Calls for public inquiry into murder of SF councillor

SINN FÉIN president Gerry Adams has branded successive governments “a disgrace” for failing to launch a public inquiry into the murder of an elected representative 14 years ago.

Eddie Fullerton, a Sinn Féin councillor in Donegal, was shot dead in his home in Buncrana by loyalists in 1991, but no one was ever prosecuted for the killing.

Yesterday, members of the Fullerton family joined Mr Adams and other Sinn Féin representatives in a protest outside the Dáil, where they called for the Government to launch a public inquiry into the councillor’s murder.

“It is a disgrace that for 14 years now the Government have failed to treat the murder of an elected representative with the seriousness that it deserves,” Mr Adams said.

“They have failed to support the family in its search for the truth.”

Sinn Féin believes gardaí have questions to answer about the manner in which the original investigation was carried out.

“There was no proper examination of the scene, crucial forensic evidence was never examined and key witnesses were not interviewed,” Mr Adams said.

“It has been known for some time now that three gardaí, roundly discredited by the Morris Tribunal in recent weeks, were centrally involved in the flawed investigation into Eddie Fullerton’s murder,” he added.

Mr Adams said he had written to the Taoiseach in 2002, asking for the terms of reference of the tribunal to be extended to include Mr Fullerton’s murder, but the Government turned down the request.

However, Justice Minister Michael McDowell recently informed the Dáil that a comprehensive review of the case is being carried out by the gardaí.

The minister said he would contact the Fullerton family’s solicitors “with a full response to their concerns” as soon as the review is complete.

Meanwhile, Mr Adams predicted that Democratic Unionist Party leader Ian Paisley would not walk away from power-sharing with Sinn Féin.