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Rapporto sulle bombe a Claudy: collusione per coprire prete cattolico

‘Collusive acts’ failed Claudy victims

The victims of the 1972 Claudy bombings were failed by a cover-up involving senior RUC officers and the government to protect a Catholic priest who was one of the chief suspects, a report from the Police Ombudsman has found.

Padre James ChesneyNine people were killed and 30 were injured in the Co Londonderry village when three car bombs exploded in quick succession on 31 July 1972.

Detectives believed Father Chesney was the IRA’s director of operations in south Derry and was involved in the Claudy attack and other terrorist incidents, but they never questioned him.

On Tuesday, the Police Ombudsman said the RUC’s investigation into the atrocity was compromised by a decision to seek the government’s assistance through talks with senior members of the Catholic Church.

“Police Ombudsman investigators spoke to a former Special Branch detective who said that he had wanted to arrest Father Chesney in the months after the bombing,” the report explains.

“But that this had been refused by the Assistant Chief Constable (ACC) Special Branch, who had advised that ‘matters are in hand.'”

Senior politicians feared the arrest of a priest in connection with the atrocity could destabilise the security situation even further.

The 1972 Claudy bombings occurred six months after Bloody Sunday, on the bloodiest year of the Troubles.

Then secretary of state William Whitelaw and the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Cardinal William Conway met to discuss the scandal after being approached by a senior RUC officer.

Following the meeting, Fr Chesney was transferred in 1973 to a parish in Co Donegal outside the Northern Ireland jurisdiction, where he died in 1980.

Mr Hutchinson’s officers examined diaries belonging to Cardinal Conway which confirmed contact with him and Mr Whitelaw over the cleric and correspondence between the RUC, which was led by chief constable Sir Graham Shillington, and the government.

“In the absence of explanation the actions of the senior RUC officers, in seeking and accepting the Government’s assistance in dealing with the problem of Father Chesney’s alleged wrong doing, was by definition a collusive act,” said Mr Hutchinson.

“The consequence of their acquiescence was that the investigation was further compromised. The decision failed those who were murdered, injured and bereaved in the bombing. The police officers who were working on the investigation were also undermined,” he added.

No-one has ever been charged with the murders, which happened on the same day as British troops stormed republican no-go areas in Derry as part of Operation Motorman.

Mr Whitelaw, a minister in Edward Heath’s Conservative government, died in 1999, Cardinal Conway in 1977 and Sir Graham in 2001.

“The key police decision makers referred to in this Statement are deceased. Had they been alive today their actions would have demanded explanation which would have been the subject of further investigation,” Mr Hutchinson said.

Findings in Mr Hutchinson’s report:

  • Detectives believed Father Chesney was the IRA’s director of operations in south Derry and was a prime suspect in the Claudy attack and other terrorist incidents.
  • A detective’s request to arrest the cleric was refused by an assistant chief constable of RUC Special Branch who instead said “matters are in hand”.
  • The same senior officer wrote to the government about what action could be taken to “render harmless a dangerous priest” and asked if the matter could be raised with the Church’s hierarchy.
  • In December 1972 Mr Whitelaw met Cardinal Conway to discuss the issue. According to a Northern Ireland Office official, “the cardinal said he knew the priest was a very bad man and would see what could be done”. The church leader mentioned “the possibility of transferring him to Donegal…”
  • In response to this memo, RUC chief constable Sir Graham noted: “I would prefer a transfer to Tipperary.”
  • An entry in Cardinal Conway’s diary on December 5 1972 confirmed a meeting with Mr Whitelaw took place and stated there had been “a rather disturbing tete-a-tete at the end about C”.
  • In another diary entry two months later, the cardinal noted that he had discussed the issue with Father Chesney’s superior and that “the superior however had given him orders to stay where he was on sick leave until further notice”.
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René Querin

Di professione grafico e web designer, sono appassionato di trekking e innamorato dell'Irlanda e della sua storia. Insieme ad Andrea Varacalli ho creato e gestisco Les Enfants Terribles.

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