Northern Ireland

Brother of teenager murdered by UVF slams 'horrendous' paramilitary mural

Gerry Armstrong with the book about his brother Paul who was murdered in 1974 by the UVF. Picture by Mal McCann.
Gerry Armstrong with the book about his brother Paul who was murdered in 1974 by the UVF. Picture by Mal McCann. Gerry Armstrong with the book about his brother Paul who was murdered in 1974 by the UVF. Picture by Mal McCann.

THE brother of a teenager murdered by the UVF has spoken of his anger that “horrendous” murals to loyalist gunmen are still appearing nearly 50 years later.

Paul Armstrong was 18-years-old when he was abducted and killed by the UVF in north Belfast on November 8, 1974.

A member of the Merchant Navy, his body was later found in a derelict bakery after he was beaten and shot four times in the head.

No one was ever convicted of the killing, and the UVF had claimed it was in retaliation for the IRA Guildford bombings in England just days earlier.

Paul's brother Gerry Armstrong (68) has previously written about his experiences for a book, A Young Life Stolen: A memoir of growing up in war torn Belfast.

Speaking to The Irish News, Mr Armstrong said he feared his brother’s name would now be forgotten while loyalist killers were still being venerated in new murals.

Earlier this month, a mural on the Shankill Road was unveiled showing the late UVF member Joe Coggle alongside fellow UVF man Paul McClelland.

The Sunday World has since named them as responsible for the 1989 murder of David Braniff, a father of 13 from north Belfast who had converted to Catholicism.

Mr Armstrong said he was sickened by the mural’s imagery, which showed the duo wielding machine guns while being surrounded by Remembrance Day poppies.

“If I was face to face with people putting these murals up, I would ask are they really happy with glorifying the type of people that killed my brother,” he said.

“I have no issue with poppies, but for the UVF to be so insulting that they put them on a UVF mural and talk about For God and Ulster.

“Well, they killed my brother Paul Armstrong for God and Ulster. It’s horrendous that they are glorified this way. The Paul Armstrongs of this world don’t get a mural.”

He added: “I don’t know who killed my brother, all I know is that it was the UVF. I could be passing my brother’s killers on the street every day. I would like people who see this mural to reflect on people like my brother and his family instead.

"There are larger events, but I feel that people like him (who were killed in more isolated incidents) have been airbrushed out of the history of the Troubles."