2000

January 2000

February 2000

Tuesday 15 February 2000
Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), agreed and published the terms of reference for the Commission of Inquiry into the Dublin and Monaghan bombings in 1974. [The Commission of Inquiry began its work in February 2000, with a minimal staff consisting of the Sole Member, Liam Hamilton, the former Chief Justice, a legal assistant, and a secretary. Subsequently, the Commission on Inquiry was asked to conduct similar Inquiries into the bombing of Kay’s Tavern, Dundalk, on 19 December 1975, and the shooting of Seamus Ludlow on 2 May 1976. The Inquiry was also asked to look into the shooting of Brid Carr in 1971; bombings in Dublin on 1 December 1972 and 20 January 1973; and other bombings within the State. These inquiries were to be dealt with separately.]

March 2000

Monday 27 March 2000
Bloody Sunday Inquiry
The Saville Inquiry into the events of Bloody Sunday began public hearings at the Guildhall in Derry. The hearings began with a statement by Christoper Clarke (QC), then counsel to the Inquiry.

April 2000

May 2000

June 2000

July 2000

August 2000

Tuesday 1 August 2000
Edward Somers (Sir), then one of the three judges on the Bloody Sunday Inquiry, announced that he was stepping down for personal reasons. [John Toohey was appointed to replace Somers.]

September 2000

October 2000

?? October 2000
Justice Henry Barron was appointed as Sole Member of the Commission of Inquiry into the Dublin and Monaghan Bombings. Barron was appointed to succeed Justice Liam Hamilton who was forced to step down due to illness.

November 2000

Friday 10 November 2000
The Commission of Inquiry into the Dublin and Monaghan bombings wrote a letter to Peter Mandelson, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, seeking assistance with matters related to the Inquiry. [Further correspondence took place throughout 2001 but no information was supplied by the British government until 26 February 2002.]

December 2000

25 January 2000
The SDLP releases a consultation document which calls on the recognition that "anyone who has suffered over the last 30 years" is a victim. The document contains a number of proposals, which they claim build upon the Bloomfield Report including, amongst others, the establishment of a video archive of victims, core funding for victims' groups, the establishment of an advocate for victims and the establishment of a victims register. (B.H.)

26 January 2000
First Minister Trimble and Deputy First Minister Mallon welcome the announcement by the Prime Minister that those who died in the Holocaust will be remembered in an annual ceremony.  The day of remembrance will begin in 2001 on the 27th of January – the day Auschwitz was liberated by the Allies.  Mr Trimble says: “We in Northern Ireland have an understanding of the trauma inflicted by violence, sectarianism and hate, but we can never identify with the sheer scale of the suffering inflicted by during the Holocaust”. (B.H.)

31 January 2000
Mr Ingram, Victims Minister meets with Mr Trimble and Mr Mallon and it is announced that a new Victims Unit is to be set up in the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister. (B.H.)

February 2000
It is revealed that a granite monument to an IRA commander in Downpatrick was erected without council approval of planning permission. Republicans erected the memorial on the spot where Colum Marks, the IRA's commander in Downpatrick, was shot dead by undercover RUC officers in 1991 (see related dates 3 October 2000 ; 23 January 2001 and 25 July 2001 ) (B.H.)

24 February 2000
The British Irish Rights Watch release a document entitled Justice Delayed…Alleged State Collusion In The Murder Of Patrick Finucane And Others about State collusion in the murder of Pat Finucane in 1989.  The report highlights "considerable evidence of an official cover-up" in the case.  On the same day, a petition signed by over 1,200 lawyers worldwide calls for an independent and international inquiry into the murder.  See related dates 12 February 1999 ;19 March 1999 ;24 February 2000 ;28 May 2001 ;1 August 2001 .  (B.H.)

1 March 2000
The Hear and Now two-day conference organised by the Northern Ireland Voluntary Trust takes place in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh. The conference, attended mainly by victims groups, focuses on how to ensure that victims' voices are heard in the political process. (B.H.)

6 March 2000
Mr Ingram welcomes a £350 000 initiative to address the needs of victims of violence in the Castlereagh area.  The project is launched by the Castlereagh Partnership for Peace and Reconciliation and the funds will be used to deliver a number of programmes such as the Castlereagh Hospital Project, which will offer free and confidential advice, information and support for victims of crime and their families. (B.H.)

19 April 2000
A memorial plaque commemorating the nine people killed on July 21, 1972 when the IRA set off more than 20 bombs in Belfast is unveiled in the Belfast City Hall. The unveiling was attended by the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Bob Stoker and relatives of those killed on the day known as Bloody Friday. Reference on the plaque to the 'innocent victims of violence' is criticised by the Relatives for Justice group. (B.H.)

May 2000
Two advisory panels are established by Northern Ireland Voluntary Trust to look at the training needs of victim/survivor groups.  This is the forerunner to the REAL programme. The Memorial Fund introduces a Chronic Pain Management Scheme which aims to address some of the difficulties experienced by chronic pain sufferers, by providing grants to enable them to receive several private treatments a year. (B.H.)

9 May 2000
The book, edited by Marie Therese Fay and Marie Smyth, and entitled Personal Accounts from Northern Ireland's Troubles: Public Conflict, Private Loss is launched in Belfast. The book brings together a comprehensive collection of firsthand accounts of victims of the Troubles. (B.H.)

15 May 2000
About 500 people attend a wreath-laying ceremony in Monaghan for the 33 people killed in the Dublin-Monaghan bombs of May 1974.  (B.H.)

22 May 2000
Mr Ingram praises the creative work of young people trying to deal with the ravages of the Troubles at the launch of a visual art exhibition by WAVE youth.  The group also screens a short film called Spit the Bricks . (B.H.)

June 2000
A Victims Unit within the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister is established.  Junior Ministers, Mr Denis Haughey MLA and Mr Dermot Nesbitt MLA are allocated the specific responsibility for victims in the OFMDFM . (B.H.)

28 June 2000
Junior Ministers Nesbitt and Haughey confirm their commitment to raising awareness of victims’ needs across the devolved administration and say that they are in the process of setting up a Victims Unit in OFMDFM .  The Ministers were speaking at a Victim Support (NI) launch of an information pack for families of victims of homicide. (B.H.)

July 2000
The 1-year Victim Support Grant Scheme administered by the Community Relations Council, and funded through the VLU closes.  The scheme has dispensed £200 000, with an addition £25 000 granted by the VLU as demand outstripped the budget. In addition, the Memorial Fund’s youth trip to Alton Towers theme park in England takes place.  Ninety one children accompanied by their parents/guardian spend two days away – the children were nominated by victim groups and selected due to their contribution in work with support groups of children. (B.H.)

6 July 2000
The book Unfinished Business: State killings and the quest for Truth written by Bill Rolston is launched in west Belfast. At the launch, Sinn Féin 's Martin McGuinness urges relatives of those killed by the security forces to keep up their campaign for justice. (B.H.)

26 July 2000
Peter Mandelson, Secretary of State, announces the Government’s response to the review of Criminal Injuries Compensation undertaken by Sir Kenneth Bloomfield.  In essence, he announces that the scheme will move closer to the Great Britain model, i.e. a tariff scheme will be introduced.   However, he notes that the tariff will be based on Northern Ireland average payments (Northern Ireland payments are generally higher than in Great Britain).  He also notes that there will be improved bereavement support arrangements, flexibility in time limits and in some cases and on certain medical grounds claims may be reopened for a limited time.  It will also no longer be necessary to witness the crime leading to death or injury of a loved one to make a claim for psychiatric damage.  He also says a points scheme will be introduced to regulate the effect of previous criminal behaviour on awards and this will also apply to convictions for terrorist activities.  In response to Sir Kenneth’s recommendation that there was inadequate support for past victims of the Troubles, he promises a further commitment from next April. (B.H.)

27 July 2000
Mr Trimble says that the Assembly must be allowed to examine the Secretary of State’s proposals concerning compensation and says that the Government’s response is disappointing.  He specifically highlights the fact that the across-the-board change to a tariff-based scheme is “particularly” disappointing, considering Sir Kenneth has offered an alternative, i.e. a hybrid scheme allowing more serious injuries to be dealt with on a common law basis while a tariff system would address less serious claims. On the same day, the Relatives for Justice group host a press conference urging Peter Mandelson, Secretary of State, to publicly apologise for the death of their loved ones who were killed by security forces during the conflict in and about Northern Ireland. (B.H.)

28 July 2000
A range of victims' groups from across the political spectrum and individuals respond with anger, despair and sadness as prisoners are released as part of the Belfast Agreement . (B.H.)

21 August 2000
An interdenominational service takes place and a statue is unveiled to commemorate the deaths of nine people in a bombing in Claudy, Co Derry, in July 1972. (B.H.)

30 August 2000
It is reported in the Irish News that between 1969 and 1999 close to 100 children, aged 15 and under, were killed as a result of the conflict and many more were injured. (B.H.)

September 2000
Regular funding begins and new premises are secured for the RUC Widows Association, in accordance with Recommendation 88 of the Independent Commission on Policing . (B.H.)

August/September 2000 (Date to be verified) 
The Secretary of State’s Garden Party at Hillsborough is held in honour of those whose “lives have been affected by the Troubles”.  It is attended by some 2,500 guests mostly from those affected by the conflict of the past 30 years or who have worked with those affected. (B.H.)

18 September 2000
Mr Ingram meets the OFMDFM Junior Ministers, Nesbitt and Haughey, with the aim of recognising the importance of the role of the devolved administration in relation to victims.  He says he is encouraged by the good working relationship between the Victims Liaison Unit and the Victims Unit in OFMDFM . (B.H.)

26 September 2000
Mr Ingram announces that £700,000 of the £3 million for victims groups announced in January is to be allocated and administered by Northern Ireland Voluntary Trust .  He says that to date about £1.7 million has been allocated to a wide range of groups delivering services to victims and survivors of the Troubles, as well as to the establishment of a Capacity Building Training Programme. (B.H.)

28 September 2000
The OFMDFM Junior Ministers, Nesbitt and Haughey, say that the administration must be proactive in meeting the needs of victims.  The Ministers were chairing a meeting of an interdepartmental working group established to ensure timely and co-ordinated response to victims’ issues.  The interdepartmental working group is made up of senior representatives from across all 11 government departments. (B.H.)

3 October 2000
The SDLP and Sinn Féin block a Unionist attempt to a have a memorial removed from the council-owned park in Downpatrick . In February (see February 2000 )it was revealed that the controversial memorial to an IRA commander and five other men was erected without planning permission. (B.H.)

12 October 2000
Helen McKendry, whose mother Jean McConville was abducted and killed by the IRA in 1972, rejects a British government compensation payment of £10,000, which she describes as an "insult" and a "slap in the face".  (B.H.)

24 October 2000
First Minister and Deputy First Minister, Trimble and Mallon, lay a draft Programme for Government before the Assembly.  The Draft commits the Executive to preparing a victims strategy by April 2001. (B.H.)

25 October 2000
The Irish Times reports that a almost one in three young people in Northern Ireland have witnessed people being killed or severely injured on at least one occasion. The statistic was revealed as a result of a survey conducted by the Joint Society for a Common Cause and the Community Conflict Impact on Children. (B.H.)

27 October 2000
The Steele Report is received by Government.  Mr Steele was asked to look at a proposed fund to help seriously injured police officers and retired police officers, and their families, as well as police widows.  The proposal was Recommendation 87 of the Independent Commission on Policing . (B.H.)

5 September 2000
A document entitled Needs of Those Affected by the Troubles is launched in the Craigavon Civic Centre. The report, compiled by the Barnados Nova Project, notes that the trauma of the Troubles, despite the ceasefires in 1994, live on. (B.H.)

November 2000
The Memorial Funds pays for a weekend away for 144 victims/survivors in Edinburgh.  Those on the trip, nominated by groups, have an average age of 65 years – the aim is to show some recognition for those who suffered particularly early on in ‘the Troubles’. (B.H.)

7 November 2000
It was announced that £2 million to fund lump sums for RUC widows, whose husbands were killed as a result of terrorist activity before 1982, would be made following the recommendations in the Steele Report.  The government also announces that a new fund is to be established to help seriously injured police officers, retired officers and their families, as well as widows.  It was added that the government would establish a trust to administer the fund.  The Steele Report recommended payments of more than £11 million over three years, £6 million in the first year (the £2 million allocated would be part of that) and £2.5 million in years 2 and 3. (B.H.)

Notes
Information contained within square brackets [   ] may contain commentary or information that only became publicly available at a later date. Any piece of information which is followed by a question mark in parenthesis (?) is a best estimate while awaiting an update.

See also:
The main CAIN chronology of the conflict
The Sutton Index of Deaths 1969-2001