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Showing posts with label Seamus Bradley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Seamus Bradley. Show all posts
Daniel Bradley ✒ writes to the North's British Justice Minister, Naomi Long regarding the death of his brother at the hands of British troops during Operation Motorman.


Dear Naomi,

I write regarding an Inquest held into the death of my brother Seamus Bradley, on 31st July 1972. I have fought for many years and pursued every possible line of enquiry to uncover the truth of what happened to my brother Seamus on the night of 31st July 1972. 

I was present when my brother was killed and watched as a soldier fired the first shots which resulted in his death. This event has haunted me, my family and all who knew Seamus in the years since. The subsequent treatment of investigations into the death of my brother caused immense pain and distress to myself, to my parents who were distraught at the loss of a son, and to the many friends Seamus had in our community in Creggan. 



After many decades and without any assistance other than my own resolve and determination for the truth, I was able to secure a second Inquest into the death of my brother Seamus, due to serious and consequential flaws in the original Inquest into my brother’s death held in October 1973. The outcome of this second Inquest was published by the Judicial Communications Office on 15th August 2019, and I have attached a copy of this for reference. 

In addition to this I have attached two witness statements of the events of 31st July 1972 from a Constable William Thompson Cunningham, as well as ambulance driver John Walter Simpson from the first Inquest into the death of my brother on October 1973. I would like to bring to your attention what I feel to be a major and blatant omission and disregard for the judicial and investigative process, evident in these attached documents. 

Both of the attached contemporaneous witness statements from the original Inquest attest to the fact that an ambulance was called for my brother at 6:15am from Altnagelvin to collect my brother from St. Peter’s School in Creggan, which is some distance away on the other side of the City of Derry. Constable William Thompson Cunningham’s attached statement clearly states that around 7:00am he remembers viewing my brothers remains in the morgue of Altnagelvin Hospital for forensic examination. 

These documents from the Inquest of 1973 were entirely omitted from the above mentioned second Inquest into the death of my brother on the night of 31st July 1972, despite the consequential and clear statements they contain regarding the timeframe of events that night. In the published report of the second Inquest into the death of my brother dated 19th August 2019, statement one of Private Jamieson states clearly that my brother was shot at 4:45am, within the first hour of the commencement of Operation Motorman at 4:00am on the night of 31st July 1972. 

I believe these attached statements from the original Inquest into the death of my brother in October 1973, as well as the testimony of Private Jamieson during the Inquest of 2019 demonstrate clearly and unequivocally that a period of two hours elapsed between the initial shots fired at my brother and his arrival at Altnagelvin Hospital. 

However, in its final publication of August 2019, the second Inquest into the death of my brother rules that he had been shot between 5am and 6am, and that a period of only one hour had elapsed between this event and my brother’s arrival at hospital. This longer time period of two hours would, I believe, have been sufficient for my brother to have received urgent emergency care, and indeed had my brother been taken immediately for medical care it is possible he may not have died on the night of 31st July 1972. 

The second Inquest, published in August 2019, in the absence of this vital evidence and testimony found that a period of only one hour had elapsed between the death of my brother and his arrival at Altnagelvin. I have no explanation personally as to why these vital testimonies were omitted from the Inquest findings of August 2019. I appeal to you to seek information from the Police Service of Northern Ireland, as well as records at Altnagelvin Hospital regarding the precise time of the shooting of Michael Doherty, who was also badly wounded on the night of Operation Motorman on 31st July 1972, and arrived at the hospital some time before my brother Seamus, which would corroborate with the evidence given at the second Inquest of August 2019. 

I am very grateful for your reply to my correspondence sent via Mark Durkan on 7th September, and would very much appreciate the opportunity to meet with you and to discuss the above. Thank you for your kind words regarding my own personal campaign for justice, moreover, simply for the full truth of the events of the night of the death of my brother in 1972. Despite the passage of many years and many obstacles I can assure you my own determination and resolve, for the truth and for justice for my brother, has never wavered.

Daniel Bradley is a Derry justice campaigner.

A Long Time Waiting For Justice

Daniel Bradley ✒ has questions for the Brits and the IRA.

I often heard the story of James Connolly and others, but James Connolly struck me with his bravery on how he was captured, tortured and shot by a firing squad.

To think the same thing happened to my brother Vol Seamus Bradley, but sadly his commanding officer and other comrades who knew the truth on how Vol. Seamus Bradley died did not come forward.

Forty nine years ago at the age of 19 with Operation Motorman taking place and Vol. Seamus Bradley decided to protect myself and others from being murdered at the Creggan shops by running down Bishop's Field drawing attention to himself. He was shot twice. After falling, a Saracen went towards him and picked him up and took him away, stripped him naked, badly beat him, threw him on the ground where they shot him another three times while interrogating him. I can safely say my brother would not have given any information. So they decided as he was bleeding to death to put the belt of an army rifle around his neck to hang him.

Vol. Seamus Bradley was informed on. The morning of Operation Motorman British soldiers entered our home with pictures of my brother and asked where he was by name. Arresting my father and putting him in a Saracen it came over the radio that Vol. Seamus Bradley was dead.

At the age of 16 I decided to seek information on who informed on my brother, this informer was well protected by MI5. I suffered at the hands of MI5, the police and sadly the IRA. As the years went by I fought my brother's case, seeking a new inquest, the truth and justice. I approached a certain IRA man seeking witnesses. The next day I received a phone call telling me to go to Creggan where I was to meet two people, where one man said to me, "Bradley, the IRA haven't gone away you know." As I stood up him the other quietly said "we will do our investigations." They got back to me 3 months later with the message that they did not get anything.

My question today is: what happened to all those other Volunteers that were there that night, why were they told to step down and not come forward?

Daniel Bradley is a Derry justice campaigner.

Oh What Have They Done?

Eamon Sweeney writing in Derry News reports that:
Bid To Quash Bradley Inquest Findings is “quite extraordinary” says family’s lawyer

A move by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to quash Inquest findings into the killing of a 19-year-old IRA member shot dead by the British Army during Operation Motorman in Derry in 1972, has been described as “unprecedented” and “politically motivated” by a lawyer representing the family.

And, a SDLP MLA has said that if an apology for the killing had not recently been sought, it is doubtful whether the MoD have would have sought a reversal of the court’s findings in the case.

In August this year the Coroner’s Court determined that the shooting of Seamus Bradley in Creggan 47 years ago was ‘unjustified’, supposedly bringing a decades long campaign to clear his name to a conclusion.

IRA member Seamus Bradley, shot by a British soldier
during Operation Motorman in Derry on July 31, 1972.

However, in recent days the MoD has lodged a request for a judicial review of the inquest findings in a bid to quash the conclusions in the case presided over by Judge Patrick Kinney. The ministry is also seeking to force another Inquest into the case. If the application proves successful, it will be the third inquest into the killing since the original one held in 1973.

The shooting of Seamus Bradley at Bishop’s Field on July 31, 1972 came amidst the largest deployment of British land forces since the Suez Crisis of the 1950’s. Over 25,000 soldiers were used to clear the so-called ‘no go’ areas in Derry and Belfast from open control by both factions of the IRA.

As a result of their incursion into Creggan in the early hours of the morning, Mr Bradley and 15-year-old Daniel Hegarty were shot dead.

In April this year the Public Prosecution Service announced that a man known only as Soldier B is to be charged with the teenager’s murder after the High Court overturned a previous decision not to prosecute. The ex-serviceman is also to be charged with wounding Daniel Hegarty’s cousin Christopher who survived being shot in the head at close range by the same man.

The circumstances in which Seamus Bradley’s life was taken was hotly disputed for decades.
The British Army contended that the Provisional IRA man had been perched in a tree and holding a sub-machine gun when he was shot at least four times by Soldier 1 of the Royal Scots Regiment between 5.15 and 6.15am on the morning in question.

Mr Bradley’s family however continually maintained that the victim had been removed from the scene, physically tortured and then denied medical assistance which contributed to his death.
The Coroner however rejected both these versions of the events and determined the victim had been shot by a soldier who got out of a Saracen, fell to one knee and shot Seamus Bradley several times The findings of Judge Patrick Kinney were aided by the testimony of Raymond Carton who gave the inquest an eyewitness account of the events.

In delivering his findings in August the judge concluded that Seamus Bradley was running across Bishop’s Field away from a British Army Saracen and did not have a weapon; he could not reasonably have been perceived as posing a threat of death or serious injury; the use of force by the soldier was entirely disproportionate to any threat that could have been perceived; the soldier who shot Seamus Bradley did not adhere to the terms of the Yellow Card rules of engagement and that the soldier was not justified in opening fire.

The British Army deployed over 25,000 soldiers in order to break the
nationalist 'no go' areas in Derry, Belfast and other areas of the North.

In another section of the Inquest findings, the Coroner also stated:


Seamus Bradley was collected by the same Saracen and taken to St Peter’s School which was a designated aid station. He died en route to that station. No first aid or medical assistance was provided to Seamus Bradley by the soldiers. If such aid had been provided then there was a reasonable prospect that Seamus Bradley may have survived the shooting. Seamus Bradley was not mistreated by military personnel in the Saracen in the form of physical assault, torture or shooting. However, he was denied even the most basic form of first aid treatment. Operation Motorman was not planned, controlled or regulated in order to minimise to the greatest extent possible, the risk of life, principally because of the lack of planning for casualties, both civilian and military … the investigation into Seamus Bradley’s death was flawed and inadequate.


The High Court received the MoD’s application for a Judicial Review of the Inquest findings on November 14. The 25 page document obtained by the Derry News states:

The Coroner’s verdict is irrational in that it necessarily involves the rejection of the credible, consistent and corroborated accounts from the military witnesses in favour of an uncorroborated account from Mr (Raymond) Carton, provided for the first time in 45 years … in accepting the Carton account the Coroner has, necessarily, rejected the entirety of the military evidence.

It was also determined that the soldier who fired the fatal rounds could not be identified.
In seeking a route to quash the Coroner’s findings the MoD also refer to Seamus Bradley’s membership of the IRA and the fact that his headstone and a memorial to him in Creggan state that he was “killed in action”, in an attempt to back up the British Army’s contention that he was armed.
The MoD is also contending that the Coroner made mistakes in evaluating the ballistic evidence presented by them and in also in relying upon evidence given by an independent ballistics expert and that the Court “erred in its evaluation of the photographic evidence and grid references in relation to the location of the tree, occupied by the gunman, and identified by the soldiers at the time. The court erred in failing to evaluate the photographic evidence that corroborated the military version of events.”

Seamus Quigley, lawyer for the Bradley family described the MoD’s application for a Judicial Review with a view to a bid to quash the Inquest findings as “quite extraordinary” and “unprecedented” in relation to the outcomes of Troubles legacy cases in Northern Ireland.

Speaking to the Derry News, Mr Quigley said:


I have the impression that the whole thing is being driven by the Army. I think the biggest difficulty they have here is that the Coroner recommended that a file on the case be passed to the Public Prosecution Service.


Referring to recent British Government pronouncements, including those by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, on potential legislative moves to block future prosecutions of British military personnel, Seamus Quigley said he feels the development in the Bradley case has seen the MoD enter the realms of politically motivated decision making.

Under recent proposals, the Conservative party says that if it’s returned to power, it would amend the Human Rights Act in the UK so it does not apply to issues – including Troubles related deaths – which took place before it was enacted in 2000.

Seamus Quigley added:


The mood music around this issue has been quite aggressive in terms of any former soldier being prosecuted for anything. I’m not particularly referring directly to this case, but I’ve noticed that the public relations around it appears to be election fuelled.


SDLP MLA Mark H Durkan has also been involved in backing the family of Seamus Bradley throughout the drive to get the 1972 state forces killing scrutinised via a fresh Inquest. Following the findings laid down by Judge Kinney in August, Mr Durkan wrote to the MoD at the request of the Bradley family seeking an apology from the British Army for the killings.

The MLA received a reply from the MoD on October 22. The letter signed by minister in the defence department, Johnny Mercer and seen by the Derry News states:

Thank you for your letter dated 25 September 2019 in which you ask the Government to consider an apology to the Bradley family following the findings of His Honour Judge Kinney. Your correspondence has been passed to me as the Minister for Defence People and Veterans. The findings are very detailed and my officials are currently considering them. I am not in a position to comment until this process has been completed.

However, Mark H Durkan believes the short timescale of just 50 days between the Bradley family seeking an apology, Mr Mercer’s response to it and the MoD lodging court proceedings is not merely coincidental .
Danny Bradley holding a picture of his brother Seamus.

Speaking to the Derry News, Mr Durkan said:

I have to wonder if an apology had not been asked for would the Ministry of Defence made this move? It is hard to fathom on what basis they are challenging the court’s decision. The findings of the Inquest were explicitly clear. In fact, when I wrote on the family’s behalf seeking an apology I struggled to leave out some of the judge’s conclusions because there were so many of them including that the killing was unjustified. All the family was seeking was an apology, which is the very least that they deserve. Given this move, I cannot help but conclude this decision was politically motivated. I will continue to back the family in their pursuit of truth and justice which everyone deserves regardless of what anyone was involved in.

In a very brief statement, Seamus Bradley’s brother Danny told the Derry News that the development had left him and his family “shocked and hurt.”

It is anticipated that a decision on whether the MoD will succeed in their application for a judicial review will take between six to eight weeks.

⏭ Eamon Sweeney is a Derry journalist who has paid particular attention to victims of state killings.

Bid To Quash Bradley Inquest Findings

Eamon Sweeney on the inquest into the British Army slaying of Seamus Bradley.




19-year-old Seamus Bradley who was killed 
by the British Army on July 31, 1972.

The Inquest findings into one of the most controversial killings of the Troubles in Derry will be made public next month, the Derry News can reveal.

Seamus Bradley was shot dead in highly disputed circumstances by the British Army during Operation Motorman in the early hours of July 31, 1972.

The Coroners Service for Northern Ireland has now confirmed that the findings of the Inquest will be announced by Judge Patrick Kinney on August 15 at Laganside Court in Belfast. The Inquest hearings took place over a twelve-day period last year.

The British Army have claimed for the last 47 years, that Mr Bradley a 19-year-old IRA member, was armed when they opened fire on him close to the Bishop’s Field area of Creggan. This claim has consistently denied by the Bradley family over the decades.

Danny Bradley, brother of the deceased man told the Derry News: “At the end of the day this is good news. It has taken 47 years and caused a lot of hurt for so long.

“I am hoping that the findings will come out the way that we want it and we will be travelling together as family to Belfast next month to hear the outcome.

“It destroyed our family, but I had to get the answer about what happened and I am certainly looking forward to that. After 47 years I will be glad to put it to bed because it has been a struggle.

Seamus Quigley, solicitor for the family told the Derry News: “We share the relief of the Bradley family that after 47 years the findings of the case are now finally in sight.”

In April this year the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) announced that it would proceed with charging a former British soldier with the murder of a teenage boy also killed on the morning of Operation Motorman.

15-year-old Daniel Hegarty was shot in the head on the morning of July 31, 1972. His cousin Christopher Hegarty was also struck in the head by a round fired by the same soldier but survived the shooting. Soldier B, the man responsible for both incidents will also face a charge of wounding with intent in relation to Christopher Hegarty.

The decision to prosecute the soldier represented the reversal of a decision taken in 2016 not to prefer charges against the former British serviceman. That decision was however overturned after a Divisional Court ruling last year.

Previous decisions not to prosecute in the Hegarty case were taken in 1973 after the original Inquest and again in 2008 following a review of the case by the former Historical Enquiries Team.

Announcing the decision in relation to the Hegarty case, Director of the PPS Stephen Herron said: “I have given careful consideration to all of the available evidence. This has included material obtained in the course of the initial investigation; by a later investigation carried out by the Historical Enquiries Team; material generated by Inquest proceedings and a number of forensic reports-the most recent of which was provided after the Court ruling in 2018.

“I have concluded that the evidence which can be presented at court is sufficient to provide a reasonable prospect of conviction and the Evidential Test for Prosecution is met.”

Nine people also died in Claudy on July 31, 1972 as three car bombs tore through the heart of the County Derry village.

Operation Motorman: Findings Of Seamus Bradley Inquest To Be Made Public Next Month

Daniel Bradley continues his quest for truth in the case of his brother Seamus, slain by the British Army in 1972.

Fighting For The Truth

Daniel Bradley persists in his quest for justice in respect of the British Army slaying of his brother in 1972.

Answers Wanted

Daniel Bradley recalls the British Army slaying of his brother Volunteer Seamus Bradley forty five years ago today, and continues to campaign against the cover-up.

Still Covering Up 45 Years On

An email which Daniel Bradley sent to the Legacy Investigation Branch on 20 July 2017 in which he accused the body of covering up the 1972 British Army slaying of his brother, IRA volunteer Seamus Bradley.

Sadly That Was A Lie

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