Loughinisland: Ombudsman Finds There Was Collusion Between Police And Loyalist Killers

Loughinisland (Irish: Loch an Oileáin) is a small village in County Down in the north of Ireland. It was the location on 18 June 1994 where members of a loyalist terrorist group (Ulster Volunteer Force UVF) burst into the Heights Bar and opened fire with assault rifles. They murdered six people and wounded five others. The pub was targeted because it was frequented mainly by Catholics, and was crowded with people watching the Republic of Ireland team playing Italy in the 1994 FIFA World Cup being held in the USA. Those murdered were Adrian Rogan, 34; Malcolm Jenkinson, 53; Daniel McCreanor, 59; Patrick O'Hare, 35; Eamon Byrne, 39; and Barney Greene aged 87.

Now a report by the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman has confirmed that there was collusion between police officers and the loyalist gunmen in the Loughinisland massacre. Over the years there have been frequent reports of acts of collusion between the British state and loyalist death squads, particularly when the conflict in Northern Ireland was at its height from 1969 to 1994 . Families of those murdered have been demanding inquiries into collusion for many years. When this report on Loughinisland was published John Major, British Prime Minister at the time of the massacre, was elsewhere in Northern Ireland delivering a pro-European Union speech. There have been demands that he apologise for the collusion that took place when he was in office.