Springhill inquest finds British soldiers acted in breach of lethal force rules

The findings of the inquest into the Springhill shootings - where five people were killed by British soldiers in 1972 - were delivered at the Belfast Coroner’s Court on Thursday, April 30.

An initial inquest held in July 1973 returned open verdicts in respect of all five deaths.

On December 22, 2014, the Attorney General for Northern Ireland directed that fresh inquests be held. They formally opened in February 2023, commencing with personal statements from the families of each of the deceased.

After hearing oral evidence from more than 80 witnesses over approximately 70 days of hearings, the inquest concluded on April 30, 2024. 

In the findings delivered in Belfast on Thursday, Justice Scoffield, sitting as a coroner, concluded that the five fatal shootings were carried out by soldiers acting in breach of the 'yellow card' rules governing the use of lethal force.

The coroner said that while four of the deceased were unarmed at the time they were shot, the same could not be determined for the fifth person who was killed.

The coroner found that, while suspicions remain regarding the activities of certain individuals prior to the shootings, none of the deceased should have been shot in the circumstances.

The coroner said he would take submissions on whether his ruling should be referred to the public prosecution service.

The Springhill victims

John Dougal (16) died from a single high-velocity gunshot wound to his back, causing fatal lung injury, in the garden of 60 or 58 Westrock Gardens. Martin Dudley (19) and Brian Petticrew (17) were seriously injured by gunfire in and around the same time and location. 

While it was accepted that Dougal was a member of the junior wing of the PIRA, the coroner concluded it had not been proven that he was armed at the time of his death, nor that he was acting innocently.

Nonetheless, the coroner said that the force used by Soldier A was not reasonable.

Father Fitzpatrick (42), Patrick Butler (37), and David McCafferty (15) each died from a single high-velocity gunshot wound near 84 Westrock Gardens.

Fr Fitzpatrick and Butler were together, believed to be acting in a humanitarian capacity, immediately before their deaths. They were struck by the same bullet, which passed first through Fr Fitzpatrick, striking him through the left cheek and neck, before striking Butler in the head.

The coroner found both Fr Fitzpatrick and Butler were unarmed and posing no risk to anyone at the time they were shot.

McCafferty was shot on the left side of his back while he was, more likely than not, attempting to assist or recover the body of Fr Fitzpatrick. The coroner found he, too, was unarmed and posing no risk to anyone at the time he was shot. 

The coroner found that Fr Fitzpatrick, Butler, and McCafferty were all shot by Soldier A, who the coroner found had lost control of the shooting incident and fired without having first made a proper assessment of the risk (if any) actually posed.

Margaret Gargan (13) died from a single high-velocity gunshot. The coroner found she was shot directly in the head as she stopped to talk to friends on the pavement at Westrock Gardens on her way home from the Westrock and Whiterock Community Centre. The coroner concluded she was shot by, more likely than not, Soldier E.

The coroner was satisfied that Gargan was not armed at the time she was shot and that she was posing no risk to anyone, and, on the balance of probabilities, that no one else in her immediate vicinity was posing any such risk at the time when she was shot.

The five Springhill victims.

Families react

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Jacqueline Butler, one of Patrick Butler's six children, said her father's only crime was "his kindness, helping those who were injured."

"For that, he was killed and wrongly labelled a gunman," she said.

"That lie has burdened three generations of our family. Today, we speak the truth: My daddy was an innocent man. 

"Today, we restore his dignity, and today we can finally let him rest in peace. 

"Paddy Butler will always be remembered as he truly was: A loving father, a gentleman, and our hero.

"Paddy Butler was innocent."

Harry Gargan, brother to victim Margaret Gargan, said: "The verdict of unjust killing will never end the decades of grief and trauma inflicted on our family.

"But truth of what happened to our beautiful sister Margaret is always what our late mother and father deserve."

Jim Dougal, brother of victim John Dougal, said: "54 years - we've all heard it before - to get to the truth.

"I would like some justice. 

"Seven people were involved in the killings that night, seven British soldiers. The British lost their identity, amazing to us.

"We want justice and those soldiers to be brought to book for what they've done."

"Vindicated"

Relatives for Justice, an Irish-based human rights NGO, noted on Thursday that the evidence for the Springhill inquest concluded just one day before the statutory deadline enacted in the controversial Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act shut down 36 inquests.

"One day more, and these findings may never have come to light," the group said on Thursday. "This is exactly what the Legacy Act — and the ICRIR [Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery] it established — were designed to do."

In a further statement, Relatives for Justice said: "These families' dignity after decades of unimaginable suffering has been vindicated by the rule and application of law.

"Human rights are universal and victims rights must be vindicated at a time when perpetrators try to cast themselves as victims.

"There is nothing to fear from the truth setting us all free."