Judge gives date for collusion hearing

Judge gives date for collusion hearing

3 July 2024

SURVIVORS of a loyalist gun attack on a Kilcoo pub more than three decades ago have secured a date for their High Court action over alleged security force collusion with the killers.

A judge confirmed last week their claim for damages in connection with the shootings at the Thierafurth Inn in the village will be heard in March next year.

In November 1992, a UVF gang opened fire during a darts tournament in the pub, killing 42-year-old customer Peter McCormack and seriously wounding three others.

The High Court case involves information about suspected collusion between members of the security forces and the loyalist unit operating in the South Down area at that time.

It followed the publication in 2016 of a Police Ombudsman report into the Loughinisland massacre when UVF gunmen murdered six innocent Catholic men watching a World Cup football match in June 1994.

A film on the Loughinisland killings which premiered in 2017, No Stone Unturned, named suspects in the attack.

One of those referred to in the documentary as Person A was allegedly linked to the Thierafurth Inn shootings.

Damages are being sought by some of those who were at the pub for alleged misfeasance in public office by the state authorities.

Solicitor Gavin Booth of Phoenix Law, who represents the group suing the police and Ministry of Defence, said they were looking forward to their day in court.

He added: “For years, the Thierafurth Inn survivors have campaigned for justice following the serious allegations of collusion which came to light in the Police Ombudsman's report.

“Those findings are a central plank in our clients' cases.”