RELATIVES of a murdered ex-IRA prisoner are to attempt an alternative resolution in their dispute over attempts to have his body exhumed, a High Court judge directed.
Mr Justice Rooney put a legal challenge by the widow of Kevin McGuigan on hold to enable a process aimed at reaching an agreement with his mother.
McGuigan (53) was shot dead in front of his wife Dolores at their home in the Short Strand, east Belfast in August 2015.
Republicans were suspected of sanctioning the father-of-nine’s murder amid disputed claims he was involved in the killing of former IRA commander Gerard ‘Jock’ Davison three months previously.
McGuigan is currently buried in a plot owned by his mother at Belfast City Cemetery.
But his widow wants his remains exhumed for interment in the same grave as their late daughter.
In August 2021 the Department for Communities turned down a request to move the body after the victim’s mother refused consent to an exhumation.
Revised policy guidance states that without agreement from the owner, a grave can only be opened in exceptional circumstances.
Mrs McGuigan, as her husband’s nearest surviving relative, is seeking to judicially review the department’s determination.
She alleges that the refusal breaches her entitlement to private and family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
In a statement she described the “devastating impact” of her husband’s shooting and being unable to take part in the decision-making process about his burial.
The couple’s terminally ill daughter made a request to her grandmother to be buried with her father before she died, it was alleged.
Counsel for Mrs McGuigan claim the department failed to properly balance her rights against the property rights of her mother-in-law.
In court on Tuesday, Hugh Southey KC stressed his client wishes to exhume her husband’s body, rather than making any claim for exclusive rights to the current plot.
“She is clear that she wants the bodies to be reunited at the place of burial of their daughter,” he said.
However, following lengthy exchanges about potentially conflicting new affidavits, Mr Justice Rooney decided the case could not proceed. He adjourned the hearing for 10 weeks to allow all sides to explore possible mediation or alternative dispute resolution options.
“This must be one of those cases where the parties can put their heads together and see if there’s a way in which they can sort this matter out,” the judge said.