Mary Travers (murder victim)
Encyclopedia
Mary Travers was a teacher
killed by the IRA
on the 8 April, 1984.
and one of two daughters of Tom Travers, a magistrate
. She, her father, and mother, had just left St Brigid's Catholic Church in Derryvolgie Avenue in south Belfast
when gunmen opened fire on the group. She was deliberately shot in the back and her father was seriously wounded, but her mother escaped injury because the gun that was being pointed at her face jammed twice.
In a long letter published in the Irish Times in 1994, Tom Travers wrote:
.
Joseph Patrick Haughey was later charged in connection with the murder. However, Haughey was acquitted after doubt was cast over Mr Travers' identification of the gunman. Twenty years later it was claimed that he was a long-time double agent for the British secret service (see Freddie Scappaticci
).
, convicted for her part in the murder, was released under the terms of the Belfast Agreement
.
In 2011, she was appointed Ministerial Special Adviser to Sinn Féin
Culture Minister Carál Ní Chuilín
. This move led to outrage that a convicted IRA murderer could hold such a post. Mary Travers' sister, Anne, called on McArdle to resign. In response, McArdle told the Andersonstown News
that the killing was "a tragic mistake." McArdle's statement was rebutted by Mary Travers' sister, Anne, who stated:
Her brother, Paul Travers, who now lives in Australia
, said to the Belfast Telegraph in July 2011:
Travers made an open appeal to Sinn Fein to work with the Historical Enquiries Team
and determine who killed his sister:
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
killed by the IRA
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
on the 8 April, 1984.
Overview
Travers was a twenty-two year old CatholicRoman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
and one of two daughters of Tom Travers, a magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
. She, her father, and mother, had just left St Brigid's Catholic Church in Derryvolgie Avenue in south Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
when gunmen opened fire on the group. She was deliberately shot in the back and her father was seriously wounded, but her mother escaped injury because the gun that was being pointed at her face jammed twice.
In a long letter published in the Irish Times in 1994, Tom Travers wrote:
Aftermath
Retired detective superintendent Alan Simpson wrote in the Belfast Telegraph on the 11 June, 2011 that he believed the shooting of the Travers family was revenge for a successful prosecution in the murder of William McConnellWilliam McConnell
William David Robert McConnell is a former field hockey player, who won the bronze medal with the British squad at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.-References:*...
.
Joseph Patrick Haughey was later charged in connection with the murder. However, Haughey was acquitted after doubt was cast over Mr Travers' identification of the gunman. Twenty years later it was claimed that he was a long-time double agent for the British secret service (see Freddie Scappaticci
Freddie Scappaticci
Freddie Scappaticci was accused in the Irish and British media on 11 May 2003 of being a high-level double agent in the Provisional Irish Republican Army , known by the codename Stakeknife.-Early life:...
).
Apppointment controversy
Mary McArdleMary McArdle
Mary McArdle, Irish republican and former Provisional Irish Republican Army member.McArdle is the Ministerial Special Adviser to to Sinn Féin Culture Minister Carál Ní Chuilín and a former IRA member, convicted of murder in 1984. Her appointment to the position was controversial because of her...
, convicted for her part in the murder, was released under the terms of the Belfast Agreement
Belfast Agreement
The Good Friday Agreement or Belfast Agreement , sometimes called the Stormont Agreement, was a major political development in the Northern Ireland peace process...
.
In 2011, she was appointed Ministerial Special Adviser to Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
Culture Minister Carál Ní Chuilín
Carál Ní Chuilín
Carál Ní Chuilín, MLA is an Irish politician in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She was elected in 2007 to the Northern Ireland Assembly as a Sinn Féin member for North Belfast...
. This move led to outrage that a convicted IRA murderer could hold such a post. Mary Travers' sister, Anne, called on McArdle to resign. In response, McArdle told the Andersonstown News
Andersonstown News
The Belfast Media Group's Andersonstown News is twice-weekly published Belfast, Northern Ireland newspaper, which focuses on news and issues, in west Belfast....
that the killing was "a tragic mistake." McArdle's statement was rebutted by Mary Travers' sister, Anne, who stated:
Her brother, Paul Travers, who now lives in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, said to the Belfast Telegraph in July 2011:
Travers made an open appeal to Sinn Fein to work with the Historical Enquiries Team
Historical Enquiries Team
The Historical Enquiries Team is a unit of the Police Service of Northern Ireland set up in September 2005 to investigate the 3,269 unsolved murders committed during the Troubles ....
and determine who killed his sister:
See also
- Joanne Mathers
- William Doyle (judge)
- William McConnellWilliam McConnellWilliam David Robert McConnell is a former field hockey player, who won the bronze medal with the British squad at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.-References:*...
- Gillian JohnstonGillian JohnstonGillian Johnston, chemist and shop worker, killed by the IRA, 18 March 1988, aged 21.-Overview:Johnston was a twenty-one year old chemist and shop worker from Tonaghgorm, Legg, near Belleek, County Fermanagh. She was engaged for two years, having dated her fiance since she was fifteen...
External links
- http://tunein.com/radio/Mary-Travers-m475365/
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-13625600
- http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/news-analysis/how-evil-revenge-cost-mary-travers-her-life-16010305.html
- http://saoirse32.blogsome.com/2011/06/03/p17164/
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/8432319.stm
- http://www.independent.ie/national-news/sfs-o-snodaigh-forgets-women-butchered-by-ira-486529.html
- http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/magistrate-and-his-daughter-were-gunned-down-at-point-blank-range-13421917.html
- http://www.nuzhound.com/articles/Sunday_People/arts2004/may30_second_agent_named.php
- http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/victims-brother-urges-republicans-embrace-the-need-for-genuine-truth-and-reconciliation-16019655.html