Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

“All entirely innocent of any wrongdoing” - these were the words of the coroner last Tuesday confirming what so many had known for 50 years, that the ten people shot dead in Ballymurphy, west Belfast, by the parachute regiment in 1971 were all innocent civilians, all victims of British state murder, all ordinary people living their lives, all people with hopes and dreams for the future, all taken away from their families, friends and communities in the cruellest of ways.

This massacre occurred against the backdrop of the introduction of internment without trial, against the backdrop of sectarian pogroms waged against nationalists, as the British and Orange states violently lashed back against the just demand for civil rights. It was against this backdrop that the parachute regiment entered Ballymurphy, or the Murph, as it is called, and murdered Francis Quinn, Fr. Hugh Mullan, Noel Phillips, Joan Connolly, Danny Teggart, Joseph Murphy, Edward Doherty, John Laverty, Joseph Corr and John James McKerr.

Joan Connolly was shot as she ran to the aid of Noel Connolly. Fr. Mullan, the parish priest, was shot while waving a white cloth as he ran to help another victim.

Some of those who were killed were shot in the back. Some were shot as they crawled or crouched for safety. Pat McCarthy, the 11th victim not covered by the inquest, died of a heart attack, not after an altercation but after a para put an empty gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. These killings were not accidents. They were the outworking of premeditated British policy, proven by the fact that the very same regiment would shoot dead another 14 innocent civilians on the streets of Derry less than a year later.

In the aftermath of the Ballymurphy massacre, the soldiers congratulated each other in full belief that their Government would protect them, cover up for them. They patted each other on the back for a job well done, such was the contempt they felt for the lives they had taken. For decades, the black propaganda from British authorities was that those shot in Ballymurphy were armed and posed a threat, a narrative propped up by the lack of any meaningful investigation into the killings. They were not armed. They posed no threat. These have been exposed for the shameful lies that they were, exposed as a cover-up of the horrors the parachute regiment inflicted on the people of Ballymurphy.

Now the dark clouds of lies have been parted and the truth has been set free. We would have never got here if it was not for the families. Everything they went through was summed up in the words of Alice Harper whose father Danny Teggart was shot 14 times during the massacre. She said:

We’ve waited a long time, 50 years is a long time to wait. We always knew they were innocent, but now it has been proven, and for what our family has been through, not just our family but all the families, I’m overwhelmed today. It’s just a relief now that we can shout from the rooftops that our Daddy was innocent.

Her brother John said:

We have corrected history today. The inquest confirmed that the soldiers who came to the area supposedly to protect us ... turned their guns on us.

On Thursday, I was with the families in Ballymurphy. It is a meeting I will remember for the rest of my life. It was humbling to be with them and to hear how they felt following the verdict. I have always been and remain in awe of their courage, resilience and above all else, perhaps, their stamina. I am in awe of their humanity. It is hard to fathom what it must have been like for these families to wake up every morning since 1971 and to feel the immense loss and injustice, to see the empty chair, to think about the beautiful lives ripped away from them and then to face the torrent of lies about their loved ones and still be able to carry on. Mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters, against overwhelming odds and for 50 years, found in themselves an inspirational reservoir of strength to keep going. Some have grown up looking for the truth, some have grown old and some have died, heartbroken, without it, but they refused to allow the propaganda to stand. They refused to allow their loved ones to be forgotten and with unwavering determination they cut through the lies of the British state. They gave it everything they had and they prevailed.

The result of the inquest is bitter sweet for the families. The botched apology offered to them by Boris Johnson has caused hurt and anger. The apology was silent on the massacre. It did not mention the paras. As Mary Kate Quinn, the niece John Laverty, described it, it was the apology of a government "more concerned about laying the groundwork for amnesty legislation." Ms Quinn was referring to the confirmation of the British Government that it will now attempt to block the families from getting justice. This it will do in open defiance of the Stormont House Agreement, an international agreement signed with the Irish Government on dealing with the legacy of the past. On the very same day as the Ballymurphy families saw their loved ones declared innocent, on the day the door to the truth was finally opened, the door to justice was slammed in their faces.

The Stormont House Agreement is about facilitating the pursuit of truth and justice in a balanced, transparent, inclusive and fair manner. It is wholly unacceptable that the British Government is set to walk away from these obligations and instead put in place rogue legislation that is unashamedly designed avoid accountability. It seems that those paras who patted each other on the back in 1971 were right after all: their government, their system, will do absolutely everything it can to protect them. This is wholly about stopping the Ballymurphy families and so many other families across the board from having justice for their loved ones.

When I spoke to the Ballymurphy families last week they made it clear that amnesties must be off the table, and they are absolutely right. Those involved in British state murder of innocent civilians must be held to account. Boris Johnson and the British Government must face up to that. Britain can no longer continue hiding its dirty war in Ireland. Proceeding with an amnesty at the expense of pursuing accountability will have profound and fundamental implications for confidence in the rule of law and for the administration of justice. Making agreements is important in our peace process but keeping agreements is even more so. The British Government cannot be allowed to tear up Stormont House and wash its hands of the families right to justice. It is wrong, disrespectful, deeply hurtful and it is not on.

In February, members of this Dáil stood as one in calling for the British Government to honour its commitment to introduce legislation to implement the Stormont House Agreement to protect the right to truth and justice. The cynical behaviour on the part of Mr. Johnson and his Government must be forcefully challenged by our Government in Dublin. Dublin must now stand four-square behind the Ballymurphy families and all of those waiting decades for the truth about what happened to their loved ones. The message must go clearly from this Chamber that this will not stand, because the Ballymurphy families are very clear that their journey is not over, far from it. They are intent on justice. They are taking this stand not just for their own families or for their own community of the Murph, they are taking this stand for everyone. After 50 years fighting for the truth to be set free, after 50 years seeking vindication for their loved ones, after 50 years of an inspirational struggle, it is the very least they deserve.

The Ballymurphy families never gave up. The Ballymurphy families gave in and now they must have justice. It is the job of the Irish Government to ensure that Boris Johnson and his Tory Government cannot deny them that.

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