Jason, Richard and Mark Quinn were three brothers who were all killed in a firebomb attack on their home in Ballymoney

Ballymoney

Ballymoney is a small town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 9,021 people in the 2001 Census. It is currently served by Ballymoney Borough Council....

 on 12 July 1998, towards the end of the three-decade period known as "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...

".

The murders had taken place at the height of the stand-off

Drumcree conflict

The Drumcree conflict or Drumcree standoff is an ongoing dispute over a yearly parade in the town of Portadown, Northern Ireland. The dispute is between the Orange Order and local residents. The residents are currently represented by the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition ; before 1995 they were...

 over the Orange Order march at Drumcree. The boys, aged 9, 10 and 11, died after a petrol bomb was thrown through a window in the rear of their house by Loyalists

Ulster loyalism

Ulster loyalism is an ideology that is opposed to a united Ireland. It can mean either support for upholding Northern Ireland's status as a constituent part of the United Kingdom , support for Northern Ireland independence, or support for loyalist paramilitaries...

 at around half past four in the morning. The boys' mum and family friends escaped the resulting fire with minor injuries. The family was of mixed religion, the father being Protestant

Protestantism

Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...

 and the mother Roman Catholic

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

, who were living in a predominantly Protestant housing estate. The children attended a local state school. A fourth brother, Lee, was staying with a relative in Rasharkin

Rasharkin

Rasharkin , is a small village and townland in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is south of Ballymoney, near Dunloy and Kilrea. It had a population of 864 people in the 2001 Census, after 30 years of gradual decline from a peak of 1,000 in 1971.-History:...

 at the time of the attack. The M.P.

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for the area, Dr. Ian Paisley

Ian Paisley

Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, PC is a politician and church minister in Northern Ireland. As the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party , he and Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness were elected First Minister and deputy First Minister respectively on 8 May 2007.In addition to co-founding...

, visited the site of the attack and described the murders as "diabolical" and "repugnant".

Representatives of other groups from all sides of the constitutional issue in Northern Ireland also condemned the killings. Thousands of Catholics and Protestants attended the boys' funeral two days later.

At the brothers' Requiem Mass, the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Down and Connor, Dr. Walsh

Patrick Walsh (Bishop)

Patrick Joseph Walsh , is an Irish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church and from 1991 until 2008 he was the 31st Bishop of Down & Connor. Dr Walsh was born in 1931 at Cobh, Irish Free State...

 observed that "For all too long the airwaves and the printed page have been saturated with noises - strident, harsh, discordant noises - carrying words of hatred, of incitement, of recrimination, words not found in the vocabulary of Christianity. But the time for words is over. It's now time for silence, a silence in which we will hear the voice of God."

Jailed

A loyalist named Garfield Gilmour was jailed in 1999 for life for his part, as a driver, in the attack and murder of the brothers.

The Orange Order released a press statement a year after the attack, stating, "According to today's judgment the murders were a combination of a sectarian attack by the UVF (Ulster Volunteer Force) and a personal grudge between Gilmore and the uncle of the three boys."

Sources

• Lost Lives:The stories of the men, women and children who died as a result of the Northern Ireland troubles, David McKittrick
  David McKittrick
  David McKittrick is a Belfast-born journalist who has reported on Northern Ireland since 1971.-Professional career:McKittrick began his career as a reporter for the East Antrim Times. He joined the Irish Times in 1973 as a reporter in Belfast, becoming Northern editor in 1976 and London editor in...
  
  , Seamus Kelters, Brian Feeney and Christ Thornton, pp.1434-1436. ISBN 9 781840 182279.