Pettigo family continues to fight for justice

The family of Donegal man, Michael Leonard, who was shot and killed by a Royal Ulster Constabulary patrol in 1973, held an hour-long meeting with officials from the Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) today in Omagh.

The family wanted to find out what the Government has done to get justice for Michael from the British state since they last met them in November 2021. They also wanted to present the department officials with an updated family report which includes new evidence relating to the RUC murder of Michael.

The meeting follows the failure of the Office of the Police Ombudsman to advance its investigation in over three years which in turn has delayed a new inquest before Britain enacts its controversial Legacy Bill and shuts down all conflict-related legal cases.

New evidence which the family presented in 2019 proved that Michael was not shot accidentally with a single shot as the RUC alleged, but deliberately targeted and shot at multiple times by his police killers before he could reach the sanctuary of the border and his home in Pettigo, on May 17 1973.

The new evidence discovered by charity Paper Trail in 2022 provides further admissions by the British Armed Forces that Michael was deliberately targeted and shot dead by the RUC.

A British Army Intelligence Summary from RUC Divisions L & M, recorded on 22nd May 1973 stated:

“The RUC… recognised Michael Leonard a suspected member of the PIRA [Provisional Irish Republican Army] from Pettigo. When they went to question him he ran off despite the fact that he was warned to stop. He then drove off in his car and the police fired two shots at the vehicle which did not stop. The police followed up in a landrover and fired one more shot which struck Leonard, who later died.”

A Headquarters 3 Brigade Border Report from RUC L Division recorded on June 22, 1973: “The RUC shot dead Michael John Leonard when he refused a call to halt.”

The family was accompanied by Fr Joe McVeigh, Michael’s cousin, and the family solicitor, Adrian O’Kane from Pat Fahy Solicitors, along with Ciaran MacAirt from the charity Paper Trail (Legacy Archive Research), and Donegal county councillor, Michael Naughton.

Speaking after the meeting with DFA officials, Cllr Naughton said the family demanded a meeting with Tánaiste and Minister of Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin as a matter of urgency and before the 50th anniversary of Michael Leonard’s murder by the RUC.

Cllr Naughton was in the Dáil on Wednesday evening for a meeting with his party leader and tánaiste Micheál Martin. He said he was hoping Mr Martin contact the authorities across the border in an effort to speed matters up.

Michael’s cousin, Fr Joseph McVeigh said 50 years is far too long for any family to wait for truth and justice.

"The RUC murdered Michael on May 17, 1973 and then lied to the family, the Irish Government and the Coroner. The British state has done nothing but deny us the truth and delay our campaign for justice.

“We asked the Department of Foreign Affairs again for the support and presented them with the new evidence we have been forced to find in British archives ourselves since our last meeting in November 2021.”

Adrian O’Kane of Fahy Solicitors pointed out that the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Attorney General have expressed serious misgivings about the circumstances of Michael’s death.

"Nearly 50 years later, it is clear that the truth is still being withheld from the Leonard family. A fresh inquest is called for as a matter of priority and public importance.”

Ciarán MacAirt of Paper Trail added: “As Michael’s family approach the 50th anniversary of his murder by RUC and ask once again for the support of the Irish Government, Britain’s pernicious Legacy Bill threatens the family’s basic human rights. Britain wants to bury its war crimes in Ireland and to protect its killers in uniform.”