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{{short description|Irish teacher}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2012}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2012}} {{Use British English|date=August 2012}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2015}}
{{other uses|Mary Travers (disambiguation)}}
'''Mary Travers''' (]: Máire Ó Treabhair; 1962 – 8 April 1984) was a ] who was shot dead in ] on 8 April 1984 by ] gunmen trying to assassinate her father, Thomas, a Catholic ]. Mary Travers was about 22 at the time.


==Attack==
'''Mary Travers''' was a ] who was shot dead on 8 April 1984 by ] gunmen who were trying to kill her father Tom Travers, a ]. Mary Travers was 22 at the time, she and her family were ]. She, along with her father and mother, had just left St Brigid's Catholic Church in Derryvolgie Avenue in south ] when two gunmen opened fire. She was killed by the gunfire and her father badly wounded.
⚫ She, her parents and siblings had left St Brigid's Catholic Church in Derryvolgie Avenue in south ] when two gunmen opened fire. Mary Travers was shot once through the back and her father was shot six times. One gunman brought his gun to point-blank range at her mother's face and attempted to fire twice, but the gun jammed.


In a long letter published in '']'' in 1994, Thomas Travers wrote:{{quote|"Mary's murder was carried out by member of an evil and brutal criminal organisation. Some of her killers were members of the murder machine, self-named Provisional IRA. At least one was a member of political ]... May I say that on the day my lovely daughter was murdered her killer tried to murder my darling wife also. At that time Mary lay dying on her mum's breast, her gentle heart pouring its pure blood on to a dusty street in Belfast. The murderer's gun, which was pointed at my wife's head, misfired twice. Another gunman shot me six times. As he prepared to fire the first shot I saw the look of hatred on his face, a face I will never forget."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/magistrate-and-his-daughter-were-gunned-down-at-point-blank-range-13421917.html|title=Magistrate and his daughter were gunned down at point blank range|work=Belfast Telegraph|accessdate=24 January 2013}}</ref>}}
In a long letter published in '']'' in 1994, Tom Travers wrote:


{{quote|"Mary's murder was carried out by member of an evil and brutal criminal organisation. Some of her killers were members of the murder machine, self-named Provisional IRA. At least one was a member of political ]... May I say that on the day my lovely daughter was murdered her killer tried to murder my darling wife also. At that time Mary lay dying on her mum's breast, her gentle heart pouring its pure blood on to a dusty street in Belfast. The murderer's gun, which was pointed at my wife's head, misfired twice. Another gunman shot me six times. As he prepared to fire the first shot I saw the look of hatred on his face, a face I will never forget."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/magistrate-and-his-daughter-were-gunned-down-at-point-blank-range-13421917.html |title=Magistrate and his daughter were gunned down at point blank range - Local & National, News |publisher=Belfasttelegraph.co.uk |date= |accessdate=2013-01-24}}</ref>}} {{quote|"After the attack the IRA claimed the judge had been a legitimate target because of his role in the British judicial system. They also tried to claim that the bullet which killed the young schoolteacher had passed through her father's body first but a post mortem found she was shot directly in the spine."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/magistrate-and-his-daughter-were-gunned-down-at-point-blank-range-13421917.html#ixzz1ioaFHepD |title=Magistrate and his daughter were gunned down at point blank range - Local & National, News - Belfasttelegraph.co.uk |access-date=5 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020122547/http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/magistrate-and-his-daughter-were-gunned-down-at-point-blank-range-13421917.html#ixzz1ioaFHepD |archive-date=20 October 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>}}


⚫ The IRA said in a statement that the killing of Mary Travers was accidental and that she had been killed by a bullet which passed through her father, hitting her in the back.<ref> {{dead link|date=October 2015}}</ref><ref> {{dead link|date=October 2015}}</ref> The guns used in the attack had previously been used to assassinate Judge William Doyle in similar circumstances, in January 1983.<ref> {{dead link|date=October 2015}}</ref> Sinn Féin spokesperson ] described the killing of Mary Travers as "tragic and regrettable" but said the targeting of her father was "directly related to the political situation in Ireland".<ref> {{dead link|date=October 2015}}</ref>
==Events==


==Arrest==
⚫ On 8 April 1984 two gunmen approached Mary Travers, her father Tom Travers, and her mother as they left St Brigid's church. Mary Travers was shot once through the back and her father was shot six times. One gunman brought his gun to point-blank range at her mother's face and attempted to fire twice, but the gun jammed.
⚫ ], then aged 19, was arrested shortly after the attack and charged "after two hand guns, a grey wig and a black sock concealed in bandages were found strapped to her thighs." {{citation needed|date=October 2015}} Two months later, 33-year-old IRA member Joseph Patrick Haughey was arrested and charged in connection with the attack. At the trial two years later, McArdle was found guilty and received "a life sentence for her role in the murder of Mary Travers and an 18-year concurrent sentence for the attempted murder of Mr Travers". Haughey was acquitted due to lack of forensic evidence and doubts over his identity, although Thomas Travers had positively identified him.<ref name="belfasttelegraph1"/><ref> {{dead link|date=October 2015}}</ref>

{{quote|"After the attack the IRA claimed the judge had been a legitimate target because of his role in the British judicial system. They also tried to claim that the bullet which killed the young schoolteacher had passed through her father's body first but a post mortem found she was shot directly in the spine." <ref>{{dead link|date=February 2013}}</ref>}}

⚫ The IRA said in a statement that the killing of Mary Travers was accidental and that she had been killed by a bullet which passed through her father, hitting her in the back.<ref>http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2507&dat=19840409&id=ycpAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4aUMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2801,1563517</ref><ref>http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1842&dat=19840409&id=1A8iAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DMgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3197,2189164</ref> The guns used in the attack had previously been used to assassinate Judge William Doyle in similar circumstances, in January 1983.<ref>http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2507&dat=19840410&id=yspAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4aUMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1977,1779845</ref> Sinn Féin spokesperson ] described the killing of Mary Travers as "tragic and regrettable" but said the targeting of her father was "directly related to the political situation in Ireland".<ref>http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19840412&id=V5EjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jqUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1181,761219</ref>

⚫ ], then aged nineteen, was arrested shortly after the attack and charged "after two hand guns, a grey wig and a black sock concealed in bandages were found strapped to her thighs." <ref name="belfasttelegraph1">{{dead link|date=February 2013}}</ref> Two months later, 33-year old IRA member ] was arrested and charged in connection with the attack. At the trial two years later, McArdle was found guilty and received "a life sentence for her role in the murder of Mary Travers and an 18-year concurrent sentence for the attempted murder of Mr Travers." Haughey was acquitted due to lack of forensic evidence and doubts over his identity, although Tom Travers had positively identified him.<ref name="belfasttelegraph1"/><ref></ref>


McArdle served 14 years in prison before being released early under the terms of the ]. McArdle served 14 years in prison before being released early under the terms of the ].


==Aftermath== ==Aftermath==
⚫ Retired detective superintendent Alan Simpson wrote in the '']'' on 11 June 2011 that he believed the shooting of the Travers family was revenge for a successful prosecution in the murder of a prison warder, William McConnell.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/news-analysis/how-evil-revenge-cost-mary-travers-her-life-16010305.html|title=How evil revenge cost Mary Travers her life|work=Belfast Telegraph|accessdate=24 January 2013}}</ref> He went on to say that "It is hard to believe that Sinn Féin are acting other than disingenuously by appointing Mary McArdle to a position carrying a taxpayer-funded salary of £78,000 – three times what a senior nurse in one of our hospitals would earn."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/news-analysis/how-evil-revenge-cost-mary-travers-her-life-16010305.html#ixzz1iom24XtX|title=How evil revenge cost Mary Travers her life|work=Belfast Telegraph|accessdate=24 January 2013}}</ref>


⚫ Haughey was later charged in connection with the murder. However, Haughey was acquitted after doubt was cast over Mr Travers' identification of the gunman. Twenty years later it was claimed that he was a long-time double agent for the British secret service (see ]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nuzhound.com/articles/Sunday_People/arts2004/may30_second_agent_named.php|title=Newshound: Daily Northern Ireland news catalog – The People article|publisher=Nuzhound.com|accessdate=24 January 2013}}</ref> Both men have been closely linked to Sinn Féin President, ].<ref>{{cite web|author=Grand Prix |url=http://www.independent.ie/national-news/sfs-o-snodaigh-forgets-women-butchered-by-ira-486529.html|title=SF's O Snodaigh 'forgets' women butchered by IRA|work=Irish Independent|accessdate=24 January 2013}}</ref>
⚫ Retired detective superintendent Alan Simpson wrote in the '']'' on 11 June 2011 that he believed the shooting of the Travers family was revenge for a successful prosecution in the murder of ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/news-analysis/how-evil-revenge-cost-mary-travers-her-life-16010305.html |title=How evil revenge cost Mary Travers her life - News Analysis, Opinion |publisher=Belfasttelegraph.co.uk |date= |accessdate=2013-01-24}}</ref> He went on to say that "It is hard to believe that Sinn Féin are acting other than disingenuously by appointing ] to a position carrying a taxpayer-funded salary of £78,000 - three times what a senior nurse in one of our hospitals would earn."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/news-analysis/how-evil-revenge-cost-mary-travers-her-life-16010305.html#ixzz1iom24XtX |title=How evil revenge cost Mary Travers her life - News Analysis, Opinion |publisher=Belfasttelegraph.co.uk |date= |accessdate=2013-01-24}}</ref>

⚫ ] was later charged in connection with the murder. However, Haughey was acquitted after doubt was cast over Mr Travers' identification of the gunman. Twenty years later it was claimed that he was a long-time double agent for the British secret service (see ]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nuzhound.com/articles/Sunday_People/arts2004/may30_second_agent_named.php |title=Newshound: Daily Northern Ireland news catalog - The People article |publisher=Nuzhound.com |date= |accessdate=2013-01-24}}</ref> Both men have been closely linked to Sinn Féin President, ].<ref>{{cite web|author=Grand Prix |url=http://www.independent.ie/national-news/sfs-o-snodaigh-forgets-women-butchered-by-ira-486529.html |title=SF's O Snodaigh 'forgets' women butchered by IRA - National News |publisher=Independent.ie |date= |accessdate=2013-01-24}}</ref>


==Associated Special Adviser Appointment controversy== ==Associated Special Adviser Appointment controversy==
⚫ Mary McArdle was released under the terms of the ].{{When|date=October 2015}} In 2011, McArdle was appointed Ministerial Special Adviser to ] Culture Minister ], herself a former ] paramilitary who served four years in prison for firearm possession, possession of explosives with the intent to endanger life, and attempted murder. This move led to outrage that a convicted IRA murderer could hold such a post. Mary Travers' sister, Ann, called on McArdle to resign. In response, McArdle told the '']'' that the killing was "a tragic mistake."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-13625007|title=Mary McArdle: Mary Travers murder 'a tragic mistake'|work=BBC News |date=2 June 2011 |accessdate=24 January 2013}}</ref> McArdle's statement was rebutted by Mary Travers' sister, Ann, who stated:{{quote|"Mistake? Mistake? My sister was murdered. There were two gunmen, one standing over my dad shooting him and one who shot my sister in the back and attempted to murder my mother but the bullets jammed in the gun. The fact that she calls my sister’s murder a mistake, well, that day two gunmen went with two guns, so if they were just planning to kill my dad, why did they go out with two guns. They knew my dad wasn't armed. After 27 years I'd have thought I'd be able to speak about my sister's murder factually and without grief but when I heard of Mary McArdle's appointment last Thursday it did something to me which I just have not been able to contain the grief it brought back. Rather than Mary McArdle and Sinn Féin saying her death was a mistake, what they should be saying is Mary Travers' murder is an embarrassment which has come back to haunt them."<ref>, bbc.com; accessed 5 October 2015.</ref>}}


⚫ Her brother, Paul Travers, who now lives in ], told the ''Belfast Telegraph'' in July 2011: {{quote|"In 2011 we are told to put the past behind us and move on," he said. "I go home every year to visit my family and notice the murals to the hunger strikers are lovingly maintained. My sister Mary did not starve herself to death. She was murdered by those who now claim to be the 'peacemakers'. Mary has no mural. However, her memory is as alive to me now as it was 27 years ago when I travelled with her bloodied body in the ambulance to the ]. It is the same for the other victims of the Troubles."<ref name="belfasttelegraph1">{{cite web|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/victims-brother-urges-republicans-embrace-the-need-for-genuine-truth-and-reconciliation-16019655.html |title=Victim's brother urges republicans: embrace the need for genuine truth and reconciliation|work=Belfast Telegraph|date=5 July 2011|accessdate=24 January 2013}}</ref>}} Paul Travers made an open appeal to Sinn Féin to work with the ] and determine who killed his sister:{{quote|"You compare yourselves to ]. Well then, do as he did, if you are brave enough. Embrace the need for genuine truth and reconciliation and support the very institutions, such as the Historical Enquiries Team, that have been established to find it. Don't ignore them. Tell us who committed these foul atrocities. It seems to me that you selectively support those aspects of the 1998 peace agreement that suit you and not the ones that don't. You did the same thing during the Troubles. It is not acceptable now. You are the ones who will not move on. You are the ones who perpetuate hurt and promote your brand of hatred. You are the ones who fear the truth. What are you scared of, now you no longer have your guns?"<ref name="belfasttelegraph1"/>}}
], convicted for her part in the murder, was released under the terms of the ].

In 2011, she was appointed Ministerial Special Adviser to ] Culture Minister ]. This move led to outrage that a convicted IRA murderer could hold such a post. Mary Travers' sister, Anne, called on McArdle to resign. In response, McArdle told the '']'' that the killing was "a tragic mistake."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-13625007 |title=BBC News - Mary McArdle - Mary Travers murder 'a tragic mistake' |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |date=2011-06-02 |accessdate=2013-01-24}}</ref> McArdle's statement was rebutted by Mary Travers' sister, Anne, who stated:

⚫ {{quote|"Mistake? Mistake? My sister was murdered. There were two gunmen, one standing over my dad shooting him and one who shot my sister in the back and attempted to murder my mother but the bullets jammed in the gun. The fact that she calls my sister’s murder a mistake, well, that day two gunmen went with two guns, so if they were just planning to kill my dad, why did they go out with two guns. They knew my dad wasn’t armed. After 27 years I’d have thought I’d be able to speak about my sister’s murder factually and without grief but when I heard of Mary McArdle’s appointment last Thursday it did something to me which I just have not been able to contain the grief it brought back. Rather than Mary McArdle and Sinn Fein saying her death was a mistake, what they should be saying is Mary Travers’ murder is an embarrassment which has come back to haunt them."<ref> {{dead link|date=January 2013}}</ref>}}

Her brother, Paul Travers, who now lives in ], said to the ''Belfast Telegraph'' in July 2011:

⚫ {{quote|"In 2011 we are told to put the past behind us and move on," he said. "I go home every year to visit my family and notice the murals to the hunger strikers are lovingly maintained. My sister Mary did not starve herself to death. She was murdered by those who now claim to be the 'peacemakers'. Mary has no mural. However, her memory is as alive to me now as it was 27 years ago when I travelled with her bloodied body in the ambulance to the ]. It is the same for the other victims of the Troubles." <ref name="belfasttelegraph1">{{cite web|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/victims-brother-urges-republicans-embrace-the-need-for-genuine-truth-and-reconciliation-16019655.html |title=Victim's brother urges republicans: embrace the need for genuine truth and reconciliation - Northern Ireland, Local & National |publisher=Belfasttelegraph.co.uk |date=2011-07-05 |accessdate=2013-01-24}}</ref>}}

Travers made an open appeal to Sinn Féin to work with the ] and determine who killed his sister:

{{quote|"You compare yourselves to ]. Well then, do as he did, if you are brave enough. Embrace the need for genuine truth and reconciliation and support the very institutions, such as the Historical Enquiries Team, that have been established to find it. Don't ignore them. Tell us who committed these foul atrocities. It seems to me that you selectively support those aspects of the 1998 peace agreement that suit you and not the ones that don't. You did the same thing during the Troubles. It is not acceptable now. You are the ones who will not move on. You are the ones who perpetuate hurt and promote your brand of hatred. You are the ones who fear the truth. What are you scared of, now you no longer have your guns?"<ref name="belfasttelegraph1"/>}}

⚫ In June 2013 the Northern Ireland Assembly passed a bill to bar anyone with a serious conviction from being a special political adviser (SPAD). The bill was put forward by Jim Allister who was inspired by Ann Travers' campaign. Allister said "She (Ann Travers) has done right and done well by her late sister and father, and we all owe her a great debt of gratitude."<ref></ref>

About the bill Ann Travers said:


⚫ In June 2013, the ] passed a bill to bar anyone with a serious conviction from being named a special political adviser (SPAD). The bill was put forward by ] who was inspired by Ann Travers' campaign. Allister said "She (Ann Travers) has done right and done well by her late sister and father, and we all owe her a great debt of gratitude."<ref>, bbc.co.uk; accessed 5 October 2015.</ref> About the bill, Ann Travers said:{{quote|"I'm so pleased, and everything I've done has been for the memory of my beautiful sister Mary ... Hopefully, it will give victims that bit of hope that their voices will start to be heard now, and the we can all progress to a better, shared future."}}
{{quote|"I'm so pleased, and everything I've done has been for the memory of my beautiful sister Mary."}}
{{quote|"Hopefully, it will give victims that bit of hope that their voices will start to be heard now, and the we can all progress to a better, shared future,"}}


==See also== ==See also==
Line 57: Line 40:


==References== ==References==
{{reflist}} {{Reflist}}


==Bibliography==
* ''Lost Lives:The stories of the men, women and children who died as a result of the Northern Ireland troubles'', McKittrick, Kelters, Feeney, Thompson, 1999, (2006). ISBN 1-84018-227-X. * ''Lost Lives:The stories of the men, women and children who died as a result of the Northern Ireland troubles'', McKittrick, Kelters, Feeney, Thompson, 1999, (2006). {{ISBN|1-84018-227-X}}.


==External links== ==External links==
* BBC Spotlight IRA Victim Speaks Out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elPMwI7kYpM & http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyuj_zwrnk0&feature=related & http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49WZaBKrlpM&feature=related *
*
* http://tunein.com/radio/Mary-Travers-m475365/ *
* http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-13625600
* http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/8432319.stm *
*


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Latest revision as of 23:02, 18 January 2024

Irish teacher

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Murder of Mary Travers" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (October 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
For other uses, see Mary Travers (disambiguation).

Mary Travers (Irish: Máire Ó Treabhair; 1962 – 8 April 1984) was a teacher who was shot dead in Belfast on 8 April 1984 by Provisional IRA gunmen trying to assassinate her father, Thomas, a Catholic magistrate. Mary Travers was about 22 at the time.

Attack

She, her parents and siblings had left St Brigid's Catholic Church in Derryvolgie Avenue in south Belfast when two gunmen opened fire. Mary Travers was shot once through the back and her father was shot six times. One gunman brought his gun to point-blank range at her mother's face and attempted to fire twice, but the gun jammed.

In a long letter published in The Irish Times in 1994, Thomas Travers wrote:

"Mary's murder was carried out by member of an evil and brutal criminal organisation. Some of her killers were members of the murder machine, self-named Provisional IRA. At least one was a member of political Sinn Féin... May I say that on the day my lovely daughter was murdered her killer tried to murder my darling wife also. At that time Mary lay dying on her mum's breast, her gentle heart pouring its pure blood on to a dusty street in Belfast. The murderer's gun, which was pointed at my wife's head, misfired twice. Another gunman shot me six times. As he prepared to fire the first shot I saw the look of hatred on his face, a face I will never forget."

"After the attack the IRA claimed the judge had been a legitimate target because of his role in the British judicial system. They also tried to claim that the bullet which killed the young schoolteacher had passed through her father's body first but a post mortem found she was shot directly in the spine."

The IRA said in a statement that the killing of Mary Travers was accidental and that she had been killed by a bullet which passed through her father, hitting her in the back. The guns used in the attack had previously been used to assassinate Judge William Doyle in similar circumstances, in January 1983. Sinn Féin spokesperson Danny Morrison described the killing of Mary Travers as "tragic and regrettable" but said the targeting of her father was "directly related to the political situation in Ireland".

Arrest

Mary McArdle, then aged 19, was arrested shortly after the attack and charged "after two hand guns, a grey wig and a black sock concealed in bandages were found strapped to her thighs." Two months later, 33-year-old IRA member Joseph Patrick Haughey was arrested and charged in connection with the attack. At the trial two years later, McArdle was found guilty and received "a life sentence for her role in the murder of Mary Travers and an 18-year concurrent sentence for the attempted murder of Mr Travers". Haughey was acquitted due to lack of forensic evidence and doubts over his identity, although Thomas Travers had positively identified him.

McArdle served 14 years in prison before being released early under the terms of the Belfast Agreement.

Aftermath

Retired detective superintendent Alan Simpson wrote in the Belfast Telegraph on 11 June 2011 that he believed the shooting of the Travers family was revenge for a successful prosecution in the murder of a prison warder, William McConnell. He went on to say that "It is hard to believe that Sinn Féin are acting other than disingenuously by appointing Mary McArdle to a position carrying a taxpayer-funded salary of £78,000 – three times what a senior nurse in one of our hospitals would earn."

Haughey was later charged in connection with the murder. However, Haughey was acquitted after doubt was cast over Mr Travers' identification of the gunman. Twenty years later it was claimed that he was a long-time double agent for the British secret service (see Freddie Scappaticci). Both men have been closely linked to Sinn Féin President, Gerry Adams.

Associated Special Adviser Appointment controversy

Mary McArdle was released under the terms of the Belfast Agreement. In 2011, McArdle was appointed Ministerial Special Adviser to Sinn Féin Culture Minister Carál Ní Chuilín, herself a former PIRA paramilitary who served four years in prison for firearm possession, possession of explosives with the intent to endanger life, and attempted murder. This move led to outrage that a convicted IRA murderer could hold such a post. Mary Travers' sister, Ann, called on McArdle to resign. In response, McArdle told the Andersonstown News that the killing was "a tragic mistake." McArdle's statement was rebutted by Mary Travers' sister, Ann, who stated:

"Mistake? Mistake? My sister was murdered. There were two gunmen, one standing over my dad shooting him and one who shot my sister in the back and attempted to murder my mother but the bullets jammed in the gun. The fact that she calls my sister’s murder a mistake, well, that day two gunmen went with two guns, so if they were just planning to kill my dad, why did they go out with two guns. They knew my dad wasn't armed. After 27 years I'd have thought I'd be able to speak about my sister's murder factually and without grief but when I heard of Mary McArdle's appointment last Thursday it did something to me which I just have not been able to contain the grief it brought back. Rather than Mary McArdle and Sinn Féin saying her death was a mistake, what they should be saying is Mary Travers' murder is an embarrassment which has come back to haunt them."

Her brother, Paul Travers, who now lives in Australia, told the Belfast Telegraph in July 2011:

"In 2011 we are told to put the past behind us and move on," he said. "I go home every year to visit my family and notice the murals to the hunger strikers are lovingly maintained. My sister Mary did not starve herself to death. She was murdered by those who now claim to be the 'peacemakers'. Mary has no mural. However, her memory is as alive to me now as it was 27 years ago when I travelled with her bloodied body in the ambulance to the Ulster Hospital. It is the same for the other victims of the Troubles."

Paul Travers made an open appeal to Sinn Féin to work with the Historical Enquiries Team and determine who killed his sister:

"You compare yourselves to Nelson Mandela. Well then, do as he did, if you are brave enough. Embrace the need for genuine truth and reconciliation and support the very institutions, such as the Historical Enquiries Team, that have been established to find it. Don't ignore them. Tell us who committed these foul atrocities. It seems to me that you selectively support those aspects of the 1998 peace agreement that suit you and not the ones that don't. You did the same thing during the Troubles. It is not acceptable now. You are the ones who will not move on. You are the ones who perpetuate hurt and promote your brand of hatred. You are the ones who fear the truth. What are you scared of, now you no longer have your guns?"

In June 2013, the Northern Ireland Assembly passed a bill to bar anyone with a serious conviction from being named a special political adviser (SPAD). The bill was put forward by Jim Allister who was inspired by Ann Travers' campaign. Allister said "She (Ann Travers) has done right and done well by her late sister and father, and we all owe her a great debt of gratitude." About the bill, Ann Travers said:

"I'm so pleased, and everything I've done has been for the memory of my beautiful sister Mary ... Hopefully, it will give victims that bit of hope that their voices will start to be heard now, and the we can all progress to a better, shared future."

See also

References

  1. "Magistrate and his daughter were gunned down at point blank range". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  2. "Magistrate and his daughter were gunned down at point blank range - Local & National, News - Belfasttelegraph.co.uk". Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  7. ^ "Victim's brother urges republicans: embrace the need for genuine truth and reconciliation". Belfast Telegraph. 5 July 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  9. "How evil revenge cost Mary Travers her life". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  10. "How evil revenge cost Mary Travers her life". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  11. "Newshound: Daily Northern Ireland news catalog – The People article". Nuzhound.com. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  12. Grand Prix. "SF's O Snodaigh 'forgets' women butchered by IRA". Irish Independent. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  13. "Mary McArdle: Mary Travers murder 'a tragic mistake'". BBC News. 2 June 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  14. Ann Travers' comments on Mary McArdle's appointment as Ministerial Special Adviser, bbc.com; accessed 5 October 2015.
  15. Special adviser bill passed after marathon Stormont debate, bbc.co.uk; accessed 5 October 2015.

Bibliography

  • Lost Lives:The stories of the men, women and children who died as a result of the Northern Ireland troubles, McKittrick, Kelters, Feeney, Thompson, 1999, (2006). ISBN 1-84018-227-X.

External links

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