Northern Ireland

'The smell of gun smoke is something I have never forgotten' says Greysteel Massacre paramedic

 Adrian McAuley was the first paramedic on the scene at the Greysteel massacre in 1993. Picture by Cate McCurry, Press Association
 Adrian McAuley was the first paramedic on the scene at the Greysteel massacre in 1993. Picture by Cate McCurry, Press Association  Adrian McAuley was the first paramedic on the scene at the Greysteel massacre in 1993. Picture by Cate McCurry, Press Association

THE first paramedic to arrive at the scene after the Greysteel massacre has described the nightmares he continues to face 25 years later.

On the eve of Halloween in 1993, Adrian McAuley and his colleague had just returned to their base when they got a call about a shooting at the Rising Sun bar in Greysteel.

Attending shootings was not unusual for ambulance staff but within moments of arriving at the quiet village bar, some nine miles outside Derry, both paramedics knew this attack was different.

"When we got to the Rising Sun we could see about 20 or 30 people waving their arms in the air, they were clearly upset, frantic, shouting," the 61-year-old said.

"We thought this must be worse than we expected.

"The crowd surrounded us, opened both doors and we were more or less pulled out and pushed into the bar."

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The scene that he came upon will live with him for the rest of his life.

"Everywhere we could see people that had clearly been shot, they were lying on the floor, slumped on the chairs, lying across tables and as I scanned the room it seemed like they were everywhere," he added.

The Rising Sun bar where seven people were fatally shot in Greysteel, Co Derry. Picture by Cate McCurry, Press Association
The Rising Sun bar where seven people were fatally shot in Greysteel, Co Derry. Picture by Cate McCurry, Press Association The Rising Sun bar where seven people were fatally shot in Greysteel, Co Derry. Picture by Cate McCurry, Press Association

"For those few seconds we were rocked back on to our heels.

"It wasn't like anything we could have reasonably expected it to be.

"The smell of gun smoke is something I have never forgotten, you could almost taste it. It was burning into our eyes."

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Mr McAuley said he was reporting the number if injured back to his ambulance base when a man told him there were more casualties in the front bar.

"I couldn't believe it," he added.

All the victims were taken to Altnagelvin Hospital.

Eight people were killed after loyalist gunmen entered the bar and started shooting. One of the gunmen shouted "trick or treat" before opening fire.

News of the shooting filtered back to Derry which led to serious rioting across the city.

The scene where seven people were fatally shot in Greysteel, Co Derry. File picture by McCullough, Press Association
The scene where seven people were fatally shot in Greysteel, Co Derry. File picture by McCullough, Press Association The scene where seven people were fatally shot in Greysteel, Co Derry. File picture by McCullough, Press Association

Mr McAuley spent the rest of the night taking injured people to hospital.

The paramedic, who also attended the scene of the IRA bomb at Coshquin checkpoint in 1990 and the Omagh bomb in 1998, spoke about the lasting impact of the Greysteel shootings.

"I've spent many years driving past the Rising Sun bar and I am consciously not wanting to look at it. Now I can, but for many years I couldn't," he said.

"I would be conscious that whatever issues or struggles that I might have due to the shooting, they pale into insignificance to those of survivors and people who have lost family members."

The families of the Greysteel victims will attend vigil outside the Rising Sun bar tonight to mark the anniversary of the massacre.

Mass will also be celebrated at Star of the Sea church today.

Torrens Knight and fellow paramilitary members killed eight people in an attack on the Rising Sun bar on October 30 1993
Torrens Knight and fellow paramilitary members killed eight people in an attack on the Rising Sun bar on October 30 1993 Torrens Knight and fellow paramilitary members killed eight people in an attack on the Rising Sun bar on October 30 1993