Families welcome report into UN soldiers’ deaths

THE families of three murdered soldiers have welcomed the prompt delivery of a independent report into the circumstances which led to their deaths 22 years ago.

The findings will now be reviewed by Defence Minister Alan Shatter and will have to assess whether the Army covered up how the men died while on peacekeeping duties in the Lebanon.

Frank Callanan, senior counsel, completed his new investigation into the deaths of Corporal Fintan Heneghan, Private Tomás Walsh and Private Mannix Armstrong and presented his report to the Department of Defence yesterday.

It will now be emailed to Mr Shatter, as he is out of the country, and he will decide when and how it can be published.

The report examined the conflicting versions on the events of March 21, 1989, and fresh evidence that undermined the army’s claim that it was not negligent in assessing the threat the men were under when they drove over a mine planted by terrorists.

Cpl Heneghan’s brother, Enda Heneghan, said the families now faced an anxious wait to see if the finding of Mr Callanan’s review vindicated their long-held suspicions.

“I hope it doesn’t sit on the fence and, to be honest, I cannot see that happening because there are so many issues in this that are either black or white. It was either one way or the other,” he said.

The review looked at whether the men were sent on a road that had been ruled out-of-bounds for safety reasons, whether the track where they died should have been swept for mines and if they were killed inside hostile territory controlled by Israeli forces.

Up until last March, the Department was determined to fight a 21-year long compensation claim lodged in the High Court by the widow of Pte Armstrong.

However, this case collapsed at the last minute after new evidence emerged to undermine the state’s case. Mr Heneghan said this had led to hopes their fight would be vindicated.

“The initial big relief was that the investigation was granted which came a huge surprise.

“The next thing will be if it comes out and is damning and finds in favour of what we said then it have to be taken further,” he said.

Since Mr Shatter announced the fresh inquiry, a number of new pieces of evidence has come to light as a result of the Irish Examiner’s investigations.

Mr Callanan interviewed a number of witnesses, put forward by the families, who had not been approached in three previous army investigations.

Mr Heneghan was told Minister Shatter would meet the families and discuss Mr Callanan’s work prior to its publication.