NIRA claims station attack and says it will target officers’ homes
CONNLA YOUNG CRIME and SECURITY CORRESPONDENT, Irish News, April 28th, 2026
THE New IRA has said it will target the homes of PSNI officers as it claimed responsibility for a weekend bomb attack on the outskirts of Belfast.
The dissident republican group said the attack at Dunmurry PSNI station was intended to kill officers as they attempted to leave the building.
In a statement to The Irish News from the “leadership of the IRA”, using a codeword, the group also threatened that anyone who provides information to the PSNI “will be severely dealt with”.
No-one was injured after a delivery driver was hijacked in the Twinbrook area at around 10.50pm on Saturday.
A gas cylinder was placed in the vehicle before the driver was ordered to take the bomb to the station, where it exploded, ripping the hijacked car apart and causing a fireball.
The attack came just weeks after a delivery driver was ordered by the New IRA to take a bomb to Lurgan PSNI station, which failed to detonate. The paramilitary group has claimed the Dunmurry device included Semtex high explosives, an electrical detonator and “intricate timing device which had 30 minutes on it”.
“This was to give the driver time to get away,” the statement said.
“The gas cylinder was to create a fireball. The driver was told to shout ‘there’s a bomb in the car’ and leave the area.”
Police personnel were target
The hardline group also said the bomb was meant to kill PSNI officers rather than target the station building.
“The intention was to kill police coming out of the station,” the statement said.
“This was not an attack on the station, it was an attack aimed at police leaving the station.”
The paramilitary group, emerged in 2012 after independent republicans, Republican Action Against Drugs and the Real IRA joined forces, has said it will start to target police officers in their homes.
“It is our intention, if they keep harassing the republican people, to bomb them in their own houses, with no warning,” the statement said.
“We have plenty of Semtex and plenty of engineers and we know where they live. We are well aware they are working to an MI5 agenda.”
The attack on Dunmurry station has attracted widespread political condemnation.
‘These groups have no place in society’
In its statement the New IRA said: “We warn anyone collaborating with British crown forces. Anyone who gives information to the crown forces, whoever they are, or wherever they come from, will be severely dealt with.”
The statement also said the paramilitary group will continue its campaign.
They added: “This will continue until the British give a declaration to withdraw.”
At a press conference in Stormont yesterday, Chief Constable Jon Boutcher was joined by Sinn Féin First Minister Michelle O’Neill, deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly and Policing Board chair Brendan Mullan.
“We are absolutely united in condemnation of what has happened, nobody wants to see this on our streets, nobody wants to see the fear that that community experienced on Saturday evening,” Ms O’Neill said.
“I don’t think this is a day for political nonsense. “I think this is a day for strong condemnation.”
“This is a day for us to be united in saying these groups have no place in our society, and it’s a day for us all to say collectively that anybody with any information whatsoever should come forward to the PSNI, because these people need to be dealt with before the courts.”
The DUP’s Emma Little-Pengelly echoed the comments.
“There is a responsibility across all of the political parties, particularly at a leadership level, to be sending a very clear message, a condemnation of this terrorist attack on Saturday night, but indeed, a very clear condemnation right across the piece,” she said.
'Shrapnel was all down the street': Dad tells of lucky bomb blast escape
ALLISON MORRIS, Belfast Telegraph, April 28th, 2026
PARENTS SHIELDED BABY AND TWO-YEAR-OLD AS CAR EXPLODED MOMENTS AFTER THEY FLED THEIR HOME
A young father whose children were caught up in the Dunmurry bombing said he watched the device detonate as he and his wife shielded their children in their arms.
Speaking for the first time, the man said he was in bed when police officers knocked on his door, telling him the family needed to evacuate.
“I heard a thumping at the door, I thought someone was trying to break in at first. I looked out the window and there were about six police officers at the door,” he said.
The man said he told police he needed to gather supplies for their babies, a two-year-old girl and a 10-month-old boy, but were told they needed to leave urgently.
“They had opened the side doors of the station and were ushering residents inside,” he added.
The man and his wife were carrying their babies to the safety of the police station when the bomb exploded.
“There was a loud bang and a flash, there were police officers quite close to it at the time,” he said.
The PSNI released body-cam footage yesterday showing officers evacuating homes in the area as the bomb detonated.
A male delivery driver's vehicle had been hijacked in the Twinbrook area of west Belfast earlier and a gas cylinder bomb was placed inside.
He was then forced at gunpoint to drive it to Dunmurry police station, where the bomb exploded as residents living opposite were evacuated.
The young family say they stayed in the station before being taken to Brook Leisure Centre in Twinbrook and then to a relative's house.
“There's no damage to my house but there was shrapnel all the way down to the bottom of the street.
“The sergeant was running up and down the street checking everyone was unhurt, you just have to wonder what on earth was the point of it all. We're just glad no one was hurt,” he added.
Chief Constable Jon Boutcher branded those behind the attack “mindless thugs” who belong in prison.
It came as Stormont leaders joined him in a joint press conference to deliver a united public condemnation of what they called a “reckless and stupid” act of terrorism.
Speaking at Parliament Buildings alongside First Minister Michelle O'Neill and deputy First Minister Emma Little‑Pengelly, Mr Boutcher said the explosion on Saturday night wasn't just an attack on his officers, but an attack “on all” in Northern Ireland.
“There is no place for these mindless thugs, these idiots who think it's acceptable to carry out such stupid attacks,” Mr Boutcher said.
“I can promise you, we will use all of our resources to identify them and bring them before the courts.”
The incident is being treated as attempted murder and is being led by the PSNI's terrorism investigation unit.
Mr Boutcher praised the officers at Dunmurry “who rushed towards danger” to make sure they evacuated residents, including the two babies who were being taken to safety when the car erupted in flames.
“This was a deliberate, reckless and stupid attack that endangered so many people's lives,” he added.
‘An attack against all of us’
“The coercion of an innocent delivery driver and the placing of an explosive device in a residential area shows complete disregard and stupidity. This was not just an attack against our incredible police officers. This was an attack against all of us. Against you. Against everybody in society.”
“Go away. You are not wanted,” said First Minister Michelle O'Neill as she sent what she described as “a very clear message” that the communities of Northern Ireland will not be dragged back to the past.
“Our thoughts are first and foremost with the delivery driver who was put through such an extremely terrifying ordeal, with the residents who had to leave their homes, and with the officers who responded.”
“Get off the backs of communities,” she told the perpetrators.
She added: “All of my adult life has been cementing the Good Friday Agreement and making politics work for people. That remains my resolve. In two years, we'll celebrate 30 years of the Agreement, and our society has been absolutely transformed for the better. We are the custodians of that peace.”
Deputy First Minister Emma Little‑Pengelly echoed her sentiments, warning security can never be taken for granted.
“These acts of terrorism are as wrong today as they were in the past,” she said. “Terrorism is always wrong. It is always without justification — whether that was 10, 20, 40, 50 years ago or on Saturday night.”
Policing Board chair Brendan Mullan hailed officers and condemned the attack as a “cowardly act of violence”.
“It was a miracle that no one was injured,” he said,
“These people responsible for the attack on Saturday evening need to realise that society has moved on,” he added.
“Policing has moved on. It now operates with a democratic mandate, is community‑focused and within a human rights framework.”
PSNI chief says ‘we’re here for everyone’ – including families of dissident bombers
CONOR COYLE, Irish News, April 29th, 2026
THE PSNI will hunt down criminals even if their victims are the families of dissident terrorists behind a weekend bomb attack, the chief constable has said.
As Jon Boutcher reacted to the weekend car bomb attack he hit out at the “idiots” responsible saying his officers are “here for every community”, and it is them who hunt down the sex offenders and scammers who could target anyone – including the families of the suspected New IRA gang behind Saturday night’s incident.
But speaking at a Stormont press conference called in the wake of the car bomb going off outside Dunmurry police station, Jon Boutcher vowed to track down the suspected New IRA gang behind the attack.
Mr Boutcher was appearing alongside the first and deputy first Ministers in united condemnation of the suspected dissident republican attack in Dunmurry.
A male delivery driver’s car was hijacked in the Twinbrook area of west Belfast on Saturday, where a device placed inside the vehicle, and he was ordered to drive to Dunmurry police station and abandon it.
A number of families were being evacuated from homes nearby, including young children, when the bomb detonated after 11pm. The incident is being treated by police as attempted murder.
First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly appeared side by side at a Stormont press conference yesterday condemning the attack, as well as Policing Board chair Brendan Mullan and Mr Boutcher.
“It’s everybody’s responsibility to call out these reckless attacks, and that’s why we stand here today, shoulder to shoulder, in doing that,” said the chief constable.
“There is no place for these mindless thugs, these idiots who think it’s acceptable to carry out such stupid attacks.
“I can promise you, we will use all of our resources to identify them and bring them before the courts.
The chief constable went on to say the best way to deal with those responsible for the car bomb is to show them the north is “a place of equality and fairness”.
PSNI wWill help families of dissidents
“If the family members of the people responsible for these attacks are subject to any criminality, if their children are attacked by paedophiles, their relatives are subject to these organised scams where they lose their whole life savings, we will go after the people who commit those crimes, arrest them and put them in prison.
“We’re here for everyone, we are here for every community. The best way to deal with these people is to make it clear to them this is a place of equality and fairness, and that there is no place for them whatsoever.”
The first minister said it was not a day for “political nonsense” and added that she and the deputy first minister were united in their response.
The two largest parties in the executive have been embroiled in a number of rows in recent months, with Ms O’Neill telling Sinn Féin’s ard fheis on Friday that the DUP “yearns for unionist misrule” and is “attempting to block and delay progress on issues that would make a real difference to people’s lives”.
“We are absolutely united in condemnation of what has happened, nobody wants to see this on our streets, nobody wants to see the fear that that community experienced on Saturday evening,” she said.
“I don’t think this is a day for political nonsense.
“There are moments when you need to stand together and this is one of those moments where we need universal condemnation.
“We need to say to any group out there, that you have no support here, but what we have to demonstrate to the wider public is that politics works, despite the challenges, despite the limitations.”
Just last week at Belfast City Council, both parties engaged in a dispute over the construction of a memorial to Bobby Sands in Twinbrook, close to where the deliver driver was hijacked on Saturday. Ms Little-Pengelly said there was a responsibility on political leaders to “send a clear message”.
“I think it’s really important that we do stand very strongly together, that we send very clear messages,” the deputy first minister said.
“There is a responsibility across all of the political parties, particularly at a leadership level, to be sending a very clear message, a condemnation of this terrorist attack on Saturday night, but indeed, a very clear condemnation right across the piece.
Extra security spending
“Terrorism is always wrong. It is always without justification, should that have been 10, 20, 40, 50 years ago or on Saturday night.”
On Sunday night, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer issued a condemnation of the attack, suspected to be the work of the New IRA.
He said: “I utterly condemn [the] attack on Dunmurry police station. My thoughts are with the local community and with the PSNI officers who work every day to keep people safe. I urge anyone with information to come forward. Those responsible will be brought to justice.”
Secretary of State Hilary Benn blamed a “small number of people who represent no one but themselves” for the car bomb attack.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Benn paid tribute to police officers who evacuated people near the car bomb, and said: “Northern Ireland has been transformed into a much more peaceful society. However, a very small number of people who represent no one but themselves remain determined to try and cause harm to our communities.”
Alliance MP for Lagan Valley Sorcha Eastwood, who asked the urgent question, said: “I’m sure the whole House will once again want to join with me in sending the message that terrorism will never succeed, either in the past or in 2026.”
Ms Eastwood added: “It is only by the grace of God that we are not dealing with fatalities.
“The people who commit these acts of terrorism have no support from the decent people of Northern Ireland, not now, and not in the past. This is not representative of who we are.”
She asked whether the PSNI would be “adequately resourced” to deal with terrorism.
In response Mr Benn said its funding is determined by Stormont, but added: “We’ve given a record settlement to the executive in the spending review last summer and we have implemented the first increase in the additional security funding in over a decade. It will be £113 million over three years.”
Outcry won't faze New IRA, but views of fellow dissidents opposed to 'war' are harder to ignore
MARISA McGLINCHEY, Belfast Telegraph, April 28th, 2026
The New IRA know that they are not bombing us into a united Ireland any time soon. But they're keen to show that they haven't gone away.
They want to convey the message that, despite smaller numbers, they're still organised and capable and that they can strike whenever they choose.
The New IRA are also acutely aware that the biggest criticism of them is the lack of public support, particularly in contrast to Sinn Féin's majority support.
But so-called dissident republicans like the New IRA don't care about public support.
Crucially, they see their actions as the latest phase in one long campaign for Irish sovereignty stretching right back to 1916 and beyond. They emphasise the fact that previous phases of the campaign didn't always have high levels of popular support but were no less legitimate.
A founder member of Saoradh, believed to be the political wing of the New IRA, told me: “I mean, Tom Williams didn't have electoral strength behind him in the 1940s. The border campaign didn't have electoral strength. The IRA in the 1930s, when they were being executed, didn't have electoral strength. But their cause was no less legitimate.”
Popular support isn't a concern to dissident groups, nor are the views of the political mainstream. However, what may be of more concern are the views of long-standing dissident republicans who supported the right to use armed struggle in pursuit of a united Ireland, but who do not advocate its use today.
Old Guard
Phil O'Donoghue is honorary president of the 32-County Sovereignty Movement, the alleged political wing of the Real IRA (a majority of which went into the New IRA). His strong republican credentials include the fact that he was on the Brookeborough raid with Seán South in 1957. Few (if any) dissident republicans would question O'Donoghue's republican credentials.
Interestingly, in his Kilkenny home, O'Donoghue expressed concerns about the armed campaign today and told me: “This business of putting a few bombs here and there is counterproductive, I think, at the moment. Maybe I'm wrong, but I would consider it counterproductive.”
Similarly, 'Hooded Man' Kevin Hannaway from Belfast expressed reservations about a campaign today. Hannaway, who died in 2025, is also revered in dissident republican circles and in fact there is a Saoradh mural off the Falls Road dedicated to him. A known “hardliner”, again few would question his principles or credentials.
When asked about the campaign, Hannaway told me: “I wouldn't publicly condemn. I don't think there is any future in it for Ireland or for them except prisons, because I do believe that they're infiltrated.
“I do believe that they are being abused and misused. To sit in Stormont and call myself an Irish republican and to call on Irish people to give information to a foreign power which is occupying this island and put my fellow countryman into prisons. Nobody has a right to do that, only the Irish people.”
Both Hannaway and O'Donoghue are firm in their criticism of Sinn Féin, and in their support for armed struggle, but it is interesting that neither advocate using armed actions today. But it must be noted that despite their views on armed actions, neither would condemn any dissident group.
Scattered throughout the north and south, dissident republicans continue to reject the path that Sinn Féin has taken, arguing that they have sold out traditional republicanism.
For those continuing with armed actions, such as the weekend attack in Dunmurry, they have no desire to stop. The New and Continuity IRAs are small in numbers. In fact, it is estimated that those directly involved in armed actions are in the dozens.
Ireland Unfree
But they have a much wider support base, as evident at their Easter commemorations, particularly in Derry. During a rare opportunity, I sat down with a spokesperson for the leadership of the Continuity IRA in north Armagh to discuss the organisation's campaign.
The spokesperson was keen to emphasise the fundamental fact that Ireland is still partitioned and that MI5 are still present in Palace Barracks and Thiepval Barracks and said: “The [Continuity] IRA want a united Ireland, a full British withdrawal from this country and no British interference. You know, there's nothing else, it's simple. To drive the Brits from Ireland.”
I asked: “What would be sufficient to produce a ceasefire?” The reply was concise: “British withdrawal”. When I asked further: “And nothing less?” The reply was an emphatic and simple “no”.
Given that occasional armed actions are not going to force a united Ireland, I asked what such armed actions achieve.
The spokesperson replied: “It has sent a clear message out to the world, to the British Government, that the Irish question isn't settled and that it will not be settled any time soon and it will not be settled through Stormont and Leinster House… there will always be those that will engage in armed struggle.”
For many dissidents, as stated by Patrick Pearse: “Ireland unfree shall never be at peace.”
Dr Marisa McGlinchey is an assistant professor of political science at Coventry University and is author of Unfinished Business: The Politics of 'Dissident' Irish Republicanism.
New IRA claims station attack and threatens to target officers’ homes
CONNLA YOUNG CRIME and SECURITY CORRESPONDENT, Irish News, April 28th, 2026
THE New IRA has said it will target the homes of PSNI officers as it claimed responsibility for a weekend bomb attack on the outskirts of Belfast.
The dissident republican group said the attack at Dunmurry PSNI station was intended to kill officers as they attempted to leave the building.
In a statement to The Irish News from the “leadership of the IRA”, using a codeword, the group also threatened that anyone who provides information to the PSNI “will be severely dealt with”.
No-one was injured after a delivery driver was hijacked in the Twinbrook area at around 10.50pm on Saturday.
A gas cylinder was placed in the vehicle before the driver was ordered to take the bomb to the station, where it exploded, ripping the hijacked car apart and causing a fireball.
The attack came just weeks after a delivery driver was ordered by the New IRA to take a bomb to Lurgan PSNI station, which failed to detonate. The paramilitary group has claimed the Dunmurry device included Semtex high explosives, an electrical detonator and “intricate timing device which had 30 minutes on it”.
“This was to give the driver time to get away,” the statement said.
First Minister Michelle O’Neill and deputy First Minister Emma Little Pengelly joined by Chief Constable Jon Boutcher and Brendan Mullan, Chair of the Policing Board, for a press conference at Stormont yesterday.
“The gas cylinder was to create a fireball. The driver was told to shout ‘there’s a bomb in the car’ and leave the area.”
The hardline group also said the bomb was meant to kill PSNI officers rather than target the station building.
“The intention was to kill police coming out of the station,” the statement said.
“This was not an attack on the station, it was an attack aimed at police leaving the station.”
The paramilitary group, emerged in 2012 after independent republicans, Republican Action Against Drugs and the Real IRA joined forces, has said it will start to target police officers in their homes.
“It is our intention, if they keep harassing the republican people, to bomb them in their own houses, with no warning,” the statement said.
‘We have plenty of Semtex’
“We have plenty of Semtex and plenty of engineers and we know where they live. We are well aware they are working to an MI5 agenda.”
The attack on Dunmurry station has attracted widespread political condemnation.
‘These groups have no place in society’
In its statement the New IRA said: “We warn anyone collaborating with British crown forces. Anyone who gives information to the crown forces, whoever they are, or wherever they come from, will be severely dealt with.”
The statement also said the paramilitary group will continue its campaign.
They added: “This will continue until the British give a declaration to withdraw.”
At a press conference in Stormont yesterday, Chief Constable Jon Boutcher was joined by Sinn Féin First Minister Michelle O’Neill, deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly and Policing Board chair Brendan Mullan.
“We are absolutely united in condemnation of what has happened, nobody wants to see this on our streets, nobody wants to see the fear that that community experienced on Saturday evening,” Ms O’Neill said.
“I don’t think this is a day for political nonsense. “I think this is a day for strong condemnation.”
“This is a day for us to be united in saying these groups have no place in our society, and it’s a day for us all to say collectively that anybody with any information whatsoever should come forward to the PSNI, because these people need to be dealt with before the courts.”
The DUP’s Emma Little-Pengelly echoed the comments.
“There is a responsibility across all of the political parties, particularly at a leadership level, to be sending a very clear message, a condemnation of this terrorist attack on Saturday night, but indeed, a very clear condemnation right across the piece,” she said.
PSNI body-cam footage of explosion shows how close officers came to injury
PAUL AINSWORTH, Irish News, April 28th, 2026
DRAMATIC footage taken from a PSNI officer’s bodyworn camera shows how close they came to injury in Saturday’s bomb attack at Dunmurry Police Station.
The video, released yesterday, shows the view from the worn camera as the officer walks towards the vehicle at Kingsway in Dunmurry, before it explodes.
The attack, on the outskirts of Belfast, has united politicians in condemnation of those responsible, while PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher has vowed “we will do all we can” to identify the bombers and bring them before the courts.
Mr Boutcher has labelled the attack, which is suspected to have been the work of the New IRA, “reckless and stupid”.
Speaking yesterday, he praised the work of officers who placed themselves “in harm’s way” during the evacuation of nearby dwellings.
Those forced to leave their homes included two babies.
A delivery driver’s vehicle had earlier been hijacked, with the driver forced to take it to Dunmurry Police Station.
An attempted murder investigation is now underway.
In the newly released footage, an officer is walking towards the area where the vehicle is located, before it explodes and the officer turns and runs back the way they came.
“I want to acknowledge especially the courage and professionalism of those officers, who responded so quickly and so professionally, to this cowardly attack, and undoubtedly saved lives,” Mr Boutcher said.
He added: “Today we have also released footage showing our officers placing themselves in harms way evacuating homes as the bomb detonated.
“This was not just an attack aimed at our incredible police officers and staff, this was an attack against everybody in society.
“These are mindless idiots, risking lives of not only local residents that included two young babies, who were taken into the safe custody of a police station by our courageous officers who ran to this fear and into residents’ houses to protect them,” he said.
“I want to acknowledge, especially the courage and professionalism of those officers, who responded so quickly and so professionally, to this cowardly attack, and undoubtedly saved lives.”
PSNI denies daughter of man ‘tortured’ by British agent
CONNLA YOUNG CRIME and SECURITY CORRESPONDENT, Irish News, April 28th, 2026
GERALD HIGGINS WAS VICTIM OF UDA IN 1973
THE PSNI has refused to provide information to the daughter of a Catholic man who died after being “tortured” by British agent and UDA intelligence officer Brian Nelson.
Elaine McNally spoke out after the PSNI said it ‘Neither Confirms Nor Denies (NCND)’ it holds information about a vicious attack on her father Gerald Higgins in March 1973.
NCND is often used by state agencies to stop information, including ‘national security’ material, from entering the public domain.
The 42-year-old, who was partially sighted, was abducted by Nelson and two other men and taken to a UDA club where he was beaten, set on fire and electrocuted.
The victim was saved by a passing military patrol as he was taken to be killed.
Nelson, a former British soldier, was later imprisonment for seven years for firearms offences, intimidation and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Released from prison in 1977, he later became a British army agent with the Force Research Unit and UDA intelligence officer linked to multiple sectarian murders.
Mr Higgins never recovered from his ordeal and died in 1980.
In recent years Ms McNally has attempted to access information about Nelson and his role in the callous attack on her father along with the part he played as a British army agent.
Applications were made to the PSNI under the Freedom of Information Act, with access to information denied by police using NCND.
Civil claim
The campaigning daughter currently has a stayed civil claim pending against the PSNI and the Ministry of Defence.
Ms McNally also met two officers from the PSNI’s Legacy Investigations Branch earlier this year.
It is said police committed to “immediately gathering” all material in their possession and to “re-examine and assess it” in relation to the case, although this has yet to happen.
In the past PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher has been critical of the use of NCND by the British government in relation to Troubles cases.
Ms McNally has now appealed to Mr Boutcher “to commit to his own words and remove the shroud of secrecy which has denied families access to truth and allows the British government to hide behind the shield of NCND”.
“He was clear that there was a precedent for departing from NCND particularly in the case of Brian Nelson, who he said that releasing information about is likely to be justified as he is dead,” she said.
Ms McNally said she would “ask to him to do what is right and not just go along with the ‘unanimous’ advice he apparently receives on legacy disclosure.
“I would ask that he embrace his commitment to a policing approach that is open, accountable and transparent.”
Christopher Stanley from Relatives for Justice said that “despite the public pronouncements of the chief constable, (Elaine) continues to be met by a wall of silence and the disease of secrecy and delay which infects the legacy process in this jurisdiction”.
West Belfast SDLP representative Gerard McDonald said “the recent NCND response received by Elaine and under review by the PSNI did not match the words and ambitions of the current PSNI leadership”.
He added: “That is why the SDLP are calling for an urgent intervention to overturn this decision and the meet the needs of a victim.”
The PSNI was contacted for comment.
Man abused by 'Beast of Kincora' awarded six-figure damages
Belfast Telegraph, April 28th, 2026
A former resident targeted by a paedophile housemaster at the notorious Kincora Boys' Home has obtained a “significant six-figure sum” in damages.
The man, who is not being named, sued over the sexual and physical abuse he suffered after being sent to the home in east Belfast during the 1970s.
His legal action against the PSNI, Home Office and the Department of Health was resolved at the High Court without admission of liability or disclosing the level of payout.
The man's solicitor, Claire McKeegan, confirmed: “My client is to receive a significant six-figure sum to settle his claim.”
The plaintiff sought damages for the ordeal he endured during the two years he spent as a teenager living at the now demolished children's home.
At the centre of the action was the role played by senior member of staff William McGrath, who became known as the 'Beast of Kincora'.
McGrath was jailed in 1981 for abusing boys as part of a paedophile ring operated within the home. The former housemaster, who died in the early 1990s, also held a leading position in the far-right loyalist movement Tara.
McGrath was allegedly allowed to target vulnerable young victims as a suspected MI5 agent so that more information about the group could be obtained.
Claims for negligence, misfeasance in public office, breach of statutory duty, assault and battery were advanced as part of the action.
Lawyers for the plaintiff claimed the RUC exposed him and other residents at Kincora to further risk by failing to properly investigate or prevent the physical and sexual abuse.
Following the settlement Ms McKeegan, of Phoenix Law, stressed how her client was targeted at a particularly vulnerable stage in his life. “The abuse from William McGrath has had a severe impact on this man and his family,” she said.
“This settlement provides a welcome vindication for him, who has endured a lifetime of trauma over what went on in Kincora.”
SDLP leader criticises ‘sham fight’ over Bobby Sands statue
REBECCA BLACK, Irish News and Belfast Telegraph, April 28th, 2026
SDLP leader Claire Hanna has criticised the fallout over a row concerning a statue of Bobby Sands as an attempt to “delegitimise anti-sectarian constitutional nationalism”.
The South Belfast MP slammed a “sham fight” between the DUP and Sinn Féin at Belfast City Council over the issue, and an ensuing “pile-on” on members of her party who abstained in the vote last week.
The statue to the IRA hunger striker, who was 27 when he died in 1981, was unveiled last year at the Republican Memorial Garden in Twinbrook, west Belfast, marking the 44th anniversary of the former MP’s death.
It later emerged that it had been erected without planning permission, although the council had not previously taken any action.
At the meeting on Thursday, a DUP motion which called for the matter to be “reconsidered” was passed, with support from other unionists and from the Alliance Party.
A Sinn Féin amendment seeking a review of the “current enforcement status of all such structures” across the council area was unsuccessful.
SDLP councillors abstained from the vote.
SDLP councillor Paul Doherty resigned from the party over the matter.
Mr Doherty, who served as deputy lord mayor of Belfast, and is a councillor for west Belfast, said he understood that the statue of the IRA hunger striker “holds real significance”.
Ms Hanna described the meeting as a “mess” and “another bun fight and sham fight” between the DUP and Sinn Fein, which her councillors had walked out of in protest.
She said she was “gutted” at Mr Doherty’s departure, describing him as a “really nice guy and valued colleague, and someone the SDLP had invested in”.
The statue of Bobby Sands was unveiled last year in west Belfast.
A distraction from real issues
“I think it’s worth saying, all the time we spent talking about Bobby Sands, and this was something our councillors were very clear about, is stuff that is a distraction from the things that we’re not doing right on housing, health and education,” she told BBC Radio Ulster’s The Nolan Show.
“It was a DUP/Sinn Fein discussion, we tried to put down an amendment that absolutely didn’t support the DUP motion which was hypocritical in the extreme, we tried to set out an alternative that was about the fairest possible approach.
“It was a mess, it was another bun fight and sham fight… more sectarian coat-trailing.”
Ms Hanna said there was no central party whip on the issue, and that their Belfast councillors had reached that position themselves which was in line with the findings of the Commission on Flags, Identity, Culture and Tradition.
She criticised a “huge pile-on” on social media on SDLP councillors following the vote, during which they were called terms such as “scum” and “West Brit”.
“I think there is a wider issue here about an attempt to delegitimise anti-sectarian constitutional nationalism,” she said.
“There was a huge pile-on on SDLP people by people who have had a 50-year passion project of trying to diminish the SDLP.
“I don’t think it’s an inconsistent position that the SDLP isn’t trying to say people can’t remember the dead. We understand how important the past is to a lot of people, we understand how important figures like Bobby Sands and comparable figures elsewhere. We’re talking about a rules-based system, and fairness.”
She said: “Those of us who want a new Ireland have to leave room for debate, not shutting down different views, not calling people scum, not calling them West Brits.
“We are a party who believes in getting to a new Ireland through dialogue, through pluralism, through incorporating different views.”
MI5 sends bizarre video of Sunday Life headlines to New IRA suspects
JESSICA RICE, Belfast Telegraph, April 28th, 2026
MI5 sent suspected New IRA members a Spotify Wrapped-style video made up of Sunday Life articles.
The video opens with text saying “New IRA — your 2025 in review” to an upbeat soundtrack.
It then displays articles from the Sunday Life, highlighting some of its coverage of police cracking down on the terror group during the year.
The presentation is similar to the popular Spotify Wrapped videos that showcase users' annual listening history.
The 60-second video, first reported by The Times, was sent to alleged members of the New IRA earlier this year.
Despite the upbeat melody, it appears to be making a serious attempt to persuade members to turn against their leadership.
It asks recipients: “Another year: and what has threatening and exploiting the vulnerable achieved?
“Ask yourself: aren't you also being exploited?
“I doubt your 'leadership' are thinking about you taking the risks when they are on multiple holidays a year.
“It's 2025, is this the activity you want done in your name? There are better paths to take.”
Some of the articles used in the video highlight the New IRA's “loan sharks” targeting families and how the group exploited vulnerable people to carry weapons for them.
Other articles show drug dealers linked to the group.
NIRA resurgence
Sources told the Belfast Telegraph the video was sent to suspected members in January, however, its existence has only just publicly emerged.
It comes amid a resurgence in New IRA activity. At the weekend, a car bomb exploded outside a police station in Dunmurry. Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said it is “likely” to have been the work of the New IRA.
Police believe the organisation is also responsible for a similar incident in Lurgan last month, in which a car bomb failed to explode. This video is not the first time MI5 has taken an unconventional approach to tackling the New IRA. Last November, MI5 directly messaged republicans offering to “help” them.
The messages were sent just days after Kieran Gallagher (48) was the subject of an assets freeze by Treasury officials, saying there were “reasonable grounds” to suspect he is involved in activity linked to the New IRA. The text message said: “This is MI5. You will have seen the recent actions taken against an individual involved in financing terrorism.
“We believe you're fundraising for the New IRA and your actions are not as anonymous as you think.
“We want to encourage you to step away from this — and to think about the impact you are having.”
The message tells those targeted they “are not alone and there are people who care about you and want to help”.
“You can leave this criminal organisation behind and start a new chapter in your life,” it said.
“If you are willing to disengage, then we are willing to help you achieve that, however, there will be financial and legal repercussions for those who continue to support the New IRA.”
Pallets now piling up at site of 'asbestos bonfire'
ANDREW MADDEN, Belfast Telegraph, April 28th, 2026
GATES REMOVED AT CONTAMINATED AREA AS LOYALISTS VOW 'THIS YEAR WE'RE GOING BIGGER'
The removal of a gate has seen bonfire material again piling up on a site in south Belfast contaminated with asbestos.
Loyalists in the Village area are openly advertising for material to be left at the privately owned site, and in a defiant message on Facebook boasted: “This year we're going bigger.” The contaminated Meridi Street site is close to a primary school and an electricity substation that powers the City and Royal Victoria hospitals.
The bonfire was built and lit on the same land last summer, despite health concerns about the presence of asbestos.
The site was supposed to have been secured afterwards, but bonfire builders again have access to the site and are collecting pallets (left) and other scrap there ahead of the Eleventh Night.
The Village bonfire Facebook page has appealed to people to bring items specifically through the Maldon Street entrance.
The gates there have been removed, leaving an opening wide enough for vehicles to pass through.
Alliance councillor Emmet McDonough Brown urged unionist politicians to show leadership. “They know it is not safe, and they owe our community the courage to say so publicly,” he said.
Facebook page
But in a defiant message at the weekend, the Village bonfire South Belfast Facebook page said: “This year we're going bigger.”
The Meridi Street site in the Village area — which is close to a primary school and an electricity substation that serves the City and Royal Victoria hospitals — has been the source of controversy since a bonfire was built and set alight on the land last summer on the Eleventh Night.
In the run-up to the pyre being torched, concerns were raised over the presence of potentially deadly asbestos at the site, which is owned by Armagh-registered company Boron Developments.
In the days before the Eleventh Night, Belfast City Council agreed to have contractors move in to remove the bonfire.
However, these plans were aborted when the PSNI said it would not assist.
The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) attempted to mitigate the danger by removing around 20kg of asbestos from the land and placing tarpaulins, fire blankets and quarry dust over a pile of the material.
The bonfire was then lit and the next month it emerged that a criminal investigation into the presence of asbestos on the site had been launched.
Boron Developments eventually began work to clear the site, which was ostensibly completed on November 21 last year. However, a subsequent inspection revealed that asbestos fragments were still present.
Now bonfire builders have again been gaining access to the site — which is supposed to have been secured — and collected pallets and other material there ahead of the Eleventh Night, in less than three months' time.
The Village bonfire Facebook page has appealed to people to bring wood, beds, doors, sofas, wardrobes and pallets to the site, specifically through the Maldon Street entrance.
Pictures from the Maldon Street entrance reveal organisers have been able to easily gain access as the gates that were once present have been removed, leaving an opening wide enough even for vehicles to pass through.
Disappearing gates
It is unclear exactly when or who removed the gates.
Distinctive red and blue pallets have also been gathered at Meridi Street.
Due to their colour, the blue pallets can be identified as those used by global pallet company Chep, which only hire them out — they are never sold — while the red pallets are owned by French firm La Palette Rouge.
Chep said it does not condone their use for these purposes. The company also appealed to bonfire organisers not to use its pallets, which remain its legal property.
Alliance councillor Emmet McDonough Brown urged those responsible for organising the bonfire to stop.
“We remain deeply concerned about the welfare of those who could be exposed to asbestos at this bonfire site and have been working to minimise the danger and encourage remediation by the landowner,” he said.
“The arrival of private property — in the form of pallets owned by third parties — and the call for materials indicate a deterioration of the position.
“I urge unionist politicians to show leadership and discourage participation and attendance at this particular bonfire this year. They know it is not safe, and they owe our community the courage to say so publicly. I urge those responsible to cease.”
Public safety
The PSNI said it “works alongside stakeholders and other agencies in relation to bonfires and associated community or public safety concerns”.
A spokesperson added: “This multi-agency approach is particularly important in the lead-up to periods of increased demand.
“This work may include reports of pallet theft. As with all types of theft reports, police will take steps with stakeholders, where appropriate, to prevent crime and deter offending.”
When asbestos fragments were detected on the land in February, the NIEA said the material there “currently presents minimal risk” within the secure site, but added: “These risks increase where members of the public trespass onto this privately owned land.”
Previously, a spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs — of which the NIEA is a part — said: “Minister Muir would again urge local elected representatives to provide the leadership needed to ensure everyone obeys the law and heeds the warnings issued to keep people off the site.
“Remediation and ongoing site security remain the responsibility of the landowner. NIEA has engaged the landowner throughout the remediation process, including on the issues of access to the site and signage.”
Boron Developments has been contacted for comment.
We’re imposing our dark past on our young people’s future
MÁIRÍA CAHILL, Irish News, April 28th, 2026
THE loss of councillor Paul Doherty to the SDLP is a blow, of that there is no doubt.
For the first time in west Belfast, the party has no elected representatives. Some of that is self-inflicted.
For years, the area has had little presence when it needed a busy constituency office.
Despite the best efforts of stalwarts like the Attwoods and Maggie Walsh — who endured repeated attacks on her home for her political work — it has been allowed to wither on the vine.
Through Foodstock and breakfast clubs, Doherty was visible, rooted, and the SDLP’s best Assembly hope. He’s likeable and hard-working. You get out what you put in.
There is no doubt either that SDLP representatives on Belfast City Council mishandled their response to the Bobby Sands debacle.
Contributing to a debate and then walking out just as the vote is taken is a dereliction of public representation.
This is just another example of them gathering more splinters on their backside from fence-sitting recently than the Alliance party has in 30 years.
That might suit voters in the large houses of south Belfast. For someone like Paul Doherty, born and bred in west Belfast, fudging an issue is anathema.
That’s not to say his position is correct. In his resignation, he said “I was not at the hastily arranged Belfast City Council meeting…” and that he would have voted against the DUP motion.
He said the statue holds “real significance for the people in our community and beyond”.
200 ghosts
“Hastily arranged meeting?” replied the DUP’s Sarah Bunting. “Paul knew the meeting was called two weeks in advance…” If he wanted to support the statue, he had enough opportunity to do so publicly.
There’s a sense there’s more to this than a statue. Belfast republicans stirred invective against SDLP reps, misrepresenting the walkout as a vote against Bobby Sands. It wasn’t, but it has badly backfired.
I was born three days before Bobby Sands died. For most of those 45 years, I have lived with the legacy of the hunger strikes, within a community still trying to extricate itself from the trauma of 10 young men starving to death.
Five-year-old me slunk down in the back seat of my father’s car, terrified by the skeletal mural at Slemish Way.
Sixteen-year-old me had their posters on my wall.
Forty-five-year-old (almost) me Sinn Féin’s narrative of the hunger strikes is of revolutionaries killed by an intransigent Tory government. Others argue that the prisoners were exploited by the republican movement and died unnecessarily.
“ We are depressing the life out of our young people. That is unforgivable, given how often we speak of breaking generational trauma worries about the effect this glorification of death has on young minds.
Whatever the truth, their memory was certainly milked in death. The use of their images on commemorative dinner plates, fridge magnets, and tea towels was not exactly in good taste. The hunger strikers have long been money-spinners, propaganda props and recruitment tools.
How long before tourists are drawn to Twinbrook to see the Sands statue? Is it happening already?
If so, the statue turns from a simple memorial into another tacky device to promote the Sinn Féin version of his death.
Why not seek planning permission first? Why push ahead? Organisers should pay the bill that ratepayers face for council time spent retrospectively considering – again – whether the statue should stay.
As for Belfast City Council, who will answer for the 200 memorials across the city that were similarly erected without permission?
People in Twinbrook are as law-abiding as anyone. Erecting a statue without following regulations says: we didn’t care enough to invite the council to do safety checks first. We didn’t care enough to set an example.
West Belfast isn’t the Wild West. Republicans should stop treating it as their fiefdom.
Marking territory
Why must we mark territory in housing estates like a dog weeing on a lamppost? And why are paramilitary commemorations treated differently from regular ratepayers who would have their house torn down for the same?
The SDLP says planning should be handled “fairly and equitably”. They communicated this abysmally.
Paul Doherty is working to give young people a future. None of that mattered to republicans who tore strips off him when they thought he was politically opposed to them. Now that he has left the party, they’re queuing up to congratulate him.
Imagine if the energy that went into the Bobby Stands statue row was instead used to follow his example to ensure that every child from Twinbrook had a decent start in life?
I was in Hollywood at the weekend and passed a vibrant mural reading: “Let your soul and spirit fly.”
A five-year-old in Twinbrook sees “Belfast Brigade, Óglaigh na hÉireann” entering the estate. What does she think of seeing a rifle-clutching man on a concrete memorial plinth?
We are depressing the life out of our young people, imposing our past on their future. That is unforgivable, given how often we speak of breaking generational trauma.
Some role models, we are.
Ex-Belfast minister wasn't asked to step aside over 'safeguarding issue'
KURTIS REID, Belfast Telegraph, April 28th, 2026
MISSIONARY GROUP SEEKS TO CLARIFY SITUATION AFTER UPDATED STATEMENT
A Christian organisation in England says an inquiry into a Belfast minister who was asked to step aside over a historical issue is “not a safeguarding issue” after an updated statement removed the reference.
Last month the Belfast Telegraph reported Rev Scott Moore, director of the European Mission Fellowship (EMF), was requested to stand aside while a Presbyterian Church of Ireland (PCI) commission of inquiry examined a historical matter raised about his time here.
EMF, a missionary organisation, is defined as a “fellowship of churches and individuals with a long and fruitful history in evangelism, church planting and leadership training across Europe”.
Mr Moore was appointed as director in January 2024 and moved to England to take up the role.
Mr Moore resigned from PCI in December 2025, despite being a minister without charge.
A statement in March from EMF said: “The Trustees of EMF are fully aware that a concern about an historical matter has recently been raised with the Presbytery in respect of our director, Scott Moore, from his time serving as a Minister of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.
“EMF has not been informed of the nature of the concern raised, other than that it is not a safeguarding matter. EMF takes all such concerns very seriously.
“Trustees welcome the proper commission of enquiry process of the Presbytery and will await the outcome.”
However, the statement has since been updated to remove the “not a safeguarding matter” reference.
When asked about the removal of the reference, EMF said: “The original statement said that EMF had been informed that the issue was not a safeguarding one. This is still the case.”
Daniel Grimwade, chair of trustees at EMF, said: “It is with sadness that I state that it is considered necessary for our Mission Director, Scott Moore, to step back from his duties as EMF Director for the time being.
“To ensure that our missionaries and staff are well-supported, Phil Jones (our Church Partnership Director) will be our Acting Mission Director for the period of Scott's absence. Other support will be given by our very capable and committed staff and the willing involvement of Trustees.”
EMF did not respond to a request for comment on if Mr Moore is due to return to EMF, or if PCI has provided any update on the inquiry into him.
It's understood Mr Moore has returned to Northern Ireland.
The Belfast Telegraph asked PCI if the inquiry into Mr Moore was a safeguarding matter; if it is ongoing despite his resignation, and if it had been contacted by EMF.
PCI said it had no further comment to make on the matter and referred to the previous statement which outlined Mr Moore's resignation from the church in December.
Mr Moore did not respond to a request for comment.
COMMENT: NEW INQUIRY INTO THE LEGACY COMMISSION
Sympathetic followers of the Legacy debate will be exasperated at the news of yet another systemic inquiry into the Legacy Commission. I'm glad to see the Commission is not deterred and is soldiering on in despite the inevitable disruption and the appointment of that favourite panacea for overcoming sectarian party division, an oversight body.
What Reforms are envisaged? Poor financial management? Bloated or inappropriate staffing? High costs are incurred presumably for lawyers to monitor, the steady flow of legal challenges to Army versions of incidents like the fatal Clonoe shootings. Some of them are unavoidable although fewer expensive barristers would be welcome.
Where is the evidence that the employment of ex RUC, or even PSNI from Peter Sheridan ex head of the Special Branch downwards is producing biased or deliberately inadequate investigations? My own view is that we should severely limit the appointment of outsiders and exploit the local knowledge and feel of our homegrown resources to confront our own challenges as much as possible, depending on the individual.and subject to the remorseless scrutiny they will undoubtedly receive.
While the language is polemical and therefore blunts the impact of its case, I have some sympathy with the Malone House Group's contention that persistent legal challenges perversely delay investigations that might yield satisfactory results. Costs per controversial case would diminish and the ability to take on more cases would therefore increase. Conclusions about the Commission's effectiveness would therfore rest on its results, rather than a priori wrangling over structure, "culture" and process. We eagerly await the results of collusion cases which government itself should commission and those where MI5 participation is relevant but withheld. These will provide acid tests of effectiveness.
Brian Walker
