Unquiet Graves

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Unquiet Graves
Unquiet Graves 2018.jpg
Advertising poster
Directed bySeán A. Murray
Written bySeán A. Murray
Produced bySeán A. Murray
Starring Chris Patrick-Simpson
Patrick Buchanan
Chris McMahon
Andrew McNeill
Narrated by Stephen Rea
CinematographyKevin Treacy
Edited byJohn Phillipson
Music byDeclan Gallen
Production
company
Relapse Pictures
Distributed by Journeyman Pictures
Release date
Running time
75 minutes
CountryNorthern Ireland
LanguageEnglish

Unquiet Graves: The Story of the Glenanne Gang is a 2018 documentary film about The Troubles in Northern Ireland. [1]

Contents

Production

Unquiet Graves was filmed in Dolby Surround 7.1 in a 16:9 ratio. The film was based on work by the Pat Finucane Centre, Justice for the Forgotten and Anne Cadwallader's book Lethal Allies. [2] John Weir was a major contributor. Northern Ireland Screen contributed £5,000 to the production. In response to questions about the funding of the film, Murray stated that "The film was a socially committed project and most of the crew who assisted in the making of the film done so on a voluntary basis, including myself." [3]

Synopsis

Unquiet Graves discusses the activities of the Glenanne gang of the paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force, with the support and collusion of soldiers from the Ulster Defence Regiment and police officers from the Royal Ulster Constabulary, in Northern Ireland's Counties Tyrone and Armagh between 1972 and 1978. [4] They are accused of the murder of 120 Irish Catholic civilians in that period. [5] [6]

One of the most notable claims in the film is that the UVF considered carrying out a massacre at a Catholic parochial school in Belleeks in retaliation for the 1976 Kingsmill massacre; supposedly, the idea for the attack came from British military intelligence, who wanted violence in Northern Ireland to "spiral out of control" in order to justify a severe military response, a "short and sharp process of cleansing out the IRA." [7] [8]

Release

Unquiet Graves premiered at the Galway Film Fleadh at the Town Hall Theatre on 11 July 2018. [9]

The film had its pre-release premiere in Belfast on 21 February 2019. [7]

The film came to wider public attention when it was aired on the Republic of Ireland state broadcaster, RTÉ One, on 16 September 2020. [10] [11]

Reception

Critical response

Writing in The Canary, Peadar O'Cearnaigh said that the Troubles was "seen as a local dispute involving only the Irish. The British were just honest brokers and tried to make peace between these two tribes. That mythical description is put to bed in Unquiet Graves. The documentary sets about uncovering the dangerous and one-sided role played by the British state in the Irish conflict." [12]

Political response

Charles Flanagan, a Fine Gael TD and former Republic of Ireland Minister for Justice and Equality, attacked the film, saying that he "did not believe the documentary was objective, fair minded and balanced and questioned if RTE bosses were aware of how it was funded." [13] In response, Margaret Urwin, Coordinator at Justice for the Forgotten, said that Flanagan "claims the basis of the film was John Weir’s affidavit and claims that his motives were dubious. That is totally erroneous. […] The film is actually based on the book entitled Lethal Allies […] a very important witness in the film was Steve Morris who led a team within the Historical Enquiries Team at the PSNI and he was also a former police officer with the London Met. […] the late Justice Barron who carried out four investigations in the early 2000s on behalf of the [Republic of Ireland] Government found that John Weir’s testimony was credible – as did the Gardaí." [14]

Writing for The News Letter , Mark Rainey noted that the film's creator Seán A. Murray, was the son of Sean Murray, a longtime republican activist alleged to be a senior figure in the Provisional IRA. [15]

In reply, Murray instructed solicitors and prepared a libel case. [16] Regarding Weir, he wrote that "The independent panel of academic experts and a judge-led Oireachtas inquiry into the 'Glenanne Series' of attacks found corroborating evidence for Weir's testimony in RUC files on no fewer than 11 murders." [17]

Former IRA explosives expert and London bomber, Shane Paul O'Doherty, posted a blog examining whether Unquiet Graves might be regarded as either balanced film-making or IRA propaganda. [18] In the blog post, O'Doherty highlighted that Murray had not warned viewers that one of his central researchers and commentators, Paul O'Connor, had hidden his IRA past for decades while posing as a Human Rights activist and Director of the Pat Finucane Centre. [19] O'Doherty claimed that Paul O'Connor was a former IRA gunman and bomber who was involved in the murder of an IRA volunteer, Jim O'Hagan. O'Doherty pointed out several other factual errors in Unquiet Graves, rendering a final opinion that Unquiet Graves could justifiably be seen as IRA propaganda in light of the evidence contained in his blog post considered alongside Murray's extreme political views and his failure to record details of the IRA's 800 murders during the period covered by his documentary.

Within days of O'Doherty's post, O'Connor was forced to publicly admit his IRA past and the accuracy of many of O'Doherty's blog claims. [20]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dublin and Monaghan bombings</span> 1974 terrorist bombings in Ireland

The Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 17 May 1974 were a series of co-ordinated bombings in Dublin and Monaghan, Ireland, carried out by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). Three car bombs exploded in Dublin during the evening rush hour and a fourth exploded in Monaghan almost ninety minutes later. They killed 34 civilians, including an unborn child, and injured almost 300. Together, the bombings were the deadliest attack of the conflict known as the Troubles, and the deadliest attack in the Republic's history. Most of the victims were young women, although the ages of the dead ranged from 4½ months up to 80 years.

The Kingsmill massacre was a mass shooting that took place on 5 January 1976 near the village of Whitecross in south County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Gunmen stopped a minibus carrying eleven Protestant workmen, lined them up alongside it and shot them. Only one victim survived, despite having been shot 18 times. A Catholic man on the minibus was allowed to go free. A group calling itself the South Armagh Republican Action Force claimed responsibility. It said the shooting was retaliation for a string of attacks on Catholic civilians in the area by Loyalists, particularly the killing of six Catholics the night before. The Kingsmill massacre was the climax of a string of tit-for-tat killings in the area during the mid-1970s, and was one of the deadliest mass shootings of the Troubles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miami Showband killings</span> 1975 mass murder in Northern Ireland

The Miami Showband killings was an attack on 31 July 1975 by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a loyalist paramilitary group. It took place on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland. Five people were killed, including three members of The Miami Showband, who were one of Northern Ireland's most popular cabaret bands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protestant Action Force</span> Front group during the Troubles

The Protestant Action Force (PAF) was a front group used by Ulster loyalist paramilitaries in Northern Ireland when claiming responsibility for a number of attacks during the Troubles. First used in 1974, attacks by individuals claiming to be members of the PAF killed at least 41 Catholic civilians. The PAF was most commonly used by members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). All of the attacks claimed by the PAF in Armagh and Tyrone counties from 1974 to 1976 have been linked to the Glenanne gang, which was a group consisting of members of the UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade along with rogue Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) soldiers and Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) police officers. A six-year period of no attacks claimed by the PAF ended in 1982; during the 1980s, the PAF claimed 15 attacks in the Belfast area and two in County Armagh. UDR soldiers were convicted of two attacks in Armagh. The PAF claimed its last attacks in the early 1990s, all of which were in north Armagh and were alleged to involve members of the security forces.

The Reavey and O'Dowd killings were two coordinated gun attacks on 4 January 1976 in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Six Catholic civilians died after members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group, broke into their homes and shot them. Three members of the Reavey family were shot at their home in Whitecross and four members of the O'Dowd family were shot at their home in Ballydougan. Two of the Reaveys and three of the O'Dowds were killed outright, with the third Reavey victim dying of brain haemorrhage almost a month later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robin Jackson</span> Northern Irish loyalist (1948–1998)

Robert John Jackson, also known as The Jackal, was a Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary and part-time soldier. He was a senior officer in the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) during the period of violent ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland known as the Troubles. Jackson commanded the UVF's Mid-Ulster Brigade from 1975 to the early 1990s, when Billy Wright took over as leader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Hanna</span> Northern Ireland loyalist (d. 1975)

William Henry Wilson Hanna MM was a high-ranking Ulster loyalist who founded and led the Mid-Ulster Brigade of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) until he was killed, allegedly by Robin Jackson, who took over command of the brigade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Francis Green</span> Irish Republican

John Francis Green, was a leading member of the North Armagh Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army. He was killed in a farmhouse outside Castleblayney, County Monaghan, by members of the Mid-Ulster Brigade of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). According to Intelligence Corps member Fred Holroyd, Special Reconnaissance Unit officer Robert Nairac was involved in Green's killing. Green's was one of the 87 killings attributed by the Pat Finucane Centre to the group of Ulster loyalist paramilitaries, Ulster Defence Regiment soldiers and Royal Ulster Constabulary officers known as the Glenanne gang. No one was ever prosecuted for the killing.

This is a timeline of actions by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group since 1966. It includes actions carried out by the Red Hand Commando (RHC), a group integrated into the UVF shortly after their formation in 1972. It also includes attacks claimed by the Protestant Action Force (PAF), a covername used by the UVF. Most of these actions took place during the conflict known as "the Troubles" in Northern Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenanne gang</span> Informal alliance of Ulster loyalists active in the 1970s

The Glenanne gang or Glenanne group was a secret informal alliance of Ulster loyalists who carried out shooting and bombing attacks against Catholics and Irish nationalists in the 1970s, during the Troubles. Most of its attacks took place in the "murder triangle" area of counties Armagh and Tyrone in Northern Ireland. It also launched some attacks elsewhere in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland. The gang consisted of soldiers from the British Army's Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR), police officers from the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), and members of the Mid-Ulster Brigade of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). Twenty-five UDR soldiers and RUC police officers were named as purported members of the gang. Details about the group have come from many sources, including the affidavit of former member and RUC officer John Weir; statements by other former members; police, army and court documents; and ballistics evidence linking the same weapons to various attacks. Since 2003, the group's activities have also been investigated by the 2006 Cassel Report, and three reports commissioned by Irish Supreme Court Justice Henry Barron, known as the Barron Reports. A book focusing on the group's activities, Lethal Allies: British Collusion in Ireland, by Anne Cadwallader, was published in 2013. It drew on all the aforementioned sources, as well as Historical Enquiries Team investigations. The book was the basis for the 2019 documentary film Unquiet Graves, directed by Sean Murray.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harris Boyle</span> Northern Irish loyalist (1953–1975)

Harris Boyle was an Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) soldier and a high-ranking member of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary organisation. Boyle was implicated in the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings, and took part in the attack at Buskhill, County Down when an armed UVF gang wearing British Army uniforms ambushed The Miami Showband at a bogus military checkpoint. The popular Irish cabaret band was driving home to Dublin after a performance in Banbridge. He was one of the two gunmen killed when the bomb they were loading onto the band's minibus exploded prematurely. He is sometimes referred to as Horace Boyle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert McConnell (loyalist)</span> Ulster loyalist paramilitary

Robert William McConnell, was an Ulster loyalist paramilitary who allegedly carried out or was an accomplice to a number of sectarian attacks and killings, although he never faced any charges or convictions. McConnell served part-time as a corporal in the 2nd Battalion Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR), and was a suspected member of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Cleary</span> Irish Republican

Peter Joseph Cleary was an Irish republican and a leading member of the 1st Battalion of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA)'s South Armagh Brigade. He held the rank of Staff Officer and served as the unit's treasurer. He was implicated by journalist and author Joe Tiernan in the killing of Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) corporal and alleged Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) member Robert McConnell. Ten days after McConnell's killing, Cleary was shot dead by the Special Air Service (SAS) after being arrested at the home of his girlfriend outside Forkhill. He was the first person in Northern Ireland to be killed by the SAS, following the admission of their deployment there in January 1976. According to the SAS, he was shot after attempting to take the rifle from the officer who was guarding him in a bid to escape.

John Oliver Weir is an Ulster loyalist born and raised in the Republic of Ireland. He served as an officer in Northern Ireland's Royal Ulster Constabulary's (RUC) Special Patrol Group (SPG), and was a volunteer in the illegal Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). As a member of the UVF's Mid-Ulster Brigade led by Robin "the Jackal" Jackson, Weir was a part of the Glenanne gang, a group of loyalist extremists that carried out sectarian attacks mainly in the County Armagh area in the mid-1970s.

Robert John "R. J." Kerr, was a leading Northern Irish loyalist. He served as the commander of the Portadown battalion of the Ulster Defence Association's Mid-Ulster Brigade. Along with the Mid-Ulster Ulster Volunteer Force's brigadier Robin Jackson, Kerr was implicated in the killing of Catholic chemist William Strathearn. Royal Ulster Constabulary Special Patrol Group officers John Weir and Billy McCaughey named him as one of their accomplice; however, neither Kerr nor Jackson were questioned by police or brought before the court, for "reasons of operational strategy". Weir and McCaughey were convicted of Strathearn's killing.

UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade formed part of the loyalist paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force in Northern Ireland. The brigade was established in Lurgan, County Armagh in 1972 by its first commander Billy Hanna. The unit operated mainly around the Lurgan and Portadown areas. Subsequent leaders of the brigade were Robin Jackson, known as "The Jackal", and Billy Wright. The Mid-Ulster Brigade carried out many attacks, mainly in Northern Ireland, especially in the South Armagh area, but it also extended its operational reach into the Republic of Ireland. Two of the most notorious attacks in the history of the Troubles were carried out by the Mid-Ulster Brigade: the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings and the Miami Showband killings in 1975. Members of the Mid-Ulster Brigade were part of the Glenanne gang which the Pat Finucane Centre has since linked to at least 87 lethal attacks in the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wesley Somerville</span> UVF member (c. 1941–1975)

William Wesley Somerville was an Ulster loyalist militant, who held the rank of lieutenant in the Ulster Volunteer Force's (UVF) Mid-Ulster Brigade during the period of conflict known as "the Troubles". He was also a serving member of the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR). Somerville was part of the UVF unit that ambushed the Irish cabaret band The Miami Showband at Buskhill, County Down, which resulted in the deaths of three of the bandmembers. Somerville was killed, along with Harris Boyle, when the bomb they had loaded onto the band's minibus exploded prematurely. His brother, John James Somerville, was one of the three convicted murderers of bandmembers Brian McCoy, Fran O'Toole and Tony Geraghty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hillcrest Bar bombing</span> Bomb attack by the UVF in 1976

The Hillcrest Bar bombing, also known as the "Saint Patrick's Day bombing", took place on 17 March 1976 in Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a loyalist paramilitary group, detonated a car bomb outside a pub crowded with people celebrating Saint Patrick's Day. Four Catholic civilians were killed by the blast—including two 13-year-old boys standing outside—and almost 50 people were injured, some severely.

During the evening of 19 December 1975, two coordinated attacks were carried out by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) in pubs either side of the Irish border. The first attack, a car bombing, took place outside Kay's Tavern, a pub along Crowe Street in Dundalk, County Louth, Republic of Ireland - close to the border. The second, a gun and bomb attack, took place at Donnelly's Bar & Filling Station in Silverbridge, County Armagh, just across the border inside Northern Ireland. The attack has been linked to the Glenanne gang, a group of loyalist militants who were either members of the UVF, the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR), the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and the closely linked UVF paramilitary the Red Hand Commando (RHC), some of the Glenanne gang were members of two of these organizations at the same time like gang leaders Billy Hanna who was in both the UVF and the UDR and who fought for the British Army during the Korean War and John Weir who was in the UVF and was a sergeant in the RUC. At least 25 UDR men and police officers were named as members of the gang. The Red Hand Commando claimed to have carried out both attacks.

The Charlemont pub attacks were co-ordinated militant Loyalist paramilitary attacks on two pubs in the small village of Charlemont, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, carried out by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) on the 15 May 1976. The attacks have been attributed to the Glenanne gang which was a coalition of right-wing Loyalist paramilitaries and subversive members inside the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), the Ulster Defense Regiment (UDR) and the British Army.

References

  1. ↑ "Oscar nominated actor Stephen Rea pledges support for documentary maker Seán Murray". Irishnews.com. 14 October 2020.
  2. ↑ Moore, Paul. "Unquiet Graves Is The Documentary Everyone Will Be Talking About Tonight". Balls.ie.
  3. ↑ "RTE silent over source of funding for Glenanne killers documentary Unquiet Graves". Newsletter.co.uk. 28 September 2020.
  4. ↑ "Unquiet Graves". Belfastfilmfestival.org.
  5. ↑ "UNQUIET GRAVES (IRISH FOCUS)". Ifi.ie. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  6. ↑ "Unquiet Graves (Documentary Film Screening)". Regionalculturalcentre.com. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  7. 1 2 "Sean Murray's Unquiet Graves to premiere in Belfast on February 21st". Scannain.com. 20 February 2019.
  8. ↑ Moriarty, Gerry. "British intelligence tried to get UVF to 'shoot up a school', documentary claims". The Irish Times .
  9. ↑ "30th Galway Film Fleadh : 10-15 July 2018" (PDF). Galwayfilmfleadh.com. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  10. ↑ O'Carroll, Sinead (25 September 2020). "The Explainer Interview: The story of Unquiet Graves with filmmaker Seán Murray". TheJournal.ie.
  11. ↑ Team, Balls (17 September 2020). "Viewers Were Blown Away And Furious Watching 'Unquiet Graves' Last Night". Balls.ie.
  12. ↑ "Unquiet Graves: a documentary exposing Britain's dirty war in Ireland". Thecanary.co. 9 November 2018.
  13. ↑ "Unquiet Graves: TD Charlie Flanagan writes to RTE about 'dubious' documentary on Glenanne Gang". Belfast Telegraph .
  14. ↑ Staines, Michael. "Producers of film on Loyalist murder gang slam Flanagan over criticism". Newstalk.com.
  15. ↑ "RTE defends Unquiet Graves decision amid mounting criticism". Newsletter.co.uk. 2 October 2020.
  16. ↑ News, Irish Legal (6 October 2020). "NI: Documentary filmmaker instructs Ó Muirigh Solicitors over 'smear campaign'". Irishlegal.com.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  17. ↑ "Director responds to 'Unquiet Graves' criticism". Independent.ie. 4 October 2020.
  18. ↑ O'Doherty, Shane Paul (1 November 2021). "Seán Murray – Unquiet Graves – Balanced Filmmaking or IRA Propaganda?". The Irish Peace Process. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  19. ↑ O'Doherty, Shane Paul (18 November 2019). "Paul O'Connor, Director of the Pat Finucane Centre, IRA Volunteer". The Irish Peace Process. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  20. ↑ McKinney, Seamus (23 November 2019). "Prominent human rights campaigner Paul O'Connor admits he was a teenage IRA recruit". The Irish News. p. 1. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
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