The Troubles in Craigavon

This is a list of incidents of violence during the Troubles in Craigavon, County Armagh, Northern Ireland.

Incidents in Craigavon during the Troubles resulting in fatalities:

1982

• 11 November 1982 - Eugene Toman (21), Sean Burns (21) and Gervaise McKerr (31), all members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, were shot dead by undercover Royal Ulster Constabulary members at a vehicle check point, Tullygalley East Road, Craigavon.^[1] Over 100 rounds were fired at the car.^[2] None of the men was armed at the time of the shooting. Claims of a shoot-to-kill policy in Northern Ireland by security forces were denied and the RUC said the three men had driven through a vehicle check point. Eventually the British government set up the Stalker inquiry (later taken over by Sampson) to look at this and other incidents.^[3] In 2000 the European Court of Human Rights gave a preliminary ruling that Britain had a case to answer in relation to allegations of an "illegal shoot-to-kill" policy in Northern Ireland and included this case.^[4]

1991

• 28 March 1991 - Eileen Duffy (19), Katrina Rennie (16) and Brian Frizzell (29), all Catholic civilians, were working in a mobile shop in the Drumbeg estate in Craigavon when they were shot and killed by the Protestant Action Force (PAF).^[5] In 1992, Tom Harper was charged with the murders, although he was the driver and not the gunman. He was given a life sentence for his part in the murders.^[6] The attack was ordered by Billy Wright, but the gunman, suspected of being an RUC Special Branch agent, has never been charged. Local allegations of security force collusion remain and it was noted that, on the night of the shooting, the normally heavy police presence was not apparent. In September 2011, the PSNI announced that records of interviews with suspects in key murder investigations from 1985 to 1993 had been destroyed in 1998 because they'd been kept in asbestos-contaminated conditions. They included the records in this case.^[7]
• 14 November 1991 - The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) shot dead three civilians, Desmond Rogers (54), Fergus Magee (28), and John Lavery (27) at the Carbet Road-Carn Road junction near Craigavon. Rogers and Magee were Catholics, Lavery a Protestant.^[5] The three men were shot in their car after being stopped at an illegal UVF checkpoint. The UVF later apologised for killing the Protestant man.^[8] In October 1992, a man, Vicky Ahitty (24), from Portadown, was charged with these and other murders and firearms possession.^[9]

References

1. "Sutton Index of Deaths, 1982". Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN). Retrieved 4 December 2011.
2. "Judgments - In re McKerr (AP) (Respondent) (Northern Ireland)". House of Lords (11 March 2004). Retrieved 4 December 2011.
3. "A Chronology of the Conflict, 1982". Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN). Retrieved 4 December 2011.
4. "'Shoot-to-kill' case gets go-ahead". BBC NI News (5 April 2000). 5 April 2000. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
5. "Sutton Index of Deaths, 1991". Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN). Retrieved 4 December 2011.
6. "Murder accused from town". Lurgan Mail (24 August 2010). Retrieved 4 December 2011.
7. "No justice for mobile shop murder families after evidence is destroyed". Sunday World (Suzanne Breen, 18 September 2011). Retrieved 4 December 2011.
8. "A Chronology of the Conflict, 1991". Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN). Retrieved 4 December 2011.
9. "Man in court over Ulster killings". The Independent (Jason Bennetto, 25 October 1992) (London, UK). 25 October 1992. Retrieved 4 December 2011.