Introduction
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the murder of six men in the Armagh area. These men were brutally shot down by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) determined to inflict fear on the local Republican/Nationalist community. All six murders were carried out between 11 November and 12 December 1982.
Lurgan
On the Evening of 11 November 1982 IRA Volunteers Gervase McKerr, Sean Burns and Eugene Toman were travelling along the Tullygally East Road. Their car was ambushed and riddled with bullets by RUC members who claimed falsely that the unarmed men crashed through a checkpoint. Evidence presented at the trial of the 3 RUC men charged with murdering Eugene Toman pointed to the fact he had been shot in the back whilst exiting the car. Needless to say no British court was going to send its agents to jail and all three were found not guilty.
Derrymacash
On 24 November in the same year two young men Michael Tighe and Martin McCauley were shot at a hayshed which had been under surveillance by the RUC on the Ballynerry Road North just outside Lurgan. Seventeen year old Tighe was killed and McCauley was seriously injured when the RUC opened fire on them. Neither men were involved in any republican organisations, though McCauley was later charged in relation to the incident. An inquiry set up two years later under the direction of John Stalker, Deputy Chief Constable of Greater Manchester found that the ambush was “cold blooded murder”. Despite this finding and recommendations that 'conspiracy to murder' charges should be presented, no prosecutions were ever brought forward.
Armagh City
This was not the end of the killings. On 12 December 1982 two unarmed INLA members Seamus Grew and Roddy Carroll were shot dead in Mullacreevie Park in Armagh city. Both men were unarmed with Roddy Carroll being shot from a distance of six feet. Seamus Grew was shot from a distance of two feet by the same RUC officer. A British court later acquitted the RUC man responsible.
This website has been created in order to remember the tragic events of 1982 and to pay tribute to the murdered men and their families who for years have campaigned for truth and justice. We hope that you find the material informative. If you have any material or memories you wish to share please use the contact button to get in touch.
