Kelly family deserves justice

The murder of Private Patrick Kelly and Garda Gary Sheehan by the IRA was one of the many shocking and disgraceful atrocities which occurred during the period known as The Troubles. A Moate resident, Pte Kelly was 36 years of age when he was fatally shot during the rescue of kidnapped supermarket boss Don Tidey in Derrada Woods, Ballinamore, Leitrim, in December 1983. He was the first Irish soldier to be killed in the Republic since the civil war. Gary Sheehan, a trainee Garda, was also killed during a shoot-out with the IRA's kidnap gang. The killings prompted a massive outpouring of grief and sympathy for the victims and their families. Nearly 28 years have passed since then, and many significant changes have occurred in Ireland. However this week's confrontation between Moate man David Kelly - a son of the late Pte Kelly - and Martin McGuinness served as a reminder that the pain felt by families who had loved ones taken from them too soon is still as real as ever. David Kelly was a boy aged just nine when his father was shot dead. David's three brothers were even younger. In an interview with this newspaper in 2008, David talked about how he felt after the killing. "It's a feeling of emptiness, that's how I'd describe it," he said. "Obviously you miss him terribly." The Kelly family had to cope not only with the loss of a husband and father, but also with the lack of closure that resulted from the fact that nobody was ever brought to justice for this murder. Today there remains an onus on anybody with any knowledge of the individuals responsible for the deaths in Derrada Woods to come forward and report the information to the authorities. David Kelly has demanded justice. After all he and his family have been through, that is the least they deserve.