Francis McNally (right) carried the coffin of his brother Phelim who was shot dead by loyalists in 1988
By Julian O’Neill
BBC News NI home affairs correspondent
New inquests are to be held into the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) murders of five Catholic men in Mid-Ulster more than 30 years ago.
The move was ordered by Attorney General Dame Brenda King, who took account of “deficiencies” in the original investigations and inquests.
Sean Anderson, Thomas Armstrong, Dwayne O’Donnell, Thomas Casey and Phelim McNally died in four separate attacks.
Their families suspect soldiers were involved in the killings.
In a letter to their solicitor, the attorney general’s office stated there was new information not considered at the first inquests.
That included intelligence “as to whether state agents/bodies played a role in the deaths” and “wider evidence suggestive of collusion”.
Gavin Booth, the solicitor acting for the men’s families, said the cases were linked “through suspects, geography and ballistics”.
Image source, Pacemaker
Thomas Armstrong and Dwayne O’Donnell were killed in a gun attack at a bar in Cappagh
Under the government’s Troubles legacy bill which is going through Parliament, inquests linked to the conflict must reach a conclusion by May of next year.
Those which have not reached that stage will be ended.
Mr Booth said the cases needed to be listed for hearing “urgently”.
He added: “We welcome the decision of the attorney general to order fresh inquests into the cases.
“For too long these families have sought answers as to what happened.
“New evidence raises serious questions, not only about the 8th Battalion of the Ulster Defence Regiment, but also the failure of the police to prosecute these individuals.”
Families held a press conference in Belfast on Monday
Seventeen-year-old Mr O’Donnell, a member of the IRA, was killed at Boyle’s Bar in Cappagh, County Tyrone, in 1991.
Mr Armstrong, who was 52, died in the same incident.
Mr McNally, 28, was murdered in a gun attack on the home of his brother, a Sinn Féin councillor, near Coagh, County Tyrone, in 1988.
Mr Casey, 57, was shot at a friend’s house in Cookstown, County Tyrone, in 1990.
Mr Anderson, who was 32 and had served a prison sentence for IRA offences, was killed behind the wheel of his car in Pomeroy, County Tyrone, in 1991.
