54th anniversary of the McGurk's Bar Massacre and cover-up by the British state.
Thoughts as always with our families, friends, and supporters. The McGurk's Bar Campaign for Truth thanks you all for your continuing support.
The McGurk's Bar Campaign for Truth has been busy again this year despite losing some of our key campaigners last year.
The families and some of our local heroes who helped save our loved ones that night have been working with renowned Irish playwright, Martin Lynch, on a highly anticipated Community Play. We will see the artistic fruits of that in Autumn 2026. Any family members or witnesses who would like to share their experiences, can email me info@mcgurksbar.com.
Our families are still waiting on the inquest we fought for and were promised over a year and a half ago. Along with many other families of the Time for Truth Campaign we continue the fight for our basic human rights and equal access to due process of the law. Britain continues to deny and delay all of our families in Ireland and Britain these basic human rights, whilst trying to legislate a means for burying its war crimes and protecting its killers.
We have continued our own search for truth and justice as we know that the British state cannot be trusted - it remains a serial abuser of human rights in Ireland, Britain and acoss the globe.
This year, our battles resulted in a historic legal win for the families against the Chief Constable of Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the Information Commisioner's Office (ICO) which proved that the PSNI is still withholding evidence relating to the Massacre. PSNI continues the RUC cover-up in 2025, so little has changed with this sectarian police force. You can read the judgement here.
Along with denial and delay, a key component of the British state's strategy for dealing with the legacy of its crimes in Ireland is hoping that campaigning family members die and campaigns lose momentum. I have written a chapter in an academic text examining this. Our families - along with families across the community in other campaigns - have supported me with their precious time and experience. This text on "Hidden Victims" is due to be published soon.
Make History. Follow the Paper Trail.
The families of the McGurk's Bar Campaign for Truth also continue their support of the charity, Paper Trail, which was founded 11 years ago to support victims and survivors of the conflict across the community. Truth recovery and training remain the twin pillars of this support. As well as providing new evidence to a number of key legacy cases this year, we also discovered what British Military Intelligence termed a "wave" of false flag bomb attacks perpetrated by the Loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force but blamed by the British state on the Irish Republican Army.
This 'wave' of false flag explosions and subsequent cover-ups occurred over a year and a half before the McGurk's Bar Massacre, so helps support our campaign and many others, especially other families of atrocities that were blamed on the victims, such as the Kelly's Bar Massacre.
This particular investigation took many years and made front page news: Loyalists linked to Ian Paisley carried out ‘false flag’ bomb attacks, British army intelligence records reveal
One of Ireland's best know historians, Brian Feeney, wrote a glowing review of the importance of this work too: Ian Paisley, the UVF and how the Troubles began
You can keep up-to-date with all of this work and become an insider by subscribing here or on our Paper Trail Pro YouTube channel. We will be busy in 2026.
In the meantime, you can watch some our our ground-breaking research below. Go raibh maith agat arís. Thank you.
