Member's statement: Herron Family: 50th Anniversary Commemoration

Member's statement by Mrs Emma Little-Pengelly on 13 April 2026.

MLA

Mrs Emma Little-Pengelly

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

13 April 2026

Type

Member's statement (made as a minister)

Business

Members' Statements

Heading

Herron Family: 50th Anniversary Commemoration

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5483130

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Last week, on 7 April, I attended a hugely supported and poignant parade by Lower Iveagh District Loyal Orange Lodge (LOL) No 1, and, yesterday, I attended the special service of remembrance marking the 50th anniversary of one of the most appalling and shocking attacks of the Troubles: a day on which the horror of violence was visited on the town of Dromore in my constituency of Lagan Valley and on the Herron family. William, Elizabeth and Noeline Herron were much respected and loved. They were three good people from a family rooted in faith, hard work and service to their community in Dromore. Their family name stood not for division but for decency, kindness and the quiet dignity of everyday life, yet, on 7 April 1976, that ordinary goodness was met with an act of extraordinary evil. They were not participants in conflict; they were a mother, a father and a daughter taken by an act of terrorism that shocked not just their loved ones but the entire community. The Provisional IRA planted an incendiary device that was designed to go off long after the shop closed, when the Herron family would be asleep upstairs. The firebomb went off at approximately 1.30 am, and, despite rescue attempts, William, Elizabeth and their daughter Noeline all perished. There is no justification for what was done: none. No cause or ideology can ever excuse the targeting of innocent men, women and children. In the face of such loss, the Herron and Bingham families have shown something remarkable: they have refused to allow that evil to define the memory of those whom they loved. They have insisted, rightly, that William, Elizabeth and Noeline be remembered not for how they died but for how they lived, in love and with humanity.

Their legacy is as business people, quiet people, good people and Christians who loved and who were loved deeply. We must never forget the terrible events and must always remember the people behind the headlines.

Fifty years on, we must confront uncomfortable truths, including that, for many families such as the Herrons, there are still unanswered questions and that justice, in its fullest sense, has not been done. Too many families have never seen justice. In this case, there were convictions, but, just four years into the sentences of two of those who were convicted, the royal prerogative of mercy was used without any consultation or explanation. I wrote to the Prime Minister, today, to ask for a re-examination in order to give the family the answers that they never got over those 50 years. Terrorism did not win. The community of Dromore endured because families such as the Herrons endured. Today, we remember three lives that were taken too soon. We honour William, Elizabeth and Noeline Herron. We must ensure that their story is never forgotten.

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

Assessment

Not flagged

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:17 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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