The family of murdered GAA club chairman Sean Brown has said it has no “faith or trust” in a Troubles information recovery body, as it continues to seek a public inquiry into his death.
Judgment has been reserved on a Government appeal to the Supreme Court to overturn a decision compelling it to hold a public inquiry into the Troubles-era killing, which has been linked to state agents.
Background to the killing
Mr Brown, chairman of Bellaghy Wolfe Tones Gaelic Athletic Club in Co Londonderry, was 61 when he was ambushed, kidnapped and murdered by loyalist paramilitaries as he locked the gates of the club in May 1997.
The Government agrees with the family that there has been no adequate investigation into the death. In 2024, the then-Northern Ireland secretary Hilary Benn decided this should be done by the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) without the need for a public inquiry.
Family demands public inquiry
Speaking to the media after the Supreme Court hearing on Tuesday, Mr Brown’s daughter Clare Loughran said: “The Government are still in a state of illegality. They still have not offered an independent investigation into my father’s murder. And remember, we’re almost 30 years, and they still haven’t done that.”
Ms Loughran said Sir Chris Bryant, Mr Benn’s successor, “really has to be forced to make a decision”. She said: “They have only two options now in our mind. The first option is the public inquiry, which we believe is the right and the best option for us. And the second option will be that the Secretary of State will refer us to the ICRIR – we are not going to the ICRIR.”
She added: “We don’t have any faith or trust in the organisation.”
Solicitor speaks after hearing
Niall Murphy, the family’s solicitor, said: “There were a lot of esoteric arguments, legal arguments back and forth. But at the core and soul of this case is this family. They lost their father, their grandfather, their husband 28 years ago, and the dignity that they have reposed in his memory has been as vivid and potent today as it was every single day since the murder. The only legal resolution to this case that will satisfy the family’s expectations is a public inquiry.”
Mr Murphy said Mr Brown’s widow Bridie was not physically able to attend but had followed “every single second” via video link. He described it as “disgraceful” that the family had been brought to court, adding: “I think agencies such as the Secretary of State, the Northern Ireland Office, need to understand the emotional investment and distress that taking people to court has.”
