'He was not even there for my first Christmas' - Gillian McElholm

One of the most heart-rending recollections in a year of such recollections was Gillian McElholm’s bittersweet description of the last time her uncle Noel saw his brother, her father, Michael McGinley.

Michael, who was aged 37, was one of the five men murdered in the Annie’s Bar Top of the Hill Massacre, on December 20, 1972.

Noel, Michael’s only surviving brother, told Gillian the last memory he had of her father was a hard one.

Gillian's father Michael McGinley

He said: “I saw your Daddy the day he died walking up Strand Road with the biggest teddy bear all wrapped up in clear plastic and I still see him now.”

Speaking to Derry Now on the 50th anniversary of the massacre, Gillian, who was just seven months old when her father died, said it was so sad. “There he was, coming with a teddy bear for me.

“There was no Christmas in the house that year and I don’t think I ever got that teddy,” she said wistfully, “and mammy and daddy were only married two years.”

According to Gillian’s mother, Patricia, who passed away in 1999, told her her daddy had been playing with her before he left their Anderson Crescent home on that terrible night.

Gillian had no memories of her father, Michael, who worked in Molins in Maydown, on the outskirts of Derry.

Gillian McElholm, whose father , Michael was murdered in the Annie's Bar Top of the Hill Massacre on December 20, 1972, along with her cousin, Christine.

She said: “My cousin, Christine (Deehan), would have more memories of my daddy. Her daddy, Noel, was my daddy’s brother.

“Christine was absolutely dying about him. She was coming up on 10 when he died. She used to come up to our house every night to get her homework done with him.

“She remembers the night when it all happened, she was chased up the stairs out of the way. She told me she saw my uncle Alfie covered in blood. I don’t know if he was there when it happened or if he went down to Annie’s afterwards.

“There was a football match on the television that night. Daddy would have been going out. Christine said they always called him ‘Two Half Stouts’,” smiled Gillian.

Additional Reading:

The Forgotten Massacre: Annie's Bar Top of the Hill

'Innocent victims of sectarian murder' - Historical Enquiries Team

Launch of ‘Annie’s Bar Remembered: 50th Anniversary’ booklet

Series of commemorative events planned for 50th Anniversary

Remembering the Annie's Bar Massacre 50 years on

The attack took seconds but left five men dead and four injured

“He would normally have gone down to the Glen Bar on Dungiven Road but he walked down to Annie’s that night because the car wouldn’t start.”

Gillian said her mother never really spoke about what happened that night.

She added: “I knew my father was dead and he had been killed in Annie’s Bar but you never really got much more out of her than that.

“I think now, because I was so young, they probably didn’t want to talk about what happened to daddy around me.

“My mother would still have visited daddy’s family every Sunday. She kept the connection with them. We would have visited my aunt and uncle and Alfie, another brother of my daddy’s and my granny, Nora, who would have been alive then. That was our tradition, until I grew up and got married. Mammy never remarried.

Michael McGinley's grandchildren. From left: Sean, Lucia and Michael McGinley.

“It was a pity my daddy was not there. I grew up without a father. My mother brought me up without a father. He never got a chance to meet his grandchildren, Michael (28) Sean (25) and Lucia (16) or my husband, Paul. It is sad to think, he was not even there for my first Christmas,” said Gillian.

Again and again, Gillian described the Annie’s Bar Top of the Hill Massacre as the “forgotten tragedy”.

She said: “I would now like to have answers to the questions that have never been answered. I would like to know who carried out the murders. At the time people were questioned about the massacre but no-one was ever charged with my daddy’s murder or any of the others.

“The whole tragedy was just sort of forgotten about. There were a lot of times when I mentioned it, and people said to me, ‘What? What’s that? I don’t remember that happening’.

“Although, I think people are maybe taking more notice this year because it is the 50th anniversary, especially with the Pat Finucane Centre now being involved. I was pleased when the Pat Finucane Centre contacted me because I always felt the anniversary and the murders were never remembered. I was unhappy on the 40th anniversary because I was not contacted directly.

“On Tuesday, which is the actual anniversary, we are having a Mass in St Columba’s Church followed by a candlelight procession up to the monument, where there will be a wee vigil. We are then going to the Gobnascale community centre for the launch of the commemorative booklet. I am delighted with the booklet. It looks really well,” said Gillian.

Growing up Gillian was told about her father and his brother going to Lancaster in the North of England in search of work, like so many Derry men.

“My uncle stayed in Lancaster, got married and had his family but my daddy came back home.

“Daddy loved playing snooker. He was a good snooker player. It was a massive part of the McGinley family and still is to this day.
My daddy played snooker. Big snooker player. Massive part in the McGinley family and still is.”

Gillian had a meeting with the PSNI’s Legacy Investigation Branch this week, along with the city’s new police commander, Chief Superintendent Nigel Goddard, who has been in post since August.

The Legacy Investigation Branch superseded the PSNI’s Historical Enquiries Team.

Sitting independently of the PSNI’s Crime Operations Department, the role of the Legacy Investigation Branch is primarily to investigate ‘Troubles’ related homicides and military deaths between 1969 and 2004.

Gillian said the Pat Finucane Centre was going submit questions regarding her father’s murder to the Legacy Investigation Branch team, which has promised to come back to the family by the end of February 2023.

She added: “I am happy and reassured that the Pat Finucane Centre is now on board.

“At least now, someone is supporting us in asking questions because I always felt the Annie’s Bar Top of the Hill Massacre was left and no-one bothered about it. It was forgotten. Nothing was ever highlighted. It was brushed under the carpet.

“I am glad now that it is actually getting highlighted. Hopefully now we can get some questions answered, hopefully because of the Legacy Bill which is coming in. If they get that through, everything will be shut down,” said Gillian.

According to the 2006 Historical Enquiries Team investigation into Michael McGinley’s murder, his was due to gunshot wounds to the chest.

The Historical Enquiries Team’s report said: “About 10.30pm, two masked gunmen entered the crowded bar and began shooting indiscriminately at the customers.

Noel McGinley and his granddaughter Michelle McGinley.

“Michael [McGinley], Charles Moore, Charles McCafferty, Bernard Kelly and Frank McCarron were shot dead. Four other men were injured and survived the attack.”

Speaking to Derry Now, Michael’s brother, Noel said in happier times, he remembered Michael bringing toffee apples into their home.

He added: “I am still in shock about out Michael’s murder. It has never left me. My mind is never at ease. I am still frustrated to this day that they never found out who shot Michael.”