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Lurgan-based human rights organisation, Ulster Human Rights Watch, has asked the ICRIR to carry out a review of the PIRA Teebane massacre which claimed the lives of eight men and seriously injured other passengers who were in the van.

The new development comes the day before a commemoration takes place to mark the 33rd anniversary of the terrorist roadside slaughter.

One of the eight workers murdered was an off-duty soldier. The men had been engaged in construction work on Lisanelly Army Base in Omagh and were on their way to Cookstown when their van was destroyed in the blast at Teebane crossroads.

UHRW Advocacy Manager Axel Schmidt said the attack merited a review and hoped it would provide relatives with some answers.

Mr Schmidt said: “UHRW is representing two of the families who lost loved ones in this appalling attack.

“A number of factors are under the microscope. First, in a review by the Historical Enquiries Team (HET), a number of suspects were identified but they were never arrested or interviewed. This fact, on its own, is a source of major concern for the families.

“Second, technological advances in forensics have created new opportunities to re-test over twenty exhibits. These tests could help in the identification of the PIRA terrorists, opening the way to possibly initiating criminal proceedings.

“Families remain convinced that had appropriate protective measures by the employer Karl Construction and the RUC’s ‘Operation Ironside’ been followed, this atrocity could have been thwarted.

“There were failings and shortcomings but ultimately this heavy loss of innocent lives was down to the murderous actions of the PIRA.

“Even if prosecutions are not possible, the ICRIR has the power to name those involved in the bombing.

Ms Diane Kerrigan, the daughter of Cecil Caldwell, one of the eight men murdered, said: “This will be a challenging piece of work for the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery.

“All I want is some answers. Who carried this out and why? My family was devastated, left with decades of pain and torment.

“This was a calculated and callous and, yes, sectarian attack on workers who wanted no more than to do all they could for their families.

“We have to hope that the ICRIR will bring us some closure. If that closure results in the naming of the terrorists and opens the door to criminal proceedings, then our persistence will have been rewarded.”

By Axel Schmidt, Advocacy Manager, Ulster Human Rights Watch (UHRW)

In 1978, eighty-two people were killed in Northern Ireland. Twelve from that awful death toll were murdered at the hands of the Provisional IRA in the La Mon House atrocity. Twenty-three other people were injured, some of them very seriously, like Lily McDowell and James Mills, who not only endured life-changing injuries but also lost his wife and sister in the bombing. His daughter was only two years of age when she was deprived of her mother.

On 11 December 2024, James was joined by relatives of six of those injured or killed in this barbaric terrorist attack. ‘Injured’ fails to convey the extent of the horrific disfigurement, surgical reconstruction and decades of pain that innocent people have had to endure. They attended a briefing at the Police Ombudsman’s office in Belfast to be given details of an investigation into the attack.

The investigation took three years to conclude and followed on from a complaint lodged with the Ombudsman’s office in 2014 by Ulster Human Rights Watch. In a very real sense, it has taken 46 years to get to this point.

Victims and survivors are all too painfully aware of what unfolded at La Mon. Questions remained and they not unreasonably harboured the hope that the Ombudsman’s investigation would shed new light on aspects of the terrorist action. Their persistence and search for truth and justice are to be commended. They have been steadfast and determined.

They wanted to know the identities of the bomb-makers and the PIRA leaders who sanctioned the bombing. Where was the bomb assembled and who transported it? A significant question centred on why the Republic of Ireland failed to provide any meaningful contribution to the Ombudsman’s investigation, and why it allowed itself to become a safe haven for many years after the callous attack.

Sadly, the Ombudsman, for security reasons, was unable to make available all the security intelligence we sought.

One finding of great importance concerned the investigation that was conducted by the RUC. The Ombudsman found no evidence of collusion between the republican terrorists and any section of the RUC. Anything else would have been an appalling outcome. Victims and relatives expressed their satisfaction with this outcome.

However, they were disappointed with aspects of the investigation, for example the loss of records and exhibits. Plainly, this was unsatisfactory and there has been no adequate explanation forthcoming as to how and when this happened.

Policing in 1978 was totally different to the way it is done today. The force was under unimaginable pressure, trying to contain and counter vile terrorist organisations who brought mayhem to communities and our towns and cities.

The Ombudsman’s finding of no collusion or ‘collusive behaviour’ and his opinion that the RUC conducted the investigation with ‘earnest endeavour’ lays to rest once all supposition and suspicion and for all.

Yes, there were some failures during the investigation. It’s important to acknowledge these deficiencies and how they impacted on Court proceedings and the prosecution of suspects. That said, they do not take away from the fact that the PIRA terrorists were the murderers of innocent people and several key people are still at large.

The Ombudsman’s office has done all it can and now we must take our campaign to the next level. The search for answers and some measure of justice will go on.

Our next step will be to lodge a request with the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) to ascertain who were the people responsible for the bombing – planners, bomb-makers and PIRA leadership – and the role the Republic of Ireland played in allowing terrorists to make the bomb and find protection from arrest and prosecution while residing on its territory.

Finally, I would like to thank all those victims and relatives for their remarkable courage and determination. They are the backbone of this campaign and deserve full acknowledgement.

UHRW Advocacy Manager, Axel Schmidt, said: “The Secretary of State, Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP, said that he had made his decision to agree to a public inquiry in the Pat Finucane case because of the unique circumstances of this case and the solemn commitment made by the Government in 2001 and 2004 to establish a public inquiry.

“He said that he had considered whether to refer the Pat Finucane case to the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) and confirmed that the Commission is Convention compliant and has powers comparable to those provided by the Inquiries Act to compel witnesses and to secure the disclosure of relevant documents by state bodies.

“It should therefore now be expected that all inquiries carried out by the ICRIR be as thorough as in a public inquiry and provide the information families have sought for many years on an equal footing as to what is being done for the Finucane family by way of a public inquiry.

“The Secretary of State also indicated that when making his decision, he had considered the likely costs and impact on public finances, and that unnecessary costs would be avoided given all the previous reviews and investigations and the large amount of information and material that is already in the public domain. In the most recent High Court proceedings the Judge stated that this inquiry could ‘build on the significant investigative foundations which are already in place’.

“Considering all the costs already incurred by the multiple investigations carried out in the Finucane case, families who refer their cases to the ICRIR should now expect the same level of funding to ensure that their cases are investigated to the same level of thoroughness as has been done in the Finucane case.

“Equality between victims and survivors of the Troubles, particularly for victims of terrorism, requires nothing less than the same treatment from the ICRIR as that given to the Finucane family by way of a public inquiry.”