This will be an essential watch.
On March 16th, 1988, one of the most violent and infamous incidents to escalate The Troubles occurred.
At the funerals of three IRA members – Sean Savage, Daniel McCann, and Mairéad Farrell – who themselves had been killed by British special forces in Gibraltar just 10 days before, loyalist gunman Michael Stone fired shots and threw grenades at mourners. Stone killed three people and injured over fifty more. Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness were both in attendance at this funeral procession.
The Milltown Cemetery attack marked a dramatic worsening of the violence in a period of 14 days that proved to be one the darkest periods of The Troubles.
In The Funeral Murders, we’re going to hear from the from family members of the three men that were killed by Stone – Kevin Brady, Thomas McErlean and John Murray. In their official synopsis of the documentary, the BBC said that no family members of the victims have ever spoken to the media, until now.
Aside from this unheard testimony from the families of victims, Vanessa Engle’s documentary will also speak with ex-army and ex-Royal Ulster Constabulary figures.
The hour-long documentary will include also feature interviews with republicans and loyalists, including Gerry Adams.
Regarding the documentary, Engle said: “Beyond its value as a document of historical record, the film also has contemporary resonance, thirty years on from the funerals in showing how enduring conflict arises when groups of people have politically polarised views.”
The film will air in March on BBC2.
Clip via –TVArchivesNI
