Eight survivors of a 1992 loyalist gun attack on the Thierfurth Inn in Kilcoo, County Down, have reached a multimillion-pound settlement in a civil case against the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the British Ministry of Defence. The settlement follows a 2016 Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland (PONI) report that found state security forces were compromised by loyalist paramilitaries, leading to a failure to prevent the UVF attack that killed Peter McCormack.
Why were the state and military held liable?
The civil action, settled at Belfast’s High Court, centers on findings that state intelligence was used by the UVF to target victims. According to the 2016 PONI report, the loyalist gang accessed British Army intelligence montages stored at a local Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) barracks. The report further stated that the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was aware of plans to seize these documents but failed to intervene.
Beyond the intelligence breach, the Ombudsman found no sustained police response to the gang’s activities, despite their involvement in multiple previous murders. Investigators concluded that police and military units in the region were compromised by associations with the loyalist gang, allowing them to operate with a degree of impunity.
The UVF unit responsible for the Thierfurth Inn shooting was later implicated in the 1994 attack on the Heights Bar in Loughinisland, which claimed the lives of six men during a World Cup football match.
How has the legal process impacted the survivors?
Solicitor Gavin Booth of Phoenix Law, who represented the survivors, stated that the 11-year legal process was finally an acknowledgment of the “hurt, the pain, and the trauma” caused to the families. While the specific financial terms remain confidential, the payout is considered one of the largest settlements of its kind in Northern Ireland.
For survivors like Patrick Gribben, who was shot several times during the 19 November 1992 attack, the legal victory highlights the long-term impact of the violence. John McEvoy, who was working behind the bar during the shooting, noted that despite the passage of time, the experience remains a constant presence in the lives of those who were present.
What are the future trends for legacy litigation?
Frequently Asked Questions
- Who was targeted in the 1992 Kilcoo attack? The UVF intended to kill a named republican who frequented the pub, but he was not present on the night of the shooting.
- Was the McCormack family part of this settlement? No, the family of Peter McCormack, who died in the attack, was not part of this specific group settlement.
- What was the role of the UDR in the attack? According to official reports, the UVF used intelligence montages that had been taken from a UDR barracks, a move the RUC reportedly chose not to prevent.
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