John Downey arrested in connection with 1972 murder of two UDR officers

By Gareth Cross - Belfast Telegraph
November 5 2018


A 66-year-old man was arrested in Donegal on Monday on suspicion of the murder of two Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) soldiers in 1972.
The Press Association have confirmed that the man arrested was former IRA man John Downey.
He was also arrested on suspicion of aiding and abetting an explosion.

Lance Corporal Alfred Johnston, a father of 4, and Private James Eames, a father of 3, died when a device exploded in a car they were checking on the Irvinestown Road, Cherrymount, Enniskillen on August 25, 1972.
Downey was arrested under a European Arrest Warrant as part of a joint operation with the Police Service of Northern Ireland. ...

As you will no doubt be aware, August 2019 will be the 50th anniversary of the deployment of the armed forces in Northern Ireland on what was known as Operation Banner. To commemorate this we would like to extend an invitation to all military, police and other crown forces' veterans to attend a service/march to be held at Wallace Park, Lisburn on Saturday, 17th August 2019. This invitation is also extended to veterans' families, in particular those who lost serving members during the conflict. ...

Warning Order

We are pleased to advise that the 2018 service will be on Saturday, 8th September 2018 at the NMA commencing at 11am.

All welcome.

The Association is pleased to announce and welcome our new patron, General Sir Robert Pascoe KCB MBE and Mentioned in Despatches (twice) who has kindly agreed to act as the Association’s figurehead.

General Bob as he prefers to be known as these days was commissioned into the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry in 1952 and served in the Suez Canal Zone, Osnabruck and Cyprus.

He has served with the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Royal Green Jackets and was first mentioned in despatches serving in Borneo in 1966.

The award of the MBE followed in 1968 as a Company Commander 1RGJ in Cyprus. General Rob went onto be Commanding Officer of 1RGJ in BAOR from where he served two tours of Northern Ireland being once again mentioned in despatches in 1974.
...

_{By Vincent Kearney BBC News NI Home Affairs Correspondent}

Tim Francis still clearly recalls the moment a car bomb blew him off his feet and across a street in Londonderry. He walked away unscathed, but that day in 1974 marked the end of his dream of a career in the British army.

"My clear recollection of that time is actually flying through the air and thinking to myself, 'I'm number four', because we'd lost three guys previously," he said. "I think that was the final straw on my Army career.

Tim Francis left his home in Wales to join the Army when he was just 16 as an apprentice surveyor. Three years later, he was sent to Northern Ireland as a member of the Royal Artillery Regiment. During his first tour, he was based in Newtownhamilton in south Armagh. "Initially when we went there we went to shops, we could buy cigarettes, we could buy whatever we needed from local shops," he said. "But gradually that became more of a problem and we were no longer welcome.

"During his four months there, the teenage soldier was in an armoured truck, a Humber Pig, that hit a landmine. "There was a big flash, bang, we were lifted off the ground," he recalled. "We seemed to be in the air for quite a while, but it couldn't have been very long, and then hit the ground with a big bang. Incredibly, none of the soldiers inside were injured.

...

The Ulster Unionist Party's Lord Empey slammed the use of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) as an "obstacle", as he urged ministers to consider the rights of the "people who were blown to smithereens".
The Ulster Unionist Party's Lord Empey slammed the use of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) as an "obstacle", as he urged ministers to consider the rights of the "people who were blown to smithereens". He has tabled proposed legislation designed to allow the Treasury to prevent the release of frozen assets owned by those involved in supplying arms to terrorist organisations until a settlement is reached with their UK victims. ...

Man detained in County Antrim by Legacy Investigation Branch officers
66-year-old being interviewed by detectives at a police station in Belfast
Fourteen people died when British soldiers shot 26 unarmed civilians
First arrest since police launched murder investigation into events in 2012

A former British soldier has been arrested by detectives investigating the Bloody Sunday shootings in Londonderry in 1972.
The 66-year-old man was detained in County Antrim by detectives from Northern Ireland's Legacy Investigation Branch.
He is currently being interviewed by detectives at a police station in Belfast.
...

Two men, including an on-duty police officer, have died in a shooting in the Republic of Ireland.


Police said they were responding to a report of a dispute at a house at Mullach Alainn near Omeath in County Louth at about 18:00 local time on Sunday when the incident occurred.

A woman was also seriously injured in the shooting.

The police officer who died was Anthony Golden, 36, a father of three.
BBC NI's Dublin Correspondent Shane Harrison said the gunman had been named locally as 24-year-old Adrian Crevan Mackin.
He was facing charges of membership of a dissident republican organisation and was out on bail.
Commissioner Noirín O'Sullivan, the head of the Irish police force, said the incident was a "terrible tragedy".
...

Petrol bombs, stones and bottles have been thrown at police after they prevented an anti-internment parade from entering Belfast city centre.

The march was stopped by police at Oldpark Road in the north of the city after it breached a determination by a parades ruling body over its timing.
Organisers had asked supporters to leave peacefully when the parade ended.
But police were forced to deploy water cannon about an hour later when a crowd threw missiles at them.

Petrol bombs were thrown during trouble in the area where police stopped the parade
The march was organised by the Anti-Internment League to mark the introduction of detention without trial during the height of the Troubles.

The Parades Commission ruled the republican parade was to have passed Millfield junction by 13:30 BST, but it breached the ruling and did not start until about 14:00.
The march was stopped by police, who said their intention in blocking the parade was to "uphold the Parades Commission's determination".
During a short rally at the police line, a speaker told participants the parade had ended and asked those taking part to leave peacefully.
...

The sister of a man who died after being shot in the leg by the IRA has called on Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams to make a public apology. Andrew Kearney, 33, from west Belfast, bled to death after he was shot three times in 1998. In a RTÉ programme, his sister Eleanor King said she met Mr Adams. ...