“”My cousin Michael Leonard (24yrs) from Pettigo in Co Donegal was shot dead by the RUC in Co Fermanagh on Thursday evening 17th May 1973. His father, Maurice, died in 1991 and his mother, Maureen, died in 1997.They grieved for their son for the rest of their lives. His girlfriend Mena, to whom he was engaged to be married also died a few years ago.
We are demanding a fresh Inquest because the first Inquest in October 1973 was not a proper Inquest. It was a cover-up by the state.
Ian Cobain, an investigative reporter with the Guardian newspaper, has written a book about the way the British state covered up the truth about killings not just in the north of Ireland –but in many of the other British colonies. It was part of the so-called counter -insurgency policy devised by Brigadier Frank Kitson .
In his book “The History Thieves –Secrets, Lies and the Shaping of a modern Nation”, (2016) Ian Cobain writes about the manipulation of truth at Inquests:
“The coronial inquest system, which has been recovering the truth about sudden or unnatural deaths in England and Wales for 800 years, appeared in North Ireland during the Troubles to have bowed to the more pressing requirements of a counter-terrorism campaign. Coroners were unable in law to record unlawful killing verdicts and were reluctant at times to probe too deeply into possible criminal conduct on the part of the security forces.
“Since the conflict came largely to an end, the inquest system appears to have been unable to reassert its independence: it is not unusual to see inquests suffer one delay after another as a consequence of a failure of the police or Ministry of Defence to produce relevant files. And these delays are measured not in months, or even years, but in decades.”
THE CAMPAIGN FOR TRUTH ABOUT MICHAEL LEONARD
Along with the Family solicitor, the late Patrick Fahy and Ciarán MacAirt of Paper Trail, we began a campaign for Justice for Michael in 2018. Since Pat’s death, Adrian O’Kane has carried on as family solicitor.
The aim of our campaign is to get the Dublin government to pursue Michael’s case and demand a fresh Inquest compelling all those RUC men involved and all witnesses to be present to answer questions. Time is running out as the British Legacy Bill is due to be passed into law before the summer. This Bill when it becomes law is designed to stop all inquests into the victims of the conflict.
We had a useful meeting with the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin TD, who promised to take up the case with the British.
We are not looking for revenge. We are looking for Justice for Michae
Rest in peace Michael.