Pat Irvine speaks about impact of failure to deal with the past

Pat Irvine is the daughter of Kathleen Irvine, one of 15 killed in McGurk’s Bar December 1971. We have great pleasure in hosting her words on the failure to implement the Stormont House Agreement.

To Whom It Concerns,

My mother, Kathleen Irvine, was one of 15 innocents who was murdered in McGurks Bar 4th December 1971.

I was 14 years of age.

I am now 60, a mother and a grandmother.

All my family and I have ever asked for is the truth.

We have proven the innocence of our loved ones. We have discovered secret documents that have proved collusion. We have put our trust in the justice system. We have been in and out of court and still the government deny and hide the truth. We are now told that any other documentaion cannot be accessed for 85 years.

You took from us our mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters.

All we want to take from you is the truth. I miss my mummy every day. I can still hear my father, John Irvine, who was injured in the explosion, cry out at night , calling his wife’s name. Buried underneath the rubble, his body burning, as he listened to the cries and prayers of those dying around him.

My family and I have suffered enough. We do not want vengence. We want the truth. Do not let the past be the future for our children.

Pat Irvine
Daughter of Kathleen Irvine , killed, and John Irvine, injured in McGurks Bar 4th Dec 1971

Time4Truth