One of the first families to engage with the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) say they are hopeful they can receive answers about the 1972 death of their brother.
Danny Bradley, from Derry, is due to meet with the ICRIR in August to talk about the British army killing of his brother Seamus (19) during Operation Motorman on July 31, 1972.
The Bradley family is believed to be one of the first to speak about their engagement with the commission.
A member of the IRA, the Derry teenager bled to death after he was shot when the British army moved into Derry’s Creggan as part of the operation to dismantle ‘no-go’ areas across Northern Ireland.
The ICRIR was established through the former Tory government’s controversial Legacy Act as a means of dealing with Troubles’ deaths and injuries. The new Labour government has said it will repeal the Legacy Act which was opposed by victims’ groups and all political parties in Northern Ireland as well as the Irish government.
However, on Monday, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said he intended retaining the ICRIR element of the Act as it was compliant with human rights’ law, despite continuing opposition to the commission from some victims’ families.
The commission has refused to say how many victims’ families have engaged with it so far. A spokesman said an update would be provided in September.
The spokesman said: “We are not going to get into a running commentary on the number of people that have approached us as the numbers change on a daily/weekly basis as more people approach the Commission. This is primarily because we respect the privacy and confidentiality of the individuals that have come forward to us, in line with our core values.”
As he prepared to mark the 52nd anniversary of his brother’s death, Mr Bradley said he decided to engage with the ICRIR because he believed the process would supply answers to his family’s questions. His brother was one of two people shot dead by the British army in Derry on the morning of Motorman. Innocent teenager, Daniel Hegarty (15) was also shot and killed. Both deaths were subsequently declared unjustified in inquests.
The IRA murder of nine civilians in Claudy in a three car-bomb attack later the same day was the Provisonals’ response to Motorman.
Mr Bradley said: “My view of things is that if the soldiers who killed Seamus don’t come up with information, they will be prosecuted.
“I want to look them in the eye and ask them questions about Seamus’s death. I want to know what my brother’s last words were and I want to know why there are differences in the official record between the time he was shot and the time his body was brought to the morgue; I want to know why he was interrogated rather than taken straight to hospital,” Mr Bradley said.
