dressed in military-style clothing flanked the tricolour-draped coffin of the ‘IRA’ member in Strabane yesterday.

The 35-year-old was shot dead last week by members of the Kinahan crime gang in the Dublin pub he managed.

A spokesman for the PSNI last night said the men were arrested under the Terrorism Act in connection with a "paramilitary display".

They were arrested in Strabane after the burial, away from the graveyard, with three cars also seized as part of the operation.

Senior republicans mixed with hundreds of mourners as the funeral cortege made its way from the home of Mr Barr’s father in the village of Clady to Mary's Church, Melmount for Requiem Mass.

A black beret and gloves were placed on the murdered man's coffin, and several men dressed in white shirts and black ties also took part in the procession.

He was buried in the adjoining cemetery.

Black flags were flown from lampposts along part of the route.

Mr Barr was a former republican prisoner and inmates in Maghaberry and Portlaoise prisons cancelled all visits to the jails yesterday as a mark of respect.

During his homily Fr Michael Doherty said Mr Barr died in “horrific circumstances”.

“It has been a long time since we had to come together for a funeral like Michael’s whose death came about because some people made the deliberate and evil decision to end his life,” he said.

"It is not a situation that any family or community should have to face.

“In the years of the Troubles, that kind of death was a regular occurrence for people in this part of the country, both Catholics and Protestants, and the vast majority of people want killings, murders, consigned to the past."

There was a heavy PSNI presence in the area and gardai also set up checkpoints in nearby Co Donegal.

PSNI Superintendent Mark McEwan said: "What we saw this morning on the streets of Strabane and in the local area is what appears, for all intents and purposes, to be a paramilitary display.

"As a result of that we have arrested 15 men in connection with suspected terrorist-related offences.

"The scenes that we have seen today are not unique, but the public do expect us to act in these cases."

In a statement before the funeral, Mr Barr's father Collie criticised media coverage of his murder after some outlets linked him to the high-profile gun attack at the Regency Hotel in Dublin in February.

Mr Barr was a close associate of a Strabane man known as ‘Flat Cap’ who is a suspect in the attack.

David Byrne was shot dead after masked men dressed as Garda members opened fire with automatic weapons at a boxing weigh-in.

Seconds later a man wearing a flat cap was pictured running up a street with a gun in his hand.

It is understood the Strabane man fled his rented property in the town last week.

The group known as the ‘IRA’ has said Mr Barr was a member but denied he was involved in the Hutch/Kinahan gangland feud, which has so far cost six lives.