‘All victims are entitled to justice’

by David Flynn

David Kelly from Moate is the son of Custume Barracks soldier Private Paddy Kelly, who was killed in Co. Leitrim during the rescue of the kidnapped supermarket boss, Don Tidey.

Private Kelly’s son spoke at Athlone Castle recently at the launch of “A Tribute to Innocents’, a Memorial Quilts exhibition in collaboration with the South East Fermanagh Foundation (SEFF), which will continue until October 24 as part of general visitor admissions.

David spoke about his father’s history and about the impact the death had on his young family.

“He was murdered in the line of duty during the search and rescue on the 16th of December, 1983 by the IRA,” said David Kelly. “Nobody has ever been held responsible for the crime and it’s important to say that all innocent victims of crime are entitled to justice.”

Members of the O'Reilly family from Belturbet, Co. Cavan, spoke to the Athlone audience about the Loyalist involvement in the death of their 15-year-old-sister, Geraldine O’Reilly in 1972. Her brother Anthony told about bringing her into Belturbet on the night to get a bag of chips, before she was killed in a bomb explosion. The O’Reillys called on the Irish government to “share their hand with SEFF and support them in the south, as SEFF supported us from the north."

Patrick Stanley, a 16-year-old boy from Clara, Co. Offaly was also killed in the Belturbet bombing.

SEE FULL STORY ON QUILT EXHIBITION LAUNCH HERE