Northern Ireland

50th anniversary commemoration for teenage IRA members killed in Derry

Martin McGuinness pictured as part of the colour party at the funeral for his close friend Colm Keenan
Martin McGuinness pictured as part of the colour party at the funeral for his close friend Colm Keenan Martin McGuinness pictured as part of the colour party at the funeral for his close friend Colm Keenan

A commemoration has been held in Derry to mark the 50th anniversary of the killing of two teenage IRA members.

Former deputy first minister Martin McGuinness formed part of the guard of honour at the funeral of Colm Keenan (19) after he was shot dead alongside Eugene McGillan (18) on March 14 1972.

Mr Keenan was a close personal friend of Mr McGuinness who died in 2017.

While Mr McGillan was given a private funeral, Mr Keenan’s funeral would later prove significant as it was one of the few occasions on which Mr McGuinness was pictured in IRA uniform.

While the two men were shot during a gun battle, people in the area were adamant that neither were armed at the time.

Family members and friends of the two IRA men attended a commemoration in their memory at Lecky Road in Derry’s Bogside last night.