Paul Quinn ( – 20 October 2007) was a young man from
County Armagh
County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of an ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
, who was murdered in 2007. His family subsequently accused the
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reu ...
(IRA) of his murder, though no one has ever been convicted in relation to his death.
Attack, torture and murder in Tullycoora
On 20 October 2007, Paul Quinn (21), a native of
Cullyhanna
Cullyhanna () is a small village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The village extends further over the townlands of Tullynavall and Freeduff. It had a population of 306 in the 2001 Census. It is within the Newry and Mourne Distri ...
,
County Armagh
County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of an ...
, was lured to a farm at Tullycoora, near
Oram
Oram is an Old Norse surname particularly found in the North of England. Notable people with this surname are:
* Albert Oram, Baron Oram (1913–1999), British politician; MP from East Ham South
* Andrew Oram (b. 1975), English cricketer
* Chand ...
in
County Monaghan
County Monaghan ( ; ga, Contae Mhuineacháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County C ...
, where three of his friends were held hostage. When he arrived at the farm, a group of some ten or more men beat him with iron and nail-studded bars for upwards of half an hour, breaking every major bone in his body.
He was taken at around 18:00 to
Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital,
Drogheda, where he died two hours later.
Accusations of Quinn family
Quinn's parents, Breege and Stephen, have said that members of the
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reu ...
's
South Armagh Brigade were responsible. Their son had had "run-ins with the Cullyhanna ASU on a number of occasions", and had "floored" the son of one of the
active service unit
An active service unit (ASU; ) was a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) cell of four to ten members, tasked with carrying out armed attacks. In 2002, the IRA had about 1,000 active members of which about 300 were in active service units.
T ...
(ASU) leaders in a pub row. Following the incident, the mother of the young man appeared at Quinn's family home with a hammer in her hand and told the family their son would have to leave Ireland.
Quinn's murder is believed to have arisen as a result of a dispute between Quinn and the local IRA.
IMC report
In November 2007, the
Independent Monitoring Commission
The Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) was an organisation founded on 7 January 2004, by an agreement between the British and Irish governments, signed in Dublin on 25 November 2003. The IMC concluded its operations on 31 March 2011.
Remit ...
's John Grieve, stated that, "We do believe that those involved ... included people who are members or former members, or have associations with members or former members, of the Provisional IRA." However, the report also found that there was no evidence that the organisation's leadership orchestrated or had any knowledge of the killing.
Further reports
An ''
Irish Independent'' report of September 2007 stated:
In October 2011, his parents were featured in an
RTÉ news report, stating they still believe people living locally "know all about" the murder and have called on them to go to the
Garda Síochána or the
Police Service of Northern Ireland
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ga, Seirbhís Póilíneachta Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster-Scots: ')
is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it was reform ...
(PSNI) to "get it off their chest".
In a statement made October 2021 following ongoing inquiries in South Armagh, a Garda spokesperson said that officers were still working with PSNI officers in a bid to solve the murder. Describing the investigation and solving the murder as “utmost priority”, Gardaí made a public appeal urging those with information to come forward, “no matter how small or insignificant” it might seem.
Reactions
Seán Cardinal Brady,
Archbishop of Armagh, spoke out against the murder and appealed for the arrest of those involved.
In November 2007, the
Ulster Unionist Party
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule m ...
peer,
Lord Laird of Artigarvan, invoked
parliamentary privilege in the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
to name the alleged killers, stating that the killing arose from a dispute between Quinn and the son of a man who he described as "a local IRA chief". He also raised at Westminster allegations by the Quinn family and other locals that one of the men used as 'bait' in the Quinn death is under threat from the South Armagh Provisionals.
Both
Gerry Adams
Gerard Adams ( ga, Gearóid Mac Ádhaimh; born 6 October 1948) is an Irish republican politician who was the president of Sinn Féin between 13 November 1983 and 10 February 2018, and served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Louth from 2011 to 2020. ...
and
Martin McGuinness
James Martin Pacelli McGuinness ( ga, Séamus Máirtín Pacelli Mag Aonghusa; 23 May 1950 – 21 March 2017) was an Irish republican politician and statesman from Sinn Féin and a leader within the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) during ...
condemned the murder.
[
]
Controversial comments
In November 2007 Bertie Ahern remarked in the Dáil that based on reports from the Gárdaí and PSNI that "this action was due to criminality". The following month Ahern backtracked, saying he "did not in any way intend to make an issue out of the character of Paul Quinn and I am happy to make that clear to the House".[ He added that the only criminals involved were those who had killed Paul Quinn.][
Shortly after Paul Quinns death, Conor Murphy said in an interview with '']Spotlight
Spotlight or spot light may refer to:
Lighting
* Spot lights, automotive auxiliary lamps
* Spotlight (theatre lighting)
* Spotlight, a searchlight
* Stage lighting instrument, stage lighting instruments, of several types
Art, entertainment, an ...
'' that "Paul Quinn was involved with smuggling and criminality and I think that everyone accepts that."[
During the 2020 Irish general election Conor Murphys' comments were an issue.
]Mary Lou McDonald
Mary Louise McDonald (born 1 May 1969) is an Irish politician who has served as Leader of the Opposition in Ireland since June 2020 and President of Sinn Féin since February 2018. She has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Central const ...
said on 3 February 2020 that she would ask Conor Murphy to talk to Pauls' mother Breege. She also said that she did not believe that it had been said that Paul Quinn was a criminal, but that the best thing was for Conor Murphy to speak to Paul’s mother.[ Breege Quinn said that her son was definitely not involved in criminality and called on Conor Murphy to withdraw his remarks and make a public apology to the Quinn family.][ On 6 February 2020 Conor Murphy spoke to RTÉ and said that he had withdrawn the remarks he had made in 2007 and apologised to the Quinn family.] Breege Quinn repeated her call for him to resign as Minister for Finance at Stormont.[ She said he "should finish off and get justice" for the Quinn family.][ She said he should "go and tell the PSNI and the Gardaí exactly who he was speaking to" in the IRA after the murder.][ She said she would not meet Conor Murphy until he "comes out publicly saying that he is going to the PSNI to give the names of the IRA that he spoke to in Cullyhanna".][ Mary Lou McDonald said that she had made an honest mistake when she said that she did not believe that Mr Murphy had said that Mr Quinn was involved in criminality.][ She had only realised her mistake when she saw the BBC Spotlight programme on which the comments were made.][
Breege Quinn denied that her family had suddenly started asking questions because of the election but she has been fighting for the past 13 years for justice.][
The general election was on 8 February 2020.
On 17 February 2020 the Quinn family visited Stormont, accompanied by members of the ]SDLP
The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) ( ga, Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is a social-democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Irela ...
.
Discovery of body of Gerard Evans
The murder of Paul Quinn led indirectly to the discovery of the body of another victim of the Provisional IRA, Gerard Evans
Gerard Evans (1955–1979) was one of the "Disappeared" of the Troubles. Having gone missing in March 1979, his body was recovered 31 years later in October 2010.
Early life
Gerard Evans, known as "Gerry", was a 24-year-old painter and decorat ...
, a 24 year old from Crossmaglen
Crossmaglen (, ) is a village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,610 in the 2011 Census and is the largest village in South Armagh. The village centre is the site of a large Police Service of Northern Ire ...
, who had gone missing after being kidnapped by the organisation in 1979. In 2009, the '' Sunday Tribune'' newspaper received information from an ex-IRA member about the location of Evans' body, who stated that he had been influenced in coming forward by the circumstances of Paul Quinn's death. The information provided led to the location of Evans' body in 2010.['Masked IRA man's map leads to a body in Louth', 'Sunday Tribune, 17 October 2010.]
See also
*List of unsolved murders
These lists of unsolved murders include notable cases where victims were murdered in unknown circumstances.
* List of unsolved murders (before 1900)
* List of unsolved murders (1900–1979)
* List of unsolved murders (1980–1999)
* List of u ...
*Murder of Andrew Burns
Andrew Burns ( – 12 February 2008) was a member of the Real IRA, killed by Óglaigh na hÉireann. According to ''The Guardian'', at the time of his death, Burns was believed to have been, "the first victim of a Republican terrorist murder in No ...
*Murder of Robert McCartney
The murder of Robert McCartney (1971 – 31 January 2005) occurred in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and was carried out by members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army. McCartney was the father of two children and was engaged to be married in Ju ...
*Murder of Gareth O'Connor
Gareth Paul O'Connor (1978/1979 – c. May 2003) was a member of the Real IRA who was murdered in 2003.
Disappearance
O'Connor disappeared after driving through Newtownhamilton in 2003, en route to Dundalk Garda station, where he regularly r ...
* Murder of Joseph Rafferty
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Quinn, Paul
2007 deaths
2007 in Ireland
2007 murders in the Republic of Ireland
Date of birth missing
Male murder victims
October 2007 events in Europe
Murder victims from Northern Ireland
People from County Armagh
People killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army
People murdered by Irish organized crime
People murdered in the Republic of Ireland
Unsolved murders in Ireland