Ireland: Tánaiste to press UK on McAnespie Killing in 1988

There have been calls for a enquiry into a killing three decades ago in Co Tyrone. The incident occurred at a border checkpoint in Co Tyrone at Aughnacloy. These major checkpoints ostensibly manned by the RUC were also staffed by regular British Army troops the one in question, that I passed through myself on foot while hiking in the 1970s, was heavily fortified.

Aidan McAnespie who regularly crossed the border in connection with his work in Co Monaghan was killed when a General Purposes Machine Gun (GPMG) was discharged. At the time the British Army insisted the gun had been fired accidentally and that Mr McAnespie was killed by a ricochet of the ground. However the Army explanation of events has since been proven to be fatuous and more disturbingly a second postmortem revealed that some of Mr Macasapes body parts went missing after the first postmortem. It seems that the missing evidence could have proven he was fired at deliberately.

Mr Macasnape was a member of the GAA and indeed was crossing the border that day to go to the GAA club. Members of the GAA were habitually targeted and Mr McAnespie was no exception but he had absolutely no links with paramilitaries,

The motive for the random killing is unknown but the death bears similarities to the killing of schoolgirl Majella O’Hare who also died after a GPMG was fired at an Army checkpoint. The latter incident led Manx nationalists form the Anti Militarist Alliance (AMA) to campaign against the use of military facilities in Mann to support the British Army operations in the six counties.

There are links below to new items relating to the Macaspie death and also a report on the issue being raised in the Dail by the Louth TD Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin.

Ireland’s Tánaiste Simon Coveney is to raise the issue of the killing and the missing body parts with the British authorities in the North.

Related links:

https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2018/0523/965567-aidan-mcanespie/

https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/2018-05-23/26/#spk_222

Collection of RTE audio clips on the case here;

https://player.fm/series/series-2292874/shooting-of-aidan-mcanespie-crow...

Image: Checkpoint at Aughnacloy circa 1981