Alleged IRA bomber and 'on-the-run' paramilitary John Downey given date to appeal proposed extradition

A Donegal man who received a so-called “comfort letter” in relation to the 1982 London Hyde Park bombing, has been given a date to appeal his proposed extradition for the 1972 Enniskillen bombing.

Northern Irish authorities are seeking to extradite John Downey (67) to face prosecution for the murder of two British Army Infantrymen as well as aiding and abetting the causing of an explosion on August 25, 1972. Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) soldiers Lance Corporal Alfred Johnston and Private James Eames were killed when a device exploded in a vehicle they were checking on the Irvinestown Road, Cherrymount, in Enniskillen.