Ballymurphy inquest: Soldier denies 'reluctance to assist' coroner

The first member of Parachute Regiment Support Company to appear in person at the Ballymurphy inquest has denied being reluctant to assist the coroner.

M137 was a sergeant in Support Company in August 1971, and has formerly assisted the Historical Enquiries Team (HET) of the PSNI.

Members of his company were deployed at Springfield Park on the day two men were shot dead.

The two men were local parish priest Fr Hugh Mullan and Frank Quinn.

Both men died on waste ground.

The inquest into the deaths of 10 people in the Ballymurphy area in August 1971 is taking place in Belfast.

The hearings resumed on Monday after a summer recess.

It emerged that Support Company fired at least 70 rounds at what they believed to be up to 12 IRA snipers.

Soldiers from 3 Queens also opened fire during the incident.

M137 agreed with a barrister for the Mullan and Quinn families that he had noticed former paratroopers encouraging each other not to cooperate with the inquest when discussing the matter on Facebook.

The barrister observed that members of Support Company had been reluctant to come forward to give oral evidence to the inquest, and that M137 was in fact the first to do so.

M137 said he could not remember the incidents at Springfield Park, and could not remember ever being there.

The barrister retorted: "You know far more about this than you're telling this inquest."

"I know nothing about it," the former soldier replied.

M137 agreed that he had told the HET about several rumours he had heard at the time, but felt that they were only hearsay.

One of the rumours was that bodies of snipers killed by the Army had been hidden in drains and sewers, to be recovered weeks later.

As he completed his evidence, M137 was able to list some soldiers he recognised from his company, but said he was unable to remember his Facebook login details to explain to the coroner which former comrades he was still in touch with.

Earlier, a former captain in the Parachute Regiment told the inquest about an operation to rescue residents caught up in the fighting in the same area.

M194 explained that he served in A Company 2 Para, based at Sunnyside TA base in south Belfast.

He said he was sent to the Ballymurphy area late on the evening of 9 August, the day internment was introduced.

On that day, many residents of Springfield Park - a mixed area - fled from their homes under sustained attack from a crowd from the nearby Springmartin Road.

M194 described arriving in two vehicles with a driver and six soldiers, after it had already got dark, possibly around 22:00 or 23:00 BST.

He said that his unit came under sporadic fire as it passed some waste ground on Springfield Park.

Earlier that day several people had already been shot on that waste ground, and Fr Hugh Mullan and Mr Quinn had been killed there.

M194 agreed that he could not be completely certain where the firing came from, but he had the "impression" that another unit of soldiers in the area returned fire.

Parts of the area were visible from Army fortifications on the roof at the nearby Vere Foster School.

There has been evidence to suggest that some Army units in the area may have fired at each other.

M194 said he met some other Paras in Springfield Park, possibly from Support Company, and then he and his men took 14 to 16 local women and children to safety at Clonard Monastery.

Although the inquest has heard from many residents of Springfield Park, none has mentioned being rescued by soldiers, and none has mentioned any formal evacuation from the area.

Due to this, a barrister for some of the families asked M194 if he might have been mistaken about the location or the date.

"I was definitely there," he said.

It's emerged at the inquest that the most senior army officer in Northern Ireland wrote directly to a Roman Catholic Bishop the day after a priest was shot dead in August 1971.

Fr Hugh Mullan was shot and killed on waste ground beside Springfield Park as members of the Support Company of the Parachute Regiment were engaged in a gun battle.

Lt Gen Sir Harry Tuzo was the general Officer commanding based in Lisburn and wrote to Bishop William Philbin, the Bishop of Down and Connor, the day after Fr Mullan was shot

In the letter dated 10 August 1971, Sir Harry said Fr Mullan's standing among the Army was "of the highest", and praised his "common sense, fairness and courage".

The general went on to express his sympathy and asked that it be conveyed to Father Mullan's family.

The letter was read out at the inquest at the request of the family.