Derry bishop Donal McKeown has said he believes all information held about any possible involvement in the Claudy bombing by Catholic priest, James Chesney has been handed over to the authorities.
Nine people were killed when three car bombs exploded in Claudy 50 years ago tomorrow, on July 31 1972. While the Provisional IRA has never claimed responsibility for the atrocity, it is widely accepted that a unit of the organisation based on County Derry was behind the deadly attack.
A report in 2010 by then Police Ombudsman Al Hutchinson found that Fr Chesney was a suspect in the attack.
Concerns over his possible involvement first emerged in December 1972 when it was raised by then Northern Ireland Secretary, William Whitelaw with Cardinal William Conway. The south Derry priest (now deceased) was transferred out of Northern Ireland to a parish in Inishowen. He denied any involvement in the Claudy bombing when interviewed a number of times by former bishop of Derry, Edward Daly. Provisional IRA sources also denied claims that he was involved.
A number of Claudy bomb families are continuing a legal action – due to be heard in October – against the Catholic church over the Chesney claims.
Bishop McKeown said part of the pain for families of the Claudy bomb victims was the lack of information about the atrocity.
“To the best of my knowledge, absolutely every piece of information (held by the Catholic church) has been handed over.
“I can’t speak about something that’s before the courts but if I came across anything that I wasn’t aware of and that isn’t in the public domain, I would simply pass that over to anybody who is doing investigations in the police to ensure that the families who suffered and the families who continue to suffer and those who were not even born at the time and who continue to suffer because of the grandparents and so on so that they can get some little bit of solace and truth,” he said.
Bishop McKeown said he did not know if there were any shortcomings in the Catholic church’s handling of the case as it preceded his time in Derry.
“I was a university student when this all happened. I know so little about what happened. I’m not going to comment on something that obviously is going to be discussed before the courts. Any information that I have or can get, any help that I can offer, I’m only too keen to do it.”
In a separate development, a former deputy mayor of Derry has joined calls to prime ministerial candidates, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss to stop the British government’s controversial Legacy Bill.
Former Ulster Unionist councillor, Mary Hamilton was injured when the second Claudy bomb exploded outside her hotel (the Beaufort Hotel). Mrs Hamilton said there was still time for the legislation, which is opposed by all political parties in Northern Ireland as well as the Irish government, to be stopped.
