This letter made me to the Irish Times made me laugh. I have family in the farming community in rural Ireland and they agreed with the sentiment.

The Second Captains Podcast had an episode about the murder of Sean Brown, the chairman of Bellaghy Wolfe Tones GAA club in May 1997. He was locking up the pitch after a committee meeting when he was abducted, beaten and shot by the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF). No one has been convicted for the crime. The PSNI have apologised to the family about the inadequacies of their investigation.

The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill came into force in 2023 and stipulates that all legacy inquests must be completed by May 1st, 2024. Any inquests that are open on this date will immediately end. The bill was opposed by all 5 main political parties in Northern Ireland and the Irish government has launched a legal challenge to the European Court of Human Rights.

Siobhan and Damán Brown outline the slow progress of the inquest so far and that PSNI and MOD were not meeting deadlines in regards to releasing documentation necessary to complete the inquest. They are afraid that they are stalling until the deadline passes. They do not believe that the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) will provide the truth that they seek.

They wish to see the inquest finished or, failing that, a public inquiry.

Siobhan Brown read from the club statement from the Bellaghy Wolfe Tones GAC which is scathing in its criticism of the PSNI and the British State. It finishes:

We respectfully request that this correspondence is considered by all units of our Association, at both club and county level, and we ask each club member in Ireland, as you are locking your club gates in the evening, consider – if the same thing were to happen at your club, would you accept this sort of treatment? For your family? Your community? Is this how you would want your memory to be treated?

A STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF THE FAMILY OF OUR ESTEEMED FORMER CHAIRMAN, SEAN BROWN. (Bellaghy Wolfe Tones GAC)