Johnny McGibbon
Ógra Shinn Féin
An Lorgain
On November 11th 1982 Volunteers Eugene Toman, Gervase McKerr and Sean Burns were ambushed by the RUC in Lurgan, Co. Armagh . As they travelled in their Ford Escort they were attacked by the RUC and killed.
It was claimed that they refused to stop at an RUC checkpoint and, after they drove through it, they were fired upon. The RUC also claimed that fire was returned by the Volunteers. When the car finally came to a stop, RUC officers claimed they heard a gun being cocked, as they approached the car, and they opened up again. All three men were killed. Vol. Eugene Toman’s body was found outside the vehicle with the bullet wounds in his back. They were all unarmed.
The reality of what happened was that these men were victims of an RUC ambush. 109 bullets were put into the car and no fire returned. It was blatantly a ‘Shoot to Kill’ operation. Furthermore, the RUC executors were not just ordinary RUC members, it later developed that they were in fact members of the British Army trained Special Support Unit and that they had the three Volunteers under surveillance. At the court proceedings which followed, Lord Justice Gibson stated the men who were charged with the killings were "absolutely blameless". British justice for killing unarmed men.
Around two weeks later, on November 24th, another man was killed by the RUC, just outside Lurgan at a hayshed on the Ballinary North Road . This young man of 17, called Michael Tighe, was attacked alongside his good friend Martin McCauley, who survived the attack. They had been looking after a local woman’s animals while she was away. The RUC claimed they opened fire on two men they seen carrying rifles into the hayshed. They also claimed that it was a routine mobile patrol which spotted the men.
What later developed showed a different story. It later became clear that in fact, the hayshed had been under surveillance and that there was a tape recording of events at the hayshed. But, as John Stalker later discovered during his Inquiry, the tape had conveniently gone missing.
Just another few short weeks later, two other men also met the same fate, Seamus Grew and Roddey Carroll from Armagh City . Both men were unarmed and were executed by RUC personnel.
The legacy of ‘Shoot to Kill’ stretches right across the British campaign in the north and beyond. These incidents in North Armagh were followed by incidents like Loughgall, Gibrlaltar, the murder of Patrick Shanaghan and the murder of Pearse Jordan; to name only a few. They spanned over a long period of years. It is impossible to claim these were all isolated incidents; hardly one-offs. What they really were, was part of the British Government’s ‘Shoot to Kill’ policy.
The memory of ‘Shoot to Kill’ is still evident in North Armagh . This year marks the 25th Anniversary of the murders of Michael Tighe, and also Volunteers Eugene Toman, Sean Burns and Gervase McKerr. A 25th Anniversary Committee has been formed and plans are now well underway organising commemorative events, to take place around the anniversary and in the build up.
The work of the Committee to date has been met with a level of enthusiasm that I didn’t expect. Whilst I knew the response would be great, I didn’t realise quite how great. The sponsored walk and the function were met with interest from young and old alike; and there is constant interest in the website and any upcoming events. People are stopping you on the street and asking you about the plans for the anniversary, there is a real buzz in the community for the events.
I think this is the most fitting tribute to those who lost their lives. The fact that the community still remembers 25years on, speaks volumes about men like Volunteers Eugene Toman, Gervase McKerr and Sean Burns. Young people, including myself, who weren’t even born at the time, are out in their droves to commemorate these men. They recognise the sacrifice these men made for future generations.
Their spirit is certainly still alive in Lurgan and so is the spirit of Republican youth!
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