Fergal Caraher
Fergal Caraher (12 April 1970 – 30 December 1990) was a Provisional IRA volunteer[1][2] and Sinn Féin member who was killed by a group of Royal Marines at a checkpoint in Cullyhanna, County Armagh, Northern Ireland.[3]
Background
Fergal Caraher was born in Cullyhanna, County Armagh, Northern Ireland to a republican family. He was a member of both the Provisional IRA and Sinn Féin.
On 30 December 1990, he was killed by Royal Marines near a checkpoint in Cullyhanna. His brother, Michael Caraher, who was severely wounded in the shooting, later became the shooter of one of the South Armagh sniper squads, which killed seven British soldiers and two Royal Ulster Constabulary members.[4] Michael Caraher was imprisoned in 1997, but released in 2000 under the prisoner release terms of the Good Friday Agreement.[5]
In 1996, Fergal Caraher's sister, Maria, was elected to the Northern Ireland Forum in Newry and Armagh, but she did not stand in the subsequent 1998 Northern Ireland Assembly election.[6] She is currently the principal of Bunscoil an Iúir, an Irish language school in Newry.[7]
Murder trial
In 1993, two Royal Marines were charged with Caraher's murder. Both men, Lance Corporal Richard Elkington, 23, and Private Andrew Callaghan, 21, from 45 Commando RM, denied the charges and were acquitted.[8]
Crown prosecutors stated that Elkington smashed the driver's window with his rifle and opened fire on the car, ordering Callaghan to do likewise as the brothers attempted to drive from a pub car park. They also stated that the investigation into the shooting had been hampered as other soldiers on scene had collected spent bullet cases instead of preserving the scene for Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) police officers and claimed that there was no lawful justification for firing on the car.[8]
Elkington told police he had fired nine aimed shots at the driver, believing that a third Marine was being carried away by the brothers on the bonnet of their car. Callaghan stated that he fired 12 shots at the car because he feared for the life of the third Marine, whom he could not see.[8]
Fergal Caraher is one of 24 Provisional IRA volunteers remembered at the South Armagh Memorial Garden in Mullaghbawn, near Slieve Gullion mountain.[9]
See also
- South Armagh Sniper (1990–1997)
- Provisional IRA South Armagh Brigade
References
- ^ "Caraher family still seeking justice after 17 years | An Phoblacht". anphoblacht.com. 10 January 2008. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "Volunteer Fergal Caraher". Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
- ^ Tírghrá, National Commemoration Centre, 2002. PB. ISBN 0-9542946-0-2 p.321
- ^ Gerry Moriarty, "'Those people who murdered Paul will have that on their conscience' Archived 21 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine", Irish Times, 15 December 2007
- ^ "Short walk to freedom for the last of Maze inmates". The Irish Times. 27 July 2000. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ Newry and Armagh, Northern Ireland Elections
- ^ "Opening of new conference centre". Newry Chamber. 18 April 2018. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
- ^ a b c McKittrick, David (9 November 1993). "Marines deny murder charge". The Independent. London.
- ^ "South Armagh Volunteers Day | An Phoblacht". anphoblacht.com. 2 July 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
Bibliography
- v
- t
- e
Assassinations in Ireland, Britain and mainland Europe
- 1970s
- John Barnhill killed by OIRA
- Tommy Herron killed by UDA/UFF
- Joe McCann killed by British Army
- Michael Naan and Andrew Murray killed by British Army
- Paddy Wilson and Irene Andrews killed by UDA/UFF
- Ann Ogilby killed by UDA/UFF
- Billy Hanna killed by UVF
- Jim Hanna killed by UVF
- Billy Fox killed by UDA/UFF
- Billy McMillen killed by INLA
- Thomas Niedermayer killed by PIRA
- Martin McBirney killed by PIRA
- William J. Staunton killed by PIRA
- Ross McWhirter killed by PIRA
- Robert McConnell killed by PIRA
- Majella O'Hare killed by British Army
- Máire Drumm killed by UVF
- Christopher Ewart-Biggs killed by PIRA
- Seamus Ludlow killed by RHC
- John Francis Green killed by UVF
- Robert Nairac killed by PIRA
- Seamus Costello killed by OIRA
- Jeffery Agate killed by PIRA
- Richard Sykes killed by PIRA
- Airey Neave killed by INLA
- Louis Mountbatten killed by PIRA
- 1980s
- Miriam Daly killed by UDA/UFF
- Ronnie Bunting killed by UDA/UFF
- James Stronge killed by PIRA
- Norman Stronge killed by PIRA
- William McCullough killed by INLA
- John McKeague killed by INLA
- Lenny Murphy killed by PIRA
- Robert Bradford killed by PIRA
- George Seawright killed by IPLO
- Edgar Graham killed by PIRA
- Anthony Berry killed by PIRA
- John Bingham killed by PIRA
- Larry Marley killed by UVF
- Ta Power killed by IPLO
- Gerard Steenson killed by INLA
- Maurice Gibson killed by PIRA
- Robert Seymour killed by PIRA
- John McMichael killed by PIRA
- William "Frenchie" Marchant killed by PIRA
- Aidan McAnespie killed by British Army
- James Craig killed by UDA/UFF
- Pat Finucane killed by UDA/UFF
- 1990s
- Ian Gow killed by PIRA
- Fergal Caraher killed by Royal Marines
- Eddie Fullerton killed by UDA/UFF
- Martin O'Prey killed by UVF
- Pearse Jordan killed by RUC
- Sammy Ward killed by PIRA
- Trevor King killed by INLA
- Ray Smallwoods killed by PIRA
- Joe Bratty killed by PIRA
- Raymond Elder killed by PIRA
- Gino Gallagher killed by INLA-GHQ
- Hugh Torney killed by INLA
- John Hemsworth killed by RUC
- Billy Wright killed by INLA
- Rosemary Nelson killed by LVF
- acronyms
- Republicans
INLA = Irish National Liberation Army
IPLO = Irish People's Liberation Organisation
OIRA = Official Irish Republican Army
PIRA = Provisional Irish Republican Army
- Loyalists
LVF = Loyalist Volunteer Force
RHC = Red Hand Commando
UDA/UFF = Ulster Defence Association / Ulster Freedom Fighters
UVF = Ulster Volunteer Force
- Security Forces
RUC = Royal Ulster Constabulary
see also: The Troubles in Ireland See also: The Troubles in Britain and Europe
- Geraghty, Tony: The Irish War. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000. ISBN 0-00-255617-0.
- Harnden, Toby: Bandit Country:The IRA and South Armagh. Coronet Books, 2000. ISBN 0-340-71737-8.