CONFLICT RELATED DEATHS
1995

Date

Name

Age

Sex

Reli-gion

Affili-ation

Alleged Perpe-trator

Location Town / Area

Location County / Country

Details

Category

Arrests / Prosecutions

Sources

02-Mar-95

James (Jim) Seymour

55

M

P

RUC

IRA

Outside Coalisland RUC base

Co Tyrone

RUC man died 22 years after being shot in the head on 4 May 1973 by a gunman who opened fire as Mr Seymour was returning to duty at the RUC station. He remained paralyzed in hospital throughout the 22 year period.[1]

[1] Lost Lives, no. 3522

28-Apr-95

Michael (Mickey) Mooney

34

M

C

Civilian

IRA / DAAD

Belfast city centre

Co Antrim

Shot while at a bar by two unmasked gunman who escaped on foot. Mr Mooney was thought to have been targeted because he was reportedly the leader of one of the largest drug gangs in Northern Ireland.[1] This was the first murder claimed by the IRA using the cover name Direct Action Against Drugs[2].

Drugs-related killing

[2] 13 victims of the Provos’ policing drive, by Maeve Connolly, Irish News, 23 February 2002

05-Sep-95

Anthony (Tony) Kane

29

M

C

Civilian

IRA / DAAD

West Belfast

Co Antrim

A known drug dealer shot while waiting with his wife in his car outside a church after his aunt’s funeral. Mr Kane had reportedly been an acquaintance of Mickey Mooney.[1]

Drugs-related killing

[1] Belfast drugs dealer shot dead after funeral, by Gerry Moriarty, Irish Times, 6 September 1995

28-Sep-95

William (Billy) Elliott

32

M

P

RHC

RHC

Bangor

Co Down

Shot twice in the head at close range, allegedly for his part in the band hall murder of Margaret Wright, a Protestant woman falsely believed to be Catholic, in April 1994. Frankie Curry, a leading figure in the Red Hand Commando, said he killed Billy Elliot.  He was the RHC leader in the Donegal area [1]

Thomas Maginnis (38) was charged with the murders of Mr Elliott, Mark Sweeney, Brian O’Rawe, and William Paul, as well as conspiracy to murder and wound, possession of guns, robbery, theft and arson. He had made admissions during secretly recorded conversations with police about the murders, and confessed to some of the murders on being confronted with the taped admission. In October 2000, this man was freed by Belfast Crown Court Lord Justice McCollum, who ruled that the accused would probably not get a fair trial because of inappropriate tactics used by the police in obtaining a confession.[2]

[2] Murder accused freed despite confession, by Anne McClean, Irish News, 2 October 2000

[3] 'Judges frees man who confessed to four murders' by David Sharrock, The Telegraph, 30 September 2000

07-Nov-95

Edward McCloskey

31

M

C

Civilian

Self-induced

Strathroy Park

North Belfast

Died from carbon monoxide poisoning after committing suicide in his car following a punishment beating from the IRA 3 months earlier.  The coroner confirmed there was no evidence to suggest Mr McCloskey had been involved in drugs [1]

[1] IRA beating led to suicide-inquest in the Irish Times, 7January 1996

27-Nov-95

Norman Harley

45

M

C

Civilian

Loyalists

North Belfast

Co Antrim

Assaulted and killed with an iron bar on his way home to Castleton Gardens. The killing did not involve paramilitary groups, but originally seemed to have sectarian motives.[1] A judge later disputed this claim during the sentencing of two men convicted of murder and manslaughter[2].

In June 1997, Christopher MacMillan (22) was convicted of murder and jailed for life. Mark Bellringer (22) was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to seven years. The judge ruled it was not a sectarian attack, but was probably to get money for alcohol. Mr Bellringer was also sentenced to four years for causing grievous bodily harm to another man on the same evening in the same park.  Bellringer was the first man to be released under the Good Friday Agreement [3]

http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/1998/09/12/ihead.htm

08-Dec-95

Paul 'Saul' Devine

35

M

C

Civilian

IRA / DAAD

South Belfast

Co Antrim

Joe Hendron (SDLP MP) claimed the murder constituted a breach of the IRA ceasefire[3]

Drugs-related killing

[2] Bargaining in blood, by John Davison, Andrew Grice and Ciaran Byrne, Sunday Times, 7 January 1996

[3] http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch95.htm

18-Dec-95

Francis Collins

40

M

C

Former IRA

IRA / DAAD

North Belfast

Co Antrim

Shot by two unmasked gunmen in front of his fish and chip shop, where he and his wife were working. The killing was supposedly drugs-related, but his wife claims that it arose from a personal vendetta by individuals within the republican movement. A detective sergeant said that there was no evidence of drug involvement, and it might have been a case of mistaken identity.[1] Mr Collins had been involved with IRA bombings and shootings in the 1970s[2].

Drugs-related killing?

[2] Lost Lives, no. 3528

19-Dec-95

Christopher ‘Sid’ Johnston

38

M

C

Civilian

IRA / DAAD

South Belfast

Co Antrim

Shot by two gunmen in front of his home in drugs-related circumstances. At the time of his death, Mr Johnson was on bail, after having been charged with possession of £250,000 worth of cannabis.[1] There were conflicting reports on whether the charges had been dropped. DAAD, however, claimed to have committed the murder because Mr Johnson was dealing drugs.[2]

[2] Confusion on status of charges against man shot in Belfast, by Gerry Moriarty and Geraldine Kennedy, Irish Times, 21 December 1995

27-Dec-95

Martin McCrory

30

M

C

Civilian

IRA / DAAD

West Belfast

Co Antrim

Killed by double shotgun blast in the living room of his home while watching television. Traces of ecstasy were found in his bloodstream, consistent with ‘recreational use’, but an RUC Det Inspector told the inquest that his involvement in drug dealing had reportedly ceased a few years before his death.[1] Mr McCrory had previously been the victim of a punishment attack[2]. Three people were questioned by police in east Belfast but then released [3]

Drugs-related killing

[2] Lost Lives, no. 3530

[3] 'Three held over DAAD 'execution' are freed' by Brendan Anderson, Irish News, 06 January 1996