McGuinness refuses to comment on Groogan revelation
Sinn Féin chief negotiator Martin McGuinness said today he didn’t care who was in Magennis's bar the night Robert McCartney was murdered as long as they gave information to the authorities.
Refusing to comment specifically on the revelation that 2003 Sinn Féin Assembly election candidate Cora Groogan was in the bar that night , he said: “I’m not going to talk about any individual. It doesn’t matter who they are.
“I don’t care who was in the bar that night. People have a duty to help the McCartney family achieve the truth and justice that they deserve.”
Ms Groogan insisted she saw nothing inside the bar and confirmed she had given a full statement to her solicitor.
The Sinn Féin member said: “I got to the bar about 10pm that Sunday. I was there for a short while. There was a commotion in the bar but I witnessed nothing and left shortly after 11pm. I have given a full statement to my solicitor.”
The family of Robert McCartney have in recent days expressed concern that while there is a lot of political activity around efforts to bring the killers before the courts, not enough information is coming on the ground to the police investigation.
Police have also confirmed that people arrested and questioned about the murder had exercised the right to silence.
Detective Superintendent George Hamilton, the senior investigating officer, has also voiced concern that some witnesses are still reluctant to come forward because of fear about reprisals in their own community if they help detectives.
Catherine McCartney said today: “We are adamant that people who know what happened should give that information. It is frustrating that there has been a lot of political activity around this issue over the past few weeks and yet very little information is coming from the ground.
“It is frustrating that despite appeals from Sinn Féin and Gerry Adams for people to provide evidence, that is not materialising and the family would urge everyone to help this investigation and give as much detail as possible.”
