Four held in 1974 murder inquiry
Four men have been arrested by police investigating the murder of a Tyrone councillor more than 30 years ago.
Patrick Kelly, a nationalist member of Omagh District Council, was shot dead in July 1974 after locking up a bar.
His body was found in a lake in County Fermanagh several weeks later. Four men were arrested in their homes on Tuesday and are being questioned in Antrim.
The murder was admitted by the UFF. The inquiry was re-opened in 2003, led by an officer from the West Midlands.
Mr Kelly, 33, was shot on the Badoney Road as he drove to his home at Golan on 24 July 1974.
Searches were organised to look for Mr Kelly
That same night, bloodstains, shirt buttons and cartridge cases were found on the roadside a mile from Trillick, where it is believed he met his killers.
His body was found three weeks later, 10 miles away in Lough Eyes in Fermanagh. He had been shot several times and his body had been weighted down.
A major search was launched after the roadside discoveries, but it was called off a week before Mr Kelly's body floated to the surface of the lake.
Police had been under intense pressure to launch a fresh investigation amid claims of collusion between the killers and the security forces in the murder.
His family want an independent inquiry into his death.
Comments
Hide the following 3 comments
Yeh, but what about...?
07.04.2005 10:37
"Glossary: what is Whataboutery?
Familiar to anyone who's followed public debate on Northern Ireland. Some define it as the often multiple blaming and finger pointing that goes on between communities in conflict. Political differences are marked by powerful emotional (often tribal) reactions as opposed to creative conflict over policy and issues. It's beginning to be known well beyond the bounds of Northern Ireland.
"Some years back the BBC quoted Cardinal Cahal Daly as having described Whataboutery as "the commonest form of moral evasion in Ireland today", referring to how both communities use the terrible burden of past events to lay obstacles in the way of peace.
"Evasion may not be the intention but it is the obvious effect. It occurs when individuals are confronted with a difficult or uncomfortable question. The respondent retrenches his/her position and rejigs the question, being careful to pick open a sore point on the part of questioner's 'tribe'. He/she then fires the original query back at the inquirer.
"Historical subjects can be the worst. Rational perspective disappears and opponents are forced to assume moral responsibility for their community's past sins. The substance of the issue is foregone for an emotional power play that comprises the solipsistic concerns of the participants, with little regard for fact or quality of argument.
"Mick Fealty @ 09 February 2005"
MeMeMe
Who are you to sneer at the MacCartney sisters?
07.04.2005 13:30
Killing is the same game whether it's the IRA, the UFF, MI5 or the RUC. Today's IRA is just another big business. Godfather Adams is just as cynical and corrupt as the sick fucks who killed Patrick Kelly.
ab
What 1/2 wit point are you making?
08.04.2005 10:36
Arthur