Graveside oration by Joe McVeigh

Press Release: Talk given by Fr Joe McVeigh, from Enniskillen at the graveside of Patrick Shanaghan in Aghyaran on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his killing near Killen.

Padraig O Seanachain (1958-1991)

Patrick Shanaghan died in a hail of bullets in Killen near Castlederg, Co Tyrone as he made his way to work on 12 August 1991, twenty-five years ago today. It was the day after he celebrated his 33^rd birthday. It was a day those of us who knew Patrick will always remember. The shock and the horror led to anger and disbelief. His poor mother Mary(RIP) never got over the shock and the loss.

Nobody has ever been charged with his murder. We may never know who pulled the trigger that morning but we sure know who is responsible for his murder. There are some within the RUC organisation who know who killed Paddy and I would urge them to come forward with the information. It is never too late for the truth. It is never too late for justice.

Paddy Shanaghan was born on 11^th August 1958 in Aghnahoo outside Killen in the parish of Aghyaran. He lived on the family farm with his mother, Mary. He also worked for the DOE.   He had two sisters –Anna and Mary.

Patrick was a mild-mannered man who had strong convictions. He dreamed that Ireland would be reunited and that the British would go home and leave the Irish people alone. Patrick’s life was built on respect for others unlike those who harassed and tortured him day in and day out…the British soldiers, RUC and UDR. Patrick respected other people but he would not allow himself to be walked over especially by people in the uniform of a foreign army or local militia.

He firmly believed in freedom and justice and in human dignity and kindness. He was a man of strong principles. He did not drink or smoke. He looked after his mother Mary in their country home just outside the loyalist village of Killen, County Tyrone.

Patrick was a man of deep faith and reverence. He would never miss Mass. Patrick was known far and wide for his love of Irish music and dancing. He himself was a great Irish dancer. He travelled to Ceilis and Fleadhs far and wide. He once went to Norway to show his dancing skills. Almost every night he was at a Ceili somewhere. Distance did not matter. I remember him coming to Ceilis in Irvinestown when I was based in that parish in the late 1980s.

He was singled out as ‘an enemy of the state’ and he was set up for assassination. His movements were well known to the police and Ulster Defence Regiment. They colluded in his murder. That is why nobody has ever been brought to justice.

There’s a song called Joe Hill- about a trade union organiser in America who was murdered by the police in the USA.

“I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night

Alive as you or me,

Says I but Joe you’re ten years dead,

I never died said he

I never died said he.

Those copper bosses killed you Joe

They filled you full of lead

Takes more than guns to kill a man

says Joe and I ain’t dead

Says Joe and I ain’t dead.”

Like Joe Hill, Paddy Shanaghan ain’t dead…he lives on –and Paddy Shanaghan will live on as long as there are women and men to remember him and who keep the flame of freedom alive.

The people of Aghyaran and Castlederg and all over Ireland and Europe will always remember Paddy and honour him and celebrate his life as we do here tonight on this the 25^th anniversary of his murder.

Those who murdered Paddy must be brought to justice. Those who set him up must be brought to justice. Patrick was a victim of a cruel and brutal sectarian system of government in the north east of Ireland. Patrick was a proud Irishman who was very aware of the oppression of the Irish people in the past and in his own lifetime. He had seen the repression and suffering of some of his friends in Aghyaran and Castlederg. He saw how the British soldiers and RUC intimidated his mother and made her anxious.He experienced the bigotry of the RUC and UDR and some of the neighbours.

The best thing we can do to honour Patrick is to continue to continue to promote our native Irish culture, to do all we can to promote  Irish music and dancing and the native language and Gaelic games. We have a rich culture and we want it to grow and we want all our neighbours to share it. Patrick would be pleased that a new generation of Irish people in Tyrone and especially in Aghyaran and Castlederg is now working to achieve that great goal and make the dream come true.