Catherine and Gerard Mahon were a husband and wife who lived in

Twinbrook, Belfast Poleglass () is an area of west Belfast in Northern Ireland. It is the name of a townland, a modern electoral ward, and a housing estate. The townland is situated in the civil parish of Derriaghy and the historic Barony of Belfast Upper. It i ...

. Gerard, aged twenty-eight, was a mechanic; Catherine, was twenty-seven. They were killed by 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) on 8 September 1985, the IRA alleging they were informers. However at least two of those responsible for their deaths were later uncovered as British agents within the IRA's Internal Security Unit, leaving the actual status of the Mahons as informers open to doubt.

Background

The Mahons were neighbours of estate agent

Joseph Fenton Joseph "Joe" Fenton (c. 1953 – 26 February 1989) was an estate agent from Belfast, Northern Ireland, killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) for acting as an informer for RUC Special Branch. Activity as an informer In the early 1 ...

, a supplier of 'safe houses' for the IRA, but also a British agent. When a number of IRA missions were compromised, Fenton is believed to have directed a member of the

Internal Security Unit The Internal Security Unit (ISU) was the counter-intelligence and interrogation unit of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). This unit was often referred to as the Nutting Squad. The unit is thought to have had jurisdiction over both N ...

Freddie Scappaticci Freddie Scappaticci (born c. 1946 Belfast) is a purported former high-level double agent in the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), known by the codename "Stakeknife". Early life Scappaticci was born around 1946 and grew up in the Markets ...

, and three other men, to the Mahons. Abducted in August, interrogated and beaten for prolonged periods, the Mahons eventually confessed that their flat was bugged by the

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC)Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the Roya ...

, who are alleged to have paid the couple for information, another version is that the Mahons had agreed to inform on the IRA if the RUC overlooked a number of outstanding fines and charges they were facing. One of the weapons hidden with the Mahon's as a safe house was found by the IRA to have been fitted with a surveillance device. The IRA took the couple to Norglen Crescent in Turf Lodge and shot them. It is thought Catherine Mahon was shot in the back while trying to escape. Gerard was shot in the face and then the back of the head while his wife was forced to watch. She then tried to run away and was cut down by a burst of machine gun fire.

Deaths

Those who found their bodies said at the time:

We heard two bursts of gunfire and then a car was driven away at high speed. We went out and discovered the girl. We thought she was dead. We tried first aid but the side of her head was blown away. A young lad came up to us saying there was a man lying in the entry a bit further up and still alive. We got to him and he was badly wounded. He was struggling to breath and choking on his own blood. He had been hit in the side of the head and the face. Whatever is behind it all, it's ridiculous. Those responsible are animals. Nothing justifies murder. They had both been tied by their wrists – but they must have broken free by struggling when they realised what was going to happen.

Dr Joe Hendron of the Social Democratic and Labour Party released a statement, remarking:

This slaughter has few equals in barbarity and it proves the Provo idea of justice is warped. It makes us all sick.

References

External links

Cain.ulst.ac.ukNuzhound.comThefreelibrary.comNuzhound.comThebrokenelbow.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahon, Catherine and Gerard 1985 deaths 1985 in Northern Ireland Deaths by person in Northern Ireland Married couples The Troubles in Belfast People murdered in Belfast 20th century in Belfast 1980s murders in Northern Ireland 1985 murders in the United Kingdom

Background

Deaths

See also

References

External links