Coroner set to deliver findings over five people shot dead in 1972

A coroner will deliver his findings later after an inquest into the deaths of three teenagers, a father-of-six and a priest who were shot dead almost 54 years ago.

The five people who died on 9 July 1972 – John Dougal, 16; Patrick Butler, 38; Father Noel Fitzpatrick, 42; David McCafferty, 15; and Margaret Gargan, 13 – were shot in the Springhill estate, west Belfast.

Their families believe they were killed by the Army and said they are seeking the truth. Soldiers at the time said they had been firing at gunmen.

The inquest received its final submissions in April 2024. It examined whether those killed were shot by military gunfire, or by gunfire from republican or loyalist paramilitaries.

An initial request into the five deaths was held in 1973, with the then coroner returning an open verdict.

In 2014, then Attorney General John Larkin directed that new inquests should be held.

At the time, coroner investigations into Troubles-related deaths had to cease on 1 May 2024 under the terms of the government's Legacy Act, so the judge, Mr Justice Scoffield, agreed to fast-track the timetable.

Their deaths at Springhill came during the bloodiest year of the Troubles, with 472 people killed as a result of the violence.

In a joint statement, the families said they "stand together after almost 54 years of grief, loss, and unanswered questions".

"The deaths of our loved ones that occurred at Springhill and Westrock on 9 July 1972 have cast a long shadow over our lives.

"Each of those who died was an individual - deeply loved and still deeply missed. For us, this is not history; it is something we have lived with every day.

"Throughout this inquest, we have listened to extensive and often deeply distressing evidence about the circumstances in which our loved ones were killed.

"We have done so together, supporting one another through a process that has been both painful and long overdue."

Harry Gargan, brother of 13-year-old Margaret Gargan, told the inquest she had been helping to set up a bingo night at the local community centre on the night of the shootings, on 9 July 1972.

He said she had been going back to the family home when she was shot in the head.

"I always think of my mother coming back from the original inquest - she was a bit naive expecting an apology or something," Gargan said after the inquest concluded.

"Her 13-year-old daughter was described as a 20-year-old gunman with a gun in his left hand. It totally destroyed her."

Mary Judge, sister of 16-year-old John Dougal, told the hearing his ambition had been to join the Army, and that as a youngster he had served as an Army cadet.

She said her family's lives had been changed forever following his death.

"We have always missed him and we think about him every day," she added.

"We hope this inquest will give us some truth after five decades. Only then can our parents rest in peace."

Jacqueline Butler, youngest child of father-of-six Patrick Butler, told the inquest her father had gone into the estate to offer help to those wounded after the gunfire broke out.

"That was the day our childhood ended," she told the inquest.

"We experienced grief no child should have to experience."

In a statement, Betty Kennedy, sister of 15-year-old David McCafferty, said her family had been left heartbroken by his death.

Ruth O'Reilly, niece of Fr Noel Fitzpatrick, described her uncle as a "gentle and charismatic person" with a "tremendous open heart".