‘I knew all along that Hugh was innocent’

‘I knew all along that Hugh was innocent’

19 May 2021

PORTAFERRY man Patsy Mullan idolised his big brother, Fr Hugh Mullan, who was shot dead by soldiers in what became known as the Ballymurphy Massacre nearly 50 years ago.

He and his surviving brother, Sean, who lives in England, and the wider family never got over Fr Mullan’s untimely death at the age of 38.

“Our parents never recovered from it and to be honest I still find it difficult to talk about it because we were so close,” said the 81 year-old.

Fr Mullan had been a curate at Corpus Christie Church in Ballymurphy for seven months when he died on August 9 1971.

Mr Mullan and his niece, Geraldine McGrattan, were in Belfast last Tuesday to hear a coroner finally acknowledge — contrary to what the Army said at the time — that Fr Mullan was not carrying any weapons and had only “peaceful intentions” when he tended to a wounded man during a gun battle.

Mrs Justice Keegan told the families: “I’m quite convinced he was a peacemaker, he went to help an injured man and he had warned the army what was happening,” adding that at the time he was shot, “It was still light and it was clear he was a priest.”

Mr Mulllan said: “I knew all along that Hugh was innocent, although there is always a little hesitation with how the law works, but I was confident enough that he and all of them would be cleared of what happened as they were shot by the Army.”

“Hugh was always in contact with the family, in fact the day he died he phoned my mother and told her not to be coming up to see him as there was trouble. That was the last we heard from him. 

“I was listening to the news all afternoon to hear if there was anything happening. It wasn’t until 10pm that night when I was listening to the RTE news that I heard a priest had been shot in Ballymurphy.”

Mr Mullan knew in his gut that it was his brother, but could not bring himself to tell his parents, John and Mary.

“All that was said that he was shot, it didn’t say he was dead. He was actually dead within 10 minutes of being shot,” he continued.

“We were phoned around 2am and I found out he was dead. I called the doctor just in case my mother would get badly upset and she was badly upset after the doctor told her. I couldn’t bring myself to tell her.

“My father was up the stairs and couldn’t come down the stairs but he knew it was bad news.”

Mr Mullan said it took the Ballymurphy families a few years to organise in order to campaign for truth and justice as a 1972 inquest recorded an open verdict in all the deaths.

He has been involved with the campaign for a new inquest for over 20 years, travelling to Dublin and Brussels and beyond on order to plead the families’ case.

Mr Mullan, his niece Geraldine McGrattan and son Hugh had been regular attenders over the 100 days the inquest was held. 

The family, including Mr Mullan’s late sister Teresa, lived for a time on the Strand, beside the Portaferry Hotel.

While Mr Mulllan took after his father and spent his working life fishing, Fr Mullan spent a year in the Merchant Navy before opting to go to Queen’s University and then Maynooth College to train to be a priest.

He served for a time at St Joseph’s Church in Killough before moving to Dunloy for nine years. While his funeral was held in Belfast, he was buried in St Patrick’s graveyard in Portaferry.

“Hugh baptised all my family, he married me and my wife Mary, so he was very close to us all,” said Mr Mullan.

He recalled how his brother loved to sail in Strangford Lough and entertain his family or parishioners by singing along to his guitar.

But most of all, Mr Mullan mourns what his brother could have done for others.

“Hugh was the type of priest who needed to be among people all the time, helping people,” he said.

“He was someone who would have given anyone anything he had, even his last penny. He particularly liked to help young people and loved working and encouraging them.

“If he had have got a chance in Ballymurphy, he would have helped the people no end to help themselves. That’s what he aimed to do with people and was always thinking of different things that he could start.”

Mr Mullan thanked everybody who had called him or send cards over the week and in particular, local priest, Fr Feargal McGrady, for his help and support over the years. 

Mr Mullan’s granddaughter, Mairead O’Hare, added: “These families have fought so tirelessly over the years to get justice for their loved ones, it has been both inspiring and heartbreaking to watch. 

“I never met my great-uncle, but the stories my Granda tells regularly make his presence known and you can easily tell that the love my Granda has for his brother has never ceased.

“He has known for the last 50 years that his brother was innocent, he didn’t need a coroner’s ruling to know that, but having Fr Mullan declared innocent to the entire world has brought much needed comfort and peace.”