Tributes have been paid to the former boss of a construction firm that saw eight of its staff murdered in one of the most notorious bombings of the Troubles, following his death.
Cedric Blackbourne, who died on Monday aged 87, was the founder and former managing director of Antrim-based Karl Construction, which employed eight workers killed in the 1992 IRA bombing at Teebane in Co Tyrone.
The construction workers were among 14 Karl employees travelling in a bus returning from Omagh on January 17 1992, where they had been carrying out repair work at Lisanelly army barracks.
As they passed through Teebane crossroads, a 600lb bomb was detonated, tearing through the van and immediately killing seven of the workers and seriously injuring seven others.
One of those injured, the van’s driver Oswald Gilchrist, died in hospital four days later as a result of his injuries.
The Provisional IRA claimed responsibility for the bombing, labelling the victims “collaborators” for their work in repairing Lisanelly barracks.
The attack, which at the time was the deadliest Troubles incident in four years, was condemned as a sectarian atrocity, as all eight victims killed were Protestant.
It preceded the UDA’s Sean Graham bookmakers massacre in Belfast’s Ormeau Road area the following month, in which five Catholics were shot dead by loyalist gunmen.
A statement claiming responsibility following that attack under the Ulster Freedom Fighters cover name, ended with the words “remember Teebane”.
The Teebane massacre brought further heartache to Cedric Blackbourne, as his son Karl had been murdered by the IRA less than six years earlier in Newry.
The 19-year-old was one of three RUC officers killed when gunmen shot at their vehicle in July 1986.
Cedric renamed his company Karl Construction in memory of his eldest son.
Speaking in 2001 as the British army’s presence in the north was being scaled back and bases dismantled, Mr Blackbourne said the Teebane atrocity did not force his company to refuse contract work with security forces.
“We felt duty bound to play our part with the government forces in defeating terrorism,” he said in an interview with the BBC.
“No one ever said that we should stop. After Teebane there were many who encouraged us to continue. At the board meeting after Teebane it was not even brought up. There were dangers there but there were also principles and integrity.”
Mr Blackbourne, who was awarded an OBE, oversaw the erection of a memorial at Teebane to his employees, and laid a wreath at the site each year on the anniversary of the bombing.
Hi son Aran, now managing director of the Karl Group, told The Irish News that Teebane was a “very very difficult time” for his father.
“He cared for and appreciated all those who worked for him over the years, so what happened at Teebane was a devastating blow for him, the family and the company,” he said.
“But he saw it though with dignity and respect for the victims, who he remembered at each anniversary, and whose loved ones he continued to support.”
South Antrim DUP MLA Trevor Clarke paid tribute to Mr Blackbourne for his work at the height of the Troubles.
Mr Clarke’s brother-in-law Nigel McKee (22) was among those murdered at Teebane.
“My thoughts are with the Blackbourne family, who have not only lost their father Cedric, but also sadly lost their mother Frances, who died in August,” he told The Irish News.
“Cedric stepped forward many years ago to help protect our security forces at a time when many others would not. He was a big man, of big stature, and he will be missed by a great many people.”
Mr Blackbourne was also a former president of the German Shepherd Association (GSA) Ireland, and in a social media tribute, a spokesperson described him as a “huge figure, a visionary and pioneer and an integral part of GSA Ireland throughout the decades, at home and abroad, as a breeder, exhibitor, judge, ambassador, historian and friend”.
A service of thanksgiving for his life will be held at St Patrick’s Church, Templepatrick, on Thursday following a private family burial service.