Falls Curfew families to meet relatives of photographer killed in 1970

Conor Sheils, Irish News, April 7th, 2025

RELATIVES of victims of the Falls Curfew are to meet the family of a Polish photographer killed during the disturbances after tracking them down 55 years on.

The historic meeting is due to take place within weeks.

The relatives of Charlie O’Neill (36), William Burns (54), and Patrick Elliman (62) will meet the family of Polish photographer Zbigniew Uglik (24) in London.

Mr Uglik was shot dead at the rear of a house on July 4th, 1970. An amateur photographer, he had been taking pictures of riots.

He had been in a house on Albert Street, at the edge of the curfew zone, and left to get another camera from the hotel where he was staying.

A British army sniper shot him as he climbed over the back wall of the house.

The Belfast families plan to place wreaths on the grave of the 24-year old when they visit London.

They also hope to ask the man’s relatives to visit Belfast when the 55th anniversary of the curfew takes place later this year.

The families managed to track down the man’s relatives following a tip-off from a Belfast researcher who conducted a project on the Falls Curfew and later passed on his findings to the Falls Road residents.

Robert McClenaghan, secretary of the Falls Road Residents Association, who is planning to travel with the families, spoke of the importance of the historic meeting.

“It took us over 50 years to find the family of this man who just came over to take photographs and ended up getting killed,” he said.

“We haven’t met his relatives before and it will be good to meet them for the first time. We are planning to fly over, probably after Easter, to meet the family for the first time.

“The families of the three others who were killed during the curfew will go to the cemetery where he is buried and lay a wreath. And later in the year we hope to invite his family here to Belfast.”

During the military siege, thousands of nationalists were held in the Lower Falls area for two days.

Four killed and 60 injured

Four people were killed by the British army and 60 civilians injured, while it was reported that 18 soldiers were injured as a result of gun and grenade attacks carried out by republicans.

The news comes as Falls Road residents announce that they are planning to hold a “people’s inquiry”. The families are planning to enlist well-known British lawyer Michael Mansfield alongside other independent figures to head the inquiry, with a report due after four days of evidence later this year.

The inquiry will make a public appeal to nationalists who were present during the curfew to come forward with evidence and also to British soldiers who were involved in the situation.

“We are going to have a people’s inquiry because we haven’t been able to get the British government to hold a public one,” Mr McClenaghan said.

“The goal is to find out the truth about what happened during those days because the families can’t wait any longer.”

Behind leaders' smiles all is not well at Stormont

Allison Morris, Belfast Telegraph, April 7th, 2025

It was another week of farce at Stormont as local politics shifted from one ludicrous row to another.

A spat over Irish language signs at the shiny new Belfast Grand Central Station spilled out of the Executive chamber and into the public with Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly taking a swipe at Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins.

Since the Assembly was restored 14 months ago, there has been a public perception that the all-female top team of Michelle O'Neill and Ms Little-Pengelly were working well together.

Opinion polls show that the public like to see the pair out and about; they are two of the most popular politicians locally.

But behind the scenes, sources paint a different picture.

‘Performative’ rather than friendly

The working relationship between the First and Deputy First Minister, insiders say, is “performative” rather than friendly.

They attend events together, smile for the cameras, get the job done in their joint office — but that is where it ends.

And that is perfectly fine. Work colleagues do not need to be chums.

And women don't have to be either best friends forever, or mean girls. They can simply get the job done and go home.

But recent days have shown that the cracks run deeper — and the distraction politics of the Irish language signs is just the latest petty issue, making headlines rather than what really matters.

The budget and the impact of the President Trump tariffs on the economy is of much greater importance to the people of Northern Ireland.

Is it any wonder a usually stoic John O'Dowd lost the bap when asked about the signs during a press conference on the budget?

Should the signs have been in dual language originally? Well, yes, it would make sense not to double up on the expense and hassle of making two sets of signage.

And it would have not just satisfied pledges made to the Irish language sector, but also because tourists love to see it, and Grand Central will be many visitors' first glimpse of Belfast.

It's good for business to greet travellers with a céad míle fáilte.

But can it be done at this stage unilaterally by the minister?

The rules seem to say no, that it is a cross-cutting issue and, as such, needs Executive approval.

Loyalist Jamie Bryson lodged a judicial review against the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) over the decision on those grounds. However, I doubt the case will make it to the courts.

It's more likely Ms Kimmins will avoid the expense and drama of a High Court challenge by bringing it back to the Executive table for approval.

DUP leader Gavin Robinson played down the issue, saying the approval of Irish language signage at the station was not “a crisis” for the Executive, but he did accuse the minister of squandering money without discussion.

It is likely to be resolved but, like everything in this barely functioning jurisdiction, it'll take more time than it should.

Casement Park

A much trickier situation to resolve is Casement Park.

The former GAA ground in west Belfast, which I drive past almost every day, has been closed for over a decade amid delays to regeneration plans.

It now stands as a monument to political failure. With each year that passes, costs associated with the build increase.

The Executive committed to redeveloping Casement Park in 2011 as part of a three-stadium strategy to revamp football's Windsor Park and the rugby ground at Ravenhill.

Central to campaigning for Casement is GAA president Jarlath Burns.

He was in the headlines for different reasons last week when a court case to make a dangerous road safer managed somehow to enter the already crowded tribal politics space.

There have been almost 60 families bereaved through crashes on the A5 since 2007.

Mr O'Dowd, as Infrastructure Minister, gave the go-ahead for a 53-mile £1.2bn dual carriageway between Derry and Aughnacloy, Co Tyrone, last October. However, a group of local residents, landowners and farmers, known as the Alternative A5 Alliance, have brought judicial review proceedings against the decision to authorise construction work.

Mr Burns attended an appeal court hearing in support of the A5 Enough is Enough grouping, which is calling for the work to proceed.

Speaking outside the court, he said: “It is a GAA road, if you want to call it that, because Tyrone's main GAA centre is on it. There have been so many lives lost. I think it is a responsibility on all of us to get this road upgraded.” However, Ulster Unionist MLA Diana Armstrong branded Mr Burns' comments as “inflammatory” and accused him of making “territorial claims”.

Arguing about the identity of a road is like something from a Hole in the Wall sketch.

It does raise a question about the functionality of this place. Can it ever work? Is Northern Ireland a failing political, social experiment?

There is no mood in either the DUP or Sinn Fein to collapse the institutions, but they're increasingly hearing how unhappy their base is with progress.

The politics of distraction, the sham fights and the hostile media interviews are all hiding a fractured relationship that will not withstand another major political crisis.

Water charges and rates review needed to address underfunding of NI public services

By Mark Robinson, Irish News, April 07th, 2025

A report by the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee in Westminster says the ongoing ‘state of crisis’ is impacting quality of life.

It has urged the UK government to address ‘crippling’ underfunding which has left public services in the north in a ‘state of crisis’.

Options such as water charges and a review of the rates system have also been suggested.

A report published by the cross-party Northern Ireland Affairs Committee in Westminster has recommended a review of the current levels and mechanisms used to fund the north’s public services.

Options put forward to the committee include water charges and a review of the rates system, with one witness stating that the latter could raise an additional £615 million.

More: Executive agrees budget with funding to cut waiting lists and boost childcare

The committee agreed that while it may be “politically contentious” and take a number of years for a domestic water charge system to be implemented, it concluded that “the discussion should not be avoided”.

Archibald on appear before committee

Stormont Finance Minister Caoimhe Archibald appears before the Northern Ireland Affairs committee via video link on Wednesday morning.

The report was published by the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee.

The report warned of the impact the “continuing state of crisis” is having on people’s quality of life.

It found that education, health and policing were facing particular pressures and that little had changed since the committee reviewed the issue last year.

They said that the “key objective must be to ensure fully funded services” based on need through allocations from the UK government which are “stable, sustainable and predictable”.

Currently, the Executive is largely funded through the block grant using the Barnett Formula – a calculation based on population size to determine pound-per-head spending for each part of the UK.

Spend 24% per head more than England

As part of the deal with the UK government following the Executive’s restoration in 2024, a needs-based factor was applied to the formula which meant that spend per head in the north was 24% more than that in England.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris meeting First Minister Michelle O'Neill, Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, and members of the newly-formed Stormont Executive at Stormont Castle, following the restoration of the powersharing executive

Needs-based funding was agreed as part of the deal with the UK government when the Executive was restored. (Kelvin Boyes/Press Eye/Kelvin Boyes/Press Eye/PA Wire)

This needs-based funding was said to be due to the north’s comparatively widespread poverty, greater disadvantage and a higher proportion of people receiving benefits.

However, this current arrangement was only agreed until the 2026/27 financial year, when it is feared the Executive could face a “potential cliff-edge” in funding.

The committee also heard evidence that the current needs-based rate “will not be enough to make a significant difference to public services in the short term”.

Sustainable Funding needed

Committee chair Tonia Antoniazzi, Labour MP for Gower, said: “The crisis afflicting public services in Northern Ireland has gone on for far too long with the crippling effects of underfunding impinging on the day to day lives of people across communities.

“The current hand to mouth approach when it comes to funding has often been too little, too late, particularly when it comes to what one witness to our inquiry called the three hungry children of the health service, schools and the police.

“The aim must be that public services in Northern Ireland are fully funded according to need, through stable, sustainable and predictable allocations, and our recommendations for the short, medium and long term set out the path to get there.”

The committee has recommended that a needs-based approach for funding post 2026 is applied to the block grant and that multi-year public service transformation funding is arranged in the medium term.

It has also recommended that a fiscal plan is agreed between the Executive and UK government “as a matter of urgency” for “further fiscal devolution to reduce Northern Ireland’s reliance on central government funding and give it the ability to raise more revenue itself”.

Man charged with O'Hagan case fraud is a 'Walter Mitty' fantasist

Allison Morris, Belfast Telegraph, April 7th, 2025

EX-ARMY MEMBER WAS ON THE BRINK OF CLAIMING REWARD FOR INFORMATION ON JOURNALIST'S MURDER

A man charged in connection with fraudulent activity around the murder of journalist Martin O'Hagan is accused of being a 'Walter Mitty' character who tried to claim a reward for information about the 2001 murder.

Mr O'Hagan was 51 when he was killed by the LVF as he walked home with his wife Marie from a pub on September 28, 2001.

Michael Kingsberry, also known as William Kingsberry, allegedly tried to fool the O'Hagan family into thinking he was an undercover military agent within the LVF at the time of the killing.

He claimed to have a document that showed there was an 'out of bounds' order in place on the night in question and that he had told his Army 'handlers' that the murder was going to take place but they did nothing to stop it.

The claims are now alleged to be entirely fabricated.

Police said a 42-year-old man was arrested in Sheffield on Thursday with the assistance of Counter Terrorism Policing North East and South Yorkshire Police.

Following his arrest, the man was taken to Northern Ireland for questioning in the serious crime suite at Musgrave Police Station in Belfast.

A search of a property in Sheffield was also carried out as part of the operation.

He is due to appear before Craigavon Magistrates' Court on Friday May 2.

While Kingsberry was in the Army he served only briefly and was never a member of the LVF.

The Belfast Telegraph can reveal that Kingsberry was about to be paid a £50,000 reward for providing information to the O'Hagan family about the murder and had gone as far as having a contract drawn up before suspicions about his version of events were raised.

A police investigation was launched into the Donegall Road man, who was living in England.

Fantasist

The prosecution case against Kingsberry is that he is a fantasist who only briefly served in the Army and was never a member of the LVF.

He was so committed to the story that in March 2022, Kingsberry appeared in a BBC Spotlight investigation.

He claimed that three days before the murder, he warned Army intelligence Mr O'Hagan was going to be killed.

He also claimed he was assured the attack would be stopped.

Police told the O'Hagan family at the time that after accessing the former soldier's Army records, they believed he was lying.

Kingsberry had first approached Mr O'Hagan's brother Fintan in 2019.

He claimed he had been working undercover for the Army inside loyalist paramilitary organisations, including the LVF.

Speaking to BBC Northern Ireland's Spotlight programme in 2022, Kingsberry — whose identity was concealed — told the programme: “I reported who was going to carry out the hit; I also reported where the weapon was coming from; I also reported where the weapon was being hidden in that week and they assured me that they were going to stop it.”

The BBC reported at the time that they asked the former soldier detailed questions over a number of months, and separately investigated his background — establishing that he was in the Army but were unable to conclusively verify his serious allegation.

Widespread investigation

The claims received widespread attention, with the National Union of Journalists putting out a statement asking that they be fully investigated.

The O'Hagan family also lodged legal proceedings, filed at Belfast High Court, based on the claims made by Kingsberry.

Police believe the entire account was fabricated and that Kingsberry was a 'Walter Mitty' who was at first addicted to the attention he was receiving connected to the allegations and later tried to exploit the murdered journalist's family for financial gain.

He was in the process of having £50,000 handed over in return for a document that would show an 'out of bounds' order was in place the night of the killing, when alarm bells were raised.

Police fully investigated the claims and on Thursday moved to arrest the suspect.

It's alleged that the story was false and the Army was able to provide proof that three patrols were in the area on the day of the killing at various times and locations.

Instead loyalist sources say the LVF were tipped off by a man drinking in the same bar as Mr O'Hagan and his wife on the night of the murder.

He is thought to have called the killers from the bar to say that the journalist was leaving and the killers then waited outside his home and gunned him down in front of his wife, who passed away in April 2022.

LVF killing

Mr O'Hagan had been under threat from the LVF due to his investigative work around the actions of the loyalist gang. A statement released by KRW Law, who represent Mr O'Hagan's brother Fintan, welcomed the charges and commended the current PSNI investigation team for “their hard work in getting to this point”.

Fintan O'Hagan said: “We are very pleased to see this man charged but we want to stress this latest prosecution has nothing to do with the murder of our brother.

“Whilst this might change at some stage in the future, at this stage this fraud charge is an entirely separate case. In the meantime the hunt for Martin's killers still continues.”

Solicitor Kevin Winters added: “There are wider issues around this latest development not the least of which is the impact it's had on the release date for the PONI report into previous police investigative failings.

“The O'Hagan family are confident that long awaited report will support their renewed call for an Inquiry into Martin's murder. Equally, they believe the wider circumstances underpinning today's PSNI announcement will also reinforce that call.”

Mr O'Hagan was the first working journalist to be killed in Northern Ireland since the outbreak of the Troubles.

No-one has ever been convicted for his murder. Charges brought against individuals in 2010 and 2011 were withdrawn.