Irish Republican Army (IRA) Statement on the Shooting of Kathleen Feeney on 14 November 1973, Quarry Street, Derry, (23 June 2005)

Text of Irish Republican Army (IRA) Statement on the Shooting of Kathleen Feeney on 14 November 1973, Quarry Street, Derry, (23 June 2005)

"On 14th November 1973, 14-yearold Kathleen Feeney was shot dead in Quarry Street, Derry.

The IRA in Derry, in a statement, denied that any of its volunteers were responsible for the death of Kathleen Feeney. In a further statement, the IRA in Derry claimed to have carried out an operation against the British Army in retaliation for the death of Kathleen Feeney.

The leadership of Oglaigh na hEireann has been asked by the Feeney family to examine the circumstances surrounding the death of their sister and to publicly acknowledge that she was killed by the IRA.

The IRA leadership agreed to do so. We found, as the Feeney family have always believed, that Kathleen was hit by one of a number of shots fired by an IRA Active Service Unit that had fired upon a British army foot-patrol in the Lecky Road area.

The IRA accepts responsibility for the death of Kathleen Feeney. Our failure to publicly accept responsibility for her death until now has only added to the hurt and pain of the Feeney family.

The leadership of Oglaigh na hEireann wish to apologise unreservedly to the Feeney family for the death of Kathleen and for all the grief that our actions have caused to them."

P O’Neill,
Irish Republican Publicity Bureau, Dublin

The statement from the IRA was released through the 'Derry Journal' on 24 June 2005