Jean McConville
Encyclopedia
Jean McConville was a woman from Northern Ireland
who, in 1972, was abducted and killed by the Provisional IRA (IRA) and secretly buried on a beach in the Republic of Ireland
. The IRA subsequently claimed that she had been passing information on republican activities to British security forces. An investigation by the Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland rejected these claims. McConville's body was recovered in 2003.
after marrying Arthur McConville, a Catholic man by whom she had ten children. After being intimidated out of a Protestant district, the McConville family moved to West Belfast's Divis Flats in the Lower Falls Road
. Arthur died in 1971. One of her sons, Robbie McConville, was imprisoned in Long Kesh at the time of her death for Official IRA
activities before defecting to the newly formed Irish National Liberation Army
in 1974.
, approximately 50 miles from her home. The IRA did not admit their involvement until over twenty years later, when they passed information on the whereabouts of the body. After a prolonged search, co-ordinated by the Garda Síochána
- during which the search area and time involved was expanded by the Gardaí - the search was abandoned, as no body could be located in the area specified by the IRA.
In August 2003, her body was accidentally found by members of the public while they were walking on Shelling Hill beach. Jean McConville was buried beside her husband Arthur in Holy Trinity graveyard, Lisburn
, County Antrim
.
Claims that McConville was killed for helping an injured British soldier were rejected in an official investigation. The IRA subsequently claimed that they had discovered she was passing information on local republicans
to the security forces via a secret radio transmitter. McConville's children reject this claim and have called on the IRA to clear her name. In April 2004 the inquest into McConville's death returned a verdict of unlawful killing. In January 2005, Sinn Féin party chairman, Mitchel McLaughlin
, claimed that the killing of Jean McConville was not a criminal act, given the context of the Troubles
and of the belief that she had been a British spy.
McLaughlin's claim prompted the Irish journalist Fintan O'Toole
to write a rebuttal, arguing that the abduction and extrajudicial killing of Mrs McConville was clearly a "warcrime by all accepted national and international standards".
Nuala O'Loan
stated after an investigation by her office that there is no evidence that Jean McConville had ever passed information on to the security forces. O'Loan said she would give the family more details of the findings of her investigation in the near future and would make those details public.
O'Loan said it was not her normal role to confirm or deny the identity of people working as agents for the security services. "However, this situation is unique. Jean McConville left an orphaned family, the youngest of whom were six-year-old boys. The family have suffered extensively over the years, as we all know, and that suffering has only been made worse by allegations that their mother was an informant. As part of our investigation we have looked very extensively at all the intelligence available at the time. There is no evidence that Mrs. McConville gave information to the police, the military or the security service."
In August 2006, Northern Ireland's chief constable Sir Hugh Orde said he is not hopeful anyone will be brought to account over the murder, saying that "[in] any case of that age, it is highly unlikely that a successful prosecution could be mounted."
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
who, in 1972, was abducted and killed by the Provisional IRA (IRA) and secretly buried on a beach in the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. The IRA subsequently claimed that she had been passing information on republican activities to British security forces. An investigation by the Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland rejected these claims. McConville's body was recovered in 2003.
Biography and Family
Jean McConville was born into a Protestant family in East Belfast but converted to CatholicismCatholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
after marrying Arthur McConville, a Catholic man by whom she had ten children. After being intimidated out of a Protestant district, the McConville family moved to West Belfast's Divis Flats in the Lower Falls Road
Falls Road
The Falls Road is the main road through west Belfast in Northern Ireland; from Divis Street in Belfast city centre to Andersonstown in the suburbs. Its name is synonymous with the republican communities in the city. It is known as one of the more famous streets in Northern Ireland, drawing many...
. Arthur died in 1971. One of her sons, Robbie McConville, was imprisoned in Long Kesh at the time of her death for Official IRA
Official IRA
The Official Irish Republican Army or Official IRA is an Irish republican paramilitary group whose goal was to create a "32-county workers' republic" in Ireland. It emerged from a split in the Irish Republican Army in December 1969, shortly after the beginning of "The Troubles"...
activities before defecting to the newly formed Irish National Liberation Army
Irish National Liberation Army
The Irish National Liberation Army or INLA is an Irish republican socialist paramilitary group that was formed on 8 December 1974. Its goal is to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a socialist united Ireland....
in 1974.
Killing
Jean McConville was abducted from her home in December 1972 by twelve IRA members, comprising both men and women, who killed her with a single bullet to the back of the head. McConville's body was buried secretly on a beach in County LouthCounty Louth
County Louth is a county of Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Louth. Louth County Council is the local authority for the county...
, approximately 50 miles from her home. The IRA did not admit their involvement until over twenty years later, when they passed information on the whereabouts of the body. After a prolonged search, co-ordinated by the Garda Síochána
Garda Síochána
, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí , is the police force of Ireland. The service is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.- Terminology :...
- during which the search area and time involved was expanded by the Gardaí - the search was abandoned, as no body could be located in the area specified by the IRA.
In August 2003, her body was accidentally found by members of the public while they were walking on Shelling Hill beach. Jean McConville was buried beside her husband Arthur in Holy Trinity graveyard, Lisburn
Lisburn
DemographicsLisburn Urban Area is within Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area and is classified as a Large Town by the . On census day there were 71,465 people living in Lisburn...
, County Antrim
County Antrim
County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...
.
Aftermath
In the immediate aftermath of her killing, Jean McConville's children were brought into local authority care.Claims that McConville was killed for helping an injured British soldier were rejected in an official investigation. The IRA subsequently claimed that they had discovered she was passing information on local republicans
Irish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
to the security forces via a secret radio transmitter. McConville's children reject this claim and have called on the IRA to clear her name. In April 2004 the inquest into McConville's death returned a verdict of unlawful killing. In January 2005, Sinn Féin party chairman, Mitchel McLaughlin
Mitchel McLaughlin
John Mitchel McLaughlin is the former General Secretary of Sinn Féin and an MLA.McLaughlin was born in Derry city, Northern Ireland and educated at Long Tower Boys School, Derry and Christian Brothers Technical College, Derry....
, claimed that the killing of Jean McConville was not a criminal act, given the context of the Troubles
The Troubles
The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...
and of the belief that she had been a British spy.
McLaughlin's claim prompted the Irish journalist Fintan O'Toole
Fintan O'Toole
Fintan O'Toole is a columnist, assistant editor and drama critic for The Irish Times. He has written for The Irish Times since 1988 and was drama critic for the New York Daily News from 1997 to 2001. He is a literary critic, historical writer and political commentator, with generally left-wing views...
to write a rebuttal, arguing that the abduction and extrajudicial killing of Mrs McConville was clearly a "warcrime by all accepted national and international standards".
Result of Police Ombudsman investigation
In July 2006, Police OmbudsmanPolice Ombudsman
The Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland is a non-departmental public body intended to provide an independent, impartial police complaints system for the people and police under the Police Acts of 1998 and 2000.-Personnel:...
Nuala O'Loan
Nuala O'Loan
Nuala Patricia O'Loan, Baroness O'Loan, DBE is a noted public figure in Northern Ireland. She was the first Police Ombudsman in between 1999 and 2007. In July 2009, it was announced that she was to be appointed to the House of Lords. Consequently, she was raised to the peerage as Baroness O'Loan,...
stated after an investigation by her office that there is no evidence that Jean McConville had ever passed information on to the security forces. O'Loan said she would give the family more details of the findings of her investigation in the near future and would make those details public.
O'Loan said it was not her normal role to confirm or deny the identity of people working as agents for the security services. "However, this situation is unique. Jean McConville left an orphaned family, the youngest of whom were six-year-old boys. The family have suffered extensively over the years, as we all know, and that suffering has only been made worse by allegations that their mother was an informant. As part of our investigation we have looked very extensively at all the intelligence available at the time. There is no evidence that Mrs. McConville gave information to the police, the military or the security service."
In August 2006, Northern Ireland's chief constable Sir Hugh Orde said he is not hopeful anyone will be brought to account over the murder, saying that "[in] any case of that age, it is highly unlikely that a successful prosecution could be mounted."
See also
- Mary Travers (murder victim)Mary Travers (murder victim)Mary Travers was a teacher killed by the IRA on the 8 April, 1984.-Overview:Travers was a twenty-two year old Catholic and one of two daughters of Tom Travers, a magistrate. She, her father, and mother, had just left St Brigid's Catholic Church in Derryvolgie Avenue in south Belfast when gunmen...
- Joanne Mathers
- The Hanna familyThe Hanna familyRobert James Hanna, Maureen Hanna and their only child David Hanna were killed by a Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb on 23 July 1988.-Overview:Robert Hanna was a forty-five year old building contractor married to Maureen, aged forty-four...
- Gillian JohnstonGillian JohnstonGillian Johnston, chemist and shop worker, killed by the IRA, 18 March 1988, aged 21.-Overview:Johnston was a twenty-one year old chemist and shop worker from Tonaghgorm, Legg, near Belleek, County Fermanagh. She was engaged for two years, having dated her fiance since she was fifteen...
- Thomas Oliver (farmer)Thomas Oliver (farmer)Thomas Oliver, farmer, killed by the IRA on 19 July 1991.-Overview:A farmer with no connection to paramilitary group or the security forces, Oliver was a thirty-seven year-old father of seven children, and a native of Riverstown on the Cooley peninsula, near Dundalk...
- James Henry BabingtonJames Henry BabingtonJames Henry Babington, Provisional Irish Republican Army murder victim, killed 4 October 1989, aged 52.-Overview:Babington was a laboratory analyst shot by the IRA on his way to work on Cavehill Road, where he resided....