Officers on the ground were not allowed to do their job properly. It’s a disgrace

Officers on the ground were not allowed to do their job properly. It’s a disgrace

15 June 2016

THE barman who survived the hail of bullets that took six lives in his family pub has described the survivors and the relatives of those killed in the atrocity as “family”.

Aidan O’Toole said there was and would remain an unshakeable bond between those who found themselves plunged into tragedy on the terrible evening of June 18, 1994.

And it was that tight bond, not always a feature in such difficult circumstances, that he said had seen them through the 22 years of disappointments, heartache and anger.

“Our group has stayed together,” he said. “We are all a collective. So close we say we are family.”

Speaking to the Down Recorder after the families’ press conference into the new Police Ombudsman’s report, Mr O’Toole said he was still trying to grasp the full details of the 159 page report.

While the report confirmed many of the families’ suspicions, he had been “shocked” at the level of collusion uncovered.

“It is unbelievable, there is nothing you can say, you have to try to get your head round it,” he said.

“Ordinary officers on the ground were not allowed to do their job. It is a disgrace.

“It has been stressful. We didn’t know the extent, we didn’t know the damage.

“The question is what happens next. Probably the civil route. But no, I haven’t given up on the criminal process.”

Acknowledging that forensic failures and the passage of time made prosecutions unlikely, he also pointed out: “There are people who could come forward to give evidence themselves.”

He is aware too that the report will make uncomfortable reading for many but said he was confident in continued local cross-community support.

“We have always said that the Protestant community have supported us,” he said. “Nevertheless I imagine it will be a shock, the level of collusion.

“We have had the support of the Protestant community and they will stick by us through thick and thin. We have got very good community relations.”

Mr O’Toole said he wanted to thank the people of Loughinisland and the wider South Down area for their support over the years.

“Thank you very much, the support has been unbelievable,” he said. “Hopefully we will get that continued support. You just can’t beat the support of the local community, Catholic and Protestant.”

He added: “It has been a stressful period in the run-up to the report being released. What happened in the bar too is still something you think about everyday.

“With the support of the group we worked well together, looked after each other. It wouldn’t have worked without that family support and without the support of my wife.

“We will have a quiet drink in the bar later and sit down and take our time and go through the report in detail.”

Earlier in the families’s press conference, Mr O’Toole stressed he was only one of several people injured in the Loughinisland massacre.

“We are a small rural community that was relatively untouched by the conflict,” he said. “That this atrocity was visited upon us just before the ceasefires and peace process has added to the hurt and suffering and what ifs. That we find out that the police and intelligence services imported the weapons used to murder and maim makes it all the worse. 

“This makes the call for truth and justice all the more important. I am conscious of the hundreds of the people killed by these same weapons and the devastation caused to countless lives. We all deserve and demand justice from the British government who was ultimately responsible. I would like to thank Niall Murphy and Relatives for Justice for all their help and support.”