in Belfast.
The heartbreaking battle for justice by Sean Brown’s widow and children is a telling example of why Hibernians must continue to make legacy justice a priority. Sean Brown was not involved in politics. He was devoted to the Bellaghy Wolfe Tone’s Gaelic Athletic Association Club. That was enough to make him a target for a Loyalist murder squad on May 12, 1997, who abducted him at gunpoint as he locked up the Gaelic club grounds, drove him 10 miles to Randalstown, County Antrim, and then brutally murdered him.
The next day the Royal Ulster Constabulary arrived to tell his widow and children that Sean Brown had been shot dead. The murder was claimed by the Loyalist Volunteer Force headed by the notorious Billy Wright. But Brown’s widow Bridie and children knew that there had to have been British state collusion with the killers. That was clear from the beginning in the cold dismissive attitude of the RUC who notified the family of the murder, and quickly ended any pretense of investigation.
Like hundreds of other victims’ relatives, the Brown family began the slow battle to extract truth from the British crown. They brought civil actions against both the British Ministry of Defense and Chief Constable, winning damages and a formal Court apology for the RUC’s inadequate investigation. They got additional information through an Ombudsman Report.
More than 25 years after the murder, an Inquest hearing began. However, the Inquest was terminated by the Coroner, who said that more than 25 British state agents from various areas had been involved in the murder. He complained about the failings of British state agencies to provide documentary evidence, and said that a Public Inquiry was the only way to get the Brown family the truth.
The High Court then ordered British Secretary, Hilary Benn, to begin a Public Inquiry. On New Year’s Eve, Benn appealed the order. Bridie Brown, 87, must face more court battles to find out why her husband was murdered.
We, the AOH, asks one question: Why would the British go to such lengths to hide the truth unless they were guilty? The AOH will continue to support the Brown family and hundreds of other victims’ families in their courageous fight for justice.
Next month the AOH is joining with the GAA and LAOH to sponsor a book tour by Peadar Thompson, the author of Lost Gaels, which details the murders of more than 150 members of the GAA, including Sean Brown, during the conflict.