McCartney sisters battle on after US success

The family of murdered Belfast man Robert McCartney will leave Washington this weekend confident their story has been heard but more determined than ever to ensure his death brings change in Northern Ireland.

The five McCartney sisters were trailed across the US capital from meeting to meeting, interview to interview, as they took their campaign for justice from the streets of Belfast to the US president.

Every time they dared to nip outside for a cigarette or grab a coffee in the hotel lobby they faced a wall of cameras and a barrage of questions.

They admit at times they felt utterly overwhelmed but their combined ability to maintain a dignified and accessible persona proved effective.

“We came here to see if anyone would listen to us and ultimately what we have found is that there is no one left to tell,” said Paula McCartney.

But while the sisters have ensured the world now knows their story, their goal remains the same and in practical terms they concede nothing has changed.

“Until we get the people who murdered Robert into a courtroom and inevitably into a cell I can’t feel anything,” Paula added.

“I don’t feel we’ve achieved what we wanted to achieve. We have been heard but of course that’s not enough.”

She said she wished Secretary of State Paul Murphy had insisted that the peace process talks could not resume until her brother’s murder had been solved.

The McCartney family is resolute, as are many influential American politicians, that this is crunch time for Sinn Féin and time for action, not words.

The sisters are convinced that the majority of witnesses to their brother’s murder are Sinn Féin and IRA members and that the only way forward is for them to step up and lead by example.

It “beggars belief” they claim, that no one has given a statement to the police ombudsman since the January 30 killing.

“There is no other way out of this, they simply have to,” Paula said. “What else is going to happen, is this going to turn into a Pat Finucane 15-year trail?

“If Gerry Adams doesn’t use his position to do this, it’s not just Sinn Féin, it’s Ireland that will suffer. People will know that if you belong to an illegal organisation you can get away with murder.”

The sisters have had a crash course in politics over the last six weeks and have learnt fast.

They acknowledge that while their trip to Washington may prove the climax of their campaign, it is certainly not the end.

Various rallies have been planned in Belfast, including one outside Magennis’s pub where Mr McCartney was attacked.

They have been asked to address the European Parliament and will be meeting again with the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and US envoy Mitchell Reiss back on Irish soil.

“What has most encouraged us is the fact that President Bush agrees that the resolution of this issue is more than a matter for the McCartney family, he believes it could advance peace for Ireland,” Paula said.

And amid endless questions about political motivation, manipulation, cover-ups and paramilitary activity, it is that thought which keeps the family going.

“When you go to bed every night with the image of those five men surrounding our Robert and a knife going into him and him falling to his knees and you wake up with that again in the morning, that gets you through the day,” Paula said.