Force used against 16-year-old boy 'not reasonable', inquest finds

An inquest into the shooting of five people in west Belfast has heard that the force used against a 16-year-old boy was "not reasonable".

John Dougal was among the five who were shot in the Springhill estate, west Belfast on 9 July 1972. The others were Patrick Butler, 38; Father Noel Fitzpatrick, 42; David McCafferty, 15; and Margaret Gargan, 13.

Their families believe they were killed by the Army and said they are seeking the truth.

Soldiers at the time said they had been firing at gunmen.

Delivering findings on Thursday, Mr Justice Scoffield said John Dougal had been shot while he was "more than likely running away and likely taking cover" as he "considered himself to be at risk of being shot".

The judge he was "satisfied" John Dougal was "shot by an individual in Corey's Yard" and that he was killed by a single bullet to the chest in a "direct hit, not at close range".

He said: "Soldier A is much more likely to have shot John Dougal."

Mr Justice Scoffield concluded that he "couldn't be persuaded that John Dougal was armed or not either before, or at the time of the shooting".

The court also heard that there was no evidence that Soldier A "shouted a warning" at the teenager before firing the fatal shot.

The court heard that John Dougal was a member of Na Fianna Éireann (the youth wing of the IRA) but on the balance of probabilities he "had not progressed into the adult IRA".

The court also heard there was "no military intelligence to support that John Dougal had joined the IRA".

The inquest received its final submissions in April 2024. It examined whether those killed were shot by military gunfire, or by gunfire from republican or loyalist paramilitaries.

As the families and supporters of those killed arrived at the coroner's court on Thursday they were greeted by an applause.

They walked together, holding a banner which read "time for truth" and images of the deceased.

Junior minister Aisling Reilly, West Belfast MP Paul Maskey and People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll were among their supporters.

On 9 July 1972 three Catholic teenagers, a father-of-six and a priest were shot dead in the Springhill estate, west Belfast.

Those who died were John Dougal, 16, Patrick Butler, 38, Father Noel Fitzpatrick, 42, David McCafferty, 15, and Margaret Gargan, 13.

Their deaths came amid rising tensions. The previous summer eleven people had been shot dead in the neighbouring Ballymurphy area, and just five months earlier 13 people had been killed in Londonderry in a shooting that became known as Bloody Sunday.

A few weeks after the Springhill shooting, on 21 July 1972 19 Irish Republican Army (IRA) bombs exploded across Belfast killing nine people and injuring 130 others in what became known as Bloody Friday.

The original inquest into the Springhill shootings was held in 1973, with the coroner returning an open verdict.

In 2014, then Attorney General John Larkin directed that new inquests should be held.

At the time, coroner investigations into Troubles-related deaths had to cease on 1 May 2024 under the terms of the government's Legacy Act, so the judge, Mr Justice Scoffield, agreed to fast-track the timetable.

Their deaths at Springhill came during the bloodiest year of the Troubles, with 472 people killed as a result of the violence.

A new inquest into the shootings opened in Belfast in February 2023 to examine whether they were killed by military gunfire, or by gunfire from republican or loyalist paramilitaries.