David McCaughey tells of his soldier cousin's murder at the hands of the IRA in 1971

News Letter

David McCaughey, whose cousin Dougald McCaughey was one of three soldiers murdered by the IRA in a honeytrap plot in 1971, addresses a Stormont event marking European Victims of Terrorism Day on March 10, 2025. Filmed by Iain Gray.

Transcript

00:00Fifty-four years ago, I received a phone call. It was from my grandfather.

00:09He phoned our house. We stayed at the Tudor Street in London.

00:16And he phoned my father to tell him my father lived a long and a two and a three place

00:23out in Shorthead and Belfast.

00:28I can remember my dad writing me down.

00:31No, no, no, no.

00:34Couldn't he ask me? My dad was saying on the phone.

00:41I thought back to him. It was just like that.

00:44There was just a silence in the house.

00:49Days and days after.

00:52I can remember people coming to the house.

00:55I think this must have been for a particular thing.

01:00You know what I'm saying?

01:02What would people want?

01:07You've got to put it in your mind.

01:09You've got to put it in your mind about life stories.

01:12That day we three boys, my mother, there was actually five people who died that day.

01:29Two mothers had died that day.

01:31Their hearts ended up broken.

01:34They ended up going to their graves with broken hearts.

01:38I can back to, obviously, the day 54 years ago today.

01:44The boys had been stationed in the barracks in the north of the city.

01:49And they were given an afternoon pass to go down into the city centre.

01:56There was a Mooneys bar, a couple of pints in there, the Abercorn bar.

02:02In between this, they ended up being befriended with other guys.

02:08Mooney was in the Abercorn bar.

02:11They then enticed him to go to another bar called Kelly Sellers, which is in the city centre, with females.

02:23It was an arrival at Kelly Sellers.

02:25There was alcohol flowing, and the females were totally beat up.

02:29Mooney was their newfound friend.

02:32Mooney went to the boys, their newfound friends, to become their executioners.

02:36There was transport arranged.

02:40The boys were asked if they wanted to go to a party.

02:44Two of the boys turned round and said, I will go.

02:49The youngest of them all said, I will go to a joke party.

02:53A joke party was called, and that's what it was at once.

02:55A joke party by three marries, with the two older ones.

03:00They said, no, we will go to this party.

03:02So the boys set out with their friends.

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