AN inquest has found SAS soldiers were ‘unjustified’ in shooting four IRA men in Tyrone in 1992.
Provisional IRA members Kevin Barry O’Donnell, 21, Sean O’Farrell, 23, Peter Clancy, 19, and Daniel Vincent, 20, were shot dead by the soldiers minutes after they had carried out a gun attack on Coalisland RUC station on February 16, 1992.
Today Northern Ireland’s presiding coroner, Justice Michael Humphreys, found that the SAS soldiers did not genuinely believe the use of lethal force was necessary, and that their actions were both “unjustified and unreasonable”.
The special forces officers opened fire as the men arrived at St Patrick’s Church car park in Clonoe in a lorry they had used during the police station attack.
An inquest, which began in 2023, revealed that the soldiers fired up to 570 rounds during the ambush.
Families of the victims of the Clonoe ambush were at the court today as the inquest closed (Pic: Relatives for Justice)It found Mr O’Donnell died as a result of gunshot wounds to the head and chest, Mr Vincent died as a result of gunshot wounds to the head and Mr Clancy and Mr O’Farrell both died as a result of a gunshot wounds to the head and trunk.
Elsewhere in his findings, Justice Humphreys rejected the soldiers’ claims that the IRA members opened fire in the car park, saying they were “demonstrably untrue”.
Responding to the inquest findings, Relatives for Justice released a statement on behalf of the victims’ families.
“Next week marks the 33rd anniversary of the shooting dead of the four young men in Clonoe, County Tyrone,” they said.
“These men were deliberately killed, the rule of law was disregarded, and the British state lied.
“The families have always known that and have suffered 33 years of vilification as they have sought the simple remedy of law.”
They added: “Today Justice Humphries delivered a damning judgment which found that the killings were not justified, unreasonable and unnecessary.
“In an emotional two hours, these extraordinary families were finally vindicated.
“This is a lengthy finding with far-reaching consequences, which the families will take their time to consider with their legal teams and RFJ.
“Today these four families will sit with the overwhelming enormity of what they have accomplished, and the painful reality of facing another anniversary of men whose killings were never justified.”