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Fergal Caraher (12 April 1970 – 30 December 1990) was a Provisional IRA volunteer and Sinn Féin member who was killed by a group of Royal Marines at a checkpoint in Cullyhanna, County Armagh, Northern Ireland.

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 (RUC) members. Michael Caraher was imprisoned in 1997, but released in 2000 under the prisoner release terms of the Good Friday Agreement.

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. She is currently the principal of Bunscoil an Iúir, an Irish language school in Newry.

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.

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 RUC police officers and claimed that there was no lawful justification for firing on the car.

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.

Fergal Caraher is one of 24 Provisional IRA volunteers remembered at the South Armagh Memorial Garden in Mullaghbawn, near Slieve Gullion mountain.

See also

• South Armagh Sniper (1990–1997)
• Provisional IRA South Armagh Brigade

References

1. "Caraher family still seeking justice after 17 years". An Phoblacht. 10 January 2008. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
2. "Volunteer Fergal Caraher". southarmaghmemorialgarden.com. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
3. Tírghrá, National Commemoration Centre, 2002. PB. ISBN 0-9542946-0-2 p.321
4. Moriarty, Gerry (15 December 2007). "'Those people who murdered Paul will have that on their conscience'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
5. Kelly, Sean (27 July 2000). "Short walk to freedom for the last of Maze inmates". The Irish Times. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
6. Whyte, Nicholas; Kelly, Conal (7 May 2022) . "Newry and Armagh". ARK. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
7. "Opening of new conference centre". Newry Chamber. 18 April 2018. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
8. ^ McKittrick, David (9 November 1993). "Marines deny murder charge". The Independent. London. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
9. "South Armagh Volunteers Day". An Phoblacht. 2 July 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2024.

Bibliography

• 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.

• 1970 births
• 1990 deaths
• Deaths by firearm in Northern Ireland
• Irish republicans
• People from Cullyhanna
• People killed by security forces during The Troubles (Northern Ireland)
• Provisional Irish Republican Army members
• History of the Royal Marines
• Military history of County Armagh