Greysteel 30 years on: Memorial service warned of those who want a return to violence

The families of the victims of the Greysteel massacre gather for prayers at the memorial plaque outside the Rising Sun Bar in the village where the atrocity took place 30 years ago. Pic: Lorcan Doherty/PressEyeThe families of the victims of the Greysteel massacre gather for prayers at the memorial plaque outside the Rising Sun Bar in the village where the atrocity took place 30 years ago. Pic: Lorcan Doherty/PressEye
The families of the victims of the Greysteel massacre gather for prayers at the memorial plaque outside the Rising Sun Bar in the village where the atrocity took place 30 years ago. Pic: Lorcan Doherty/PressEye
​​A commemoration marking the 30th anniversary of a Troubles shooting that claimed eight lives has been warned of the risks posed by those wanting to drag Northern Ireland backwards.

Monsignor Andrew Dolan also expressed frustration that sometimes the common good in the present day was being trumped by self-interest, as he made reference to the political stalemate at Stormont and the instability it was creating.

Eight civilians, both Catholics and Protestants, died when the Rising Sun bar in the Co Londonderry village of Greysteel was attacked on October 30 1993.

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Seven were killed on the night, while the eighth victim died several months later from their injuries.

The victims of the Greysteel massacre were remembered at a vigil outside the Rising Sun Bar in the village on Monday night. Pic: Lorcan Doherty/PressEyeThe victims of the Greysteel massacre were remembered at a vigil outside the Rising Sun Bar in the village on Monday night. Pic: Lorcan Doherty/PressEye
The victims of the Greysteel massacre were remembered at a vigil outside the Rising Sun Bar in the village on Monday night. Pic: Lorcan Doherty/PressEye

One of the UDA/UFF gunmen involved shouted “trick or treat” before pulling the trigger.

The victims were Karen Thompson, 19, Steven Mullan, 20, Moira Duddy, 59, Joseph McDermott, 60, James Moore, 81, John Moyne, 50, John Burns, 54 and Victor Montgomery, 76.

A memorial mass was held at the Star Of The Sea Church in the area on Monday evening – a service also attended by members of Protestant congregations.

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Afterwards, a cross-community wreath-laying ceremony and service took place at the memorial to the shooting at the bar.

The scene at the Rising Sun bar, Greysteel on the morning after seven people were shot dead in 1993. An eighth person died laterThe scene at the Rising Sun bar, Greysteel on the morning after seven people were shot dead in 1993. An eighth person died later
The scene at the Rising Sun bar, Greysteel on the morning after seven people were shot dead in 1993. An eighth person died later

The atrocity came just days after a Provisional IRA bomb killed nine people at a fish shop on the Shankill Road in Belfast, and was regarded as a retaliatory attack by loyalists. One of the IRA bombers was also killed in the Shankill Road blast.

As well as the bloodshed at Greysteel, six men died in other attacks in the days following the Shankill attack.

Monsignor Dolan told last night’s commemorative event at the church that society was staring into the “abyss” after Greysteel.

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He expressed relief that people chose a different future in the years after, but warned there were those in society who wanted a return to the violence of the past.

“Thankfully those headlines that we nearly took for granted day and daily did disappear,” he said.

“But you know we have to say there are still some who hanker after violence.

“Some who still pursue a kind of a scorched earth philosophy. And, sadly, there will always be vulnerable people drawn to it, soft targets.”

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Family members of those who died held candles in memory of their loved ones at the service, and children from nearby Faughanvale Primary School sang during the mass.

Monsignor Dolan said some of the “godfathers” who orchestrated such attacks during the Troubles still remain safe in their “bunkers and hideouts” 30 years on.

“But truth eventually outs and in today’s climate of political impasse the common good again sometimes seems to be relegated to second place because personal interest and so on come before the common good,” he said.

“And then you have people without any sort of public mandate speaking in sort of threatening tones if things don’t go their way.

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“Is this a coincidence or not? Is it, or does it say something about our society that when we were gathered here five years ago (for the 25th anniversary), the assembly wasn’t functioning then either.

“And those sort of moments do leave the ground under us just that bit less solid, we could say.

“Our message again is: beware of those who would like to turn the clock back to the ‘good old days’ – the good old days that never existed.

“And you know, when you look today at the news nightly, or whatever time you turn it on, we don’t need any lessons on the futility of violence.”

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Monsignor Dolan paid tribute to the dignity and bravery of whose who had been injured or lost loved ones.

He said the “heinous evil” inflicted upon the community broke hearts, but failed to break its spirit.

He said the people of Greysteel would always remember the “freeze moment” when the atrocity that claimed eight lives happened.

“The timeless moment, the indelible mark, no delete button can take it out of the memory or the psyche of the people here,” he said.

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He spoke of the dignity, bravery and togetherness of the community in the years since the murders.

“It demonstrates for us that such evil, whatever the motivation, whatever the reason for setting up the Rising Sun and this community as a target, it could not break your spirits, whatever about breaking hearts.

“Above all it demonstrates the futility of violence of any kind, certainly the futility of such extreme violence.”

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