Debate contribution: Clonoe Inquest Findings

Debate contribution by Ms Paula Bradshaw on 10 February 2025.

MLA

Ms Paula Bradshaw

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

10 February 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Matter of the Day

Heading

Clonoe Inquest Findings

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4790202

Read the official Assembly record

Text

What happened in February 1992 was yet another appalling event during the Troubles. The mid-Ulster area, in particular, bore a horrifying toll throughout that dark period in the number of attacks on security forces and civilian deaths and injuries. It must be said that, by 1992, it should have been long evident that there was no future for the type of ambush that the IRA attempted that day. Sadly, it was not the end of IRA activity there; indeed, it was part of an overall cycle of violence in the east Tyrone and north Armagh locality that cost many lives at a time when such loss of life was achieving nothing but another cycle of grief and bitterness. To be clear, I have no sympathy at all for the actions of the IRA in Clonoe 33 years ago this week; no democrat should. They were not creating a new future; they were stealing it. When we look back at such events during the Troubles, we face two particular challenges. First, we can be inclined to forget that all those who were killed had families and loved ones who were greatly affected by the profound sense of loss and grief. Secondly, while we struggle to define exactly what sort of conflict it was, it should also be evident that the Geneva convention applies to all combatants, including those of the state. We should indeed recognise that it is incumbent on us all, as democrats, to acknowledge that the use of lethal force is specific to well-defined circumstances, even in war and certainly in security operations. We live in a country where those issues are assessed independently, and that will always be important in ensuring that the rule of law is paramount. Most of all, we must reflect that the ongoing and unnecessary loss of life in that locality over the years brought with it a heavy toll on all those involved and everyone in that community. Democracy and the rule of law must prevail so that we never face such a toll again.

342 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:55 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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