SEFF remember John Donnelly, 44, RC teacher, murdered by UDA on 17/3/76.
He was stabbed 16 times & his body found in an entry at the back of the Cregagh Inn in the Woodstock Rd area.
The man convicted told police: "all right, I done it. I knifed him a few times when I was ..
told he was a Catholic and would have to be done in".
The judge said: "Mr Donnelly was an innocent & lonely schoolteacher. The only offence Mr Donnelly committed was that he was a Catholic living in Divis Flats & drinking in an E Belfast bar".
The court heard that he was ..
..pointed out to loyalists by a member of staff on St. Patrick's night.
After looking at his driving licence they said he was a "Taig or a Fenian". John was from the Divis Flats area of Belfast.
This was a murder motivated by solely sectarian hatred, John was an educator ..
..of young people and was contributing to Society.
Our thoughts and prayers are with all innocents impacted by John's brutal murder.
Unfortunately we do not have an image of John to be able to post.
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SEFF remembers Jillian Johnston, 21, engaged, murdered on the family farm between Belleek & Kesh 32 yrs ago, 18/3/88 when PIRA cruelly took away her life.
Her Mother Annie painfully recalls, "I was on my own at the time - my husband had gone out to visit neighbours - & I heard..
..awful automatic gunfire. I was terrified. I rang my sister in law who lived not far from us & she came up. Just as she came up I heard Jillian’s fiancé calling out - lamenting. I ran out & the minute I saw her I knew Jillian was dead. I lifted up her head & it fell down again..
..I will never forget that night".
The pm revealed there were 27 bullets in Jillian's body. The attack on a defenceless female was amongst the most wicked crimes perpetrated by PIRA over the terrorist campaign.
Jillian was the 2nd youngest of a family of 6. She was engaged to..
SEFF remembers Francis Taggart, 17, youngest of 4, RC storeman, from Beechland Dr in Lisburn who had been playing snooker with his friends & taking a short cut home at 3:00am on 18/3/91, when he was attacked & stabbed by loyalists behind the town's leisure centre.
While a gp..
..of men carried out the murder, a grp of girls had been watching the path. Francis was stabbed 62 times in head, neck & trunk.
Reliable loyalist sources said the UVF was responsible. Rhonda Paisley, then Belfast DUP councillor said "the attack was a vile & horrible waste of..
..a young life. There are those who know who & where the killers are & in not revealing their whereabouts, they are, in fact, permitting them to kill again".
A 23-yr-old from Lisburn was later sentenced to life. He said that he & a others followed Francis from the town. He ...
Wishing all across The SEFF Family & beyond a very HAPPY ST PATRICK'S DAY!
St Patrick doesn't belong to any one section of the community. He belongs to us. His legacy is not Green beer, nor is he the preserve of those who present a narrow & exclusivist view of 'Irishness.'
St ..
..Patrick predated religious denominational divisions & brought Christianity to wider areas & communities in Ireland. This is his true legacy.
He was born in Britain - not Ireland - to wealthy parents near the end of the 4th century. His father was a Christian deacon, but it's..
..suggested he took on the role because of tax incentives. There's no evidence that he came from a particularly religious family.
At 16, he was taken prisoner by a group of Irish raiders who were attacking his family’s estate. They transported him to Ireland where he spent 6 ..
SEFF remembers UDR Pte John Hardy, 48, previously in TA, married with 2 sons, ambushed 33 yrs ago, 14/3/89 by 2 PIRA gunmen at close range as he drove his lorry into a loading bay at an abattoir in Granville, dying a short time later in hospital.
John was popular & active ...
..member of the local community. His murder was met with revulsion by many.
John married Anne in '68 & set up home at Brooke St, Dungannon, where they spent all their married life. Their sons Gary & Stephen, remember John as a loving devoted husband & father.
John drove a ..
..lorry for Gland Supplies.
Outside work, John was a keen & very able DIY enthusiast who was constantly making improvements & repairs to the family home. Although he was an avid fan of Spurs, John’s first love was watching motorcycle racing; he rarely missed a race, either on..
SEFF remembers Robert Skillen, 19, RC apprentice turner from Abercorn St N in the Falls area, murdered by UDA - fatally injured in a corner shop at N Queen St on 22/2/75, dying on 13/3.
The inquest was told that Robert's killing seemed to be random. A woman working in the ...
..shop said: "Robert was a friend of mine & I was just in the shop to buy something. I saw a man come in with a gun & heard a bang. Robert came round the counter & fell on the ground, grabbing at my arm. I have no idea why he was shot".
Robert's father "I can throw no light ..
..on this killing at all. My son had not been threatened as far as I know & he was definitely not connected with any organisation".
The coroner described Robert's killing as a "particularly insane & cold-blooded murder".
A man was jailed for life for Robert's murder & that ...
Unity in Remembrance
On Fri night a Service of Christian unity was held in St Columb's Cathedral, L'derry where SEFF facilitated bringing together victims from across the community who've been impacted by violence 50 yrs ago in what's considered the worst year of 'The Troubles..
..(death toll) - 1972.
We face into 30 yrs of 50th Anniversaries of events & we felt it important to recognise it.
In the Cathedral were innocents impacted by both republican & loyalist terror from across these islands. Others opted out & that is deeply regrettable.
Hopefully..
..a time may come when they will be willing to engage in wider communal remembrance, understanding the need to express solidarity with the loss & injustice experienced by their own neighbours.
1972 was a truly brutal year with almost 500 deaths with over 4,000 injured. Many ...