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The Royal Ulster Constabulary gunned down unarmed Donegal civilian, Michael Leonard, on 17th May 1973. Press release below. The family of Donegal civilian, Michael Leonard, who was shot and killed by a Royal Ulster Constabulary patrol in 1973 are lobbying Irish politicians including Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney, and Minister of Justice Helen McEntee, […]

Today is the 49th anniversary of the murder of 13-year-old Martha Campbell, schoolgirl. Later today, the family of Martha is releasing critical new evidence in a report. You can read some of that new evidence here. The new evidence proves that the British Army poured fire into the exact area when Martha was shot and […]

Secret British Army files prove that Joe McCann was no threat when shot in the back by soldiers of the Parachute Regiment. The family of Joe McCann will present the evidence to the Attorney General when seeking a fresh inquest into his killing on 15th April 1972. Unredacted British Army files secured by Paper Trail […]

The British military files brutally exclaim EXECUTION. Today is the 50th anniversary of the execution of three Scottish soldiers on a lonely brae overlooking the city of Belfast. Their names were John McCaig (17), Joseph McCaig (18) and Dougald McCaughey (23). The teenagers were brothers. All were friends and Fusiliers in the 1st Battalion Royal […]

The families of those killed and injured in McGurk’s Bar have been forced to begin legal proceedings against the Office of the Police Ombudsman Northern Ireland (OPONI). The Office of the Police Ombudsman is supposed to provide an “independent, impartial investigation of complaints about the police in Northern Ireland” (source OPONI website). That includes complaints […]

March 1st 2021 is the 40th anniversary of the start of the second hunger strike. It began when Bobby Sands, the Officer Commanding Irish Republican Army prisoners in the Maze Prison, refused food. At  the start of the second hunger strike, Republican prisoners called off the Blanket Protest which began in 1976. This was reported […]

Britain’s failure to proscribe Loyalist extremist groups will feature in legacy court cases for years to come. Britain, of course, also stands accused of arming and funding Loyalist extremist groups during the conflict, but its failure to proscribe these from the start will be tested by litigation too. The British state’s defence that it was […]

Paper Trail Chairperson Niall Ó Murchú writes on the news of the new inquest for the New Lodge Six and their families and Paper Trail's ongoing archive work.

Martha Campbell was 13 years old when she was murdered close to her home in West Belfast on 14th May 1972. The murder of Martha Campbell is one of a small number of child killings that lies unclaimed by any organisation. Her family and local witnesses have long believed that the British Army shot Martha, […]