The daughter of murdered ex-Sinn Féin official and British agent Denis Donaldson has accused the Irish Government of taking a “contradictory” position on Troubles-related cases following repeated delays in his inquest.
Jane Donaldson said that while Dublin’s political leaders have expressed support for a “victim-centred and human rights compliant approach” about legacy issues, their words “ring hollow”.
Her father’s inquest has been adjourned 27 times due to an ongoing investigation by the Garda.
The Belfast woman expressed concerns that a “hierarchy of victims” could be created, with families whose loved ones were informers or British state agents “at the bottom of it”.
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Denis Donaldson (55), a close colleague of former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams, was shot dead by the Real IRA at an isolated cottage near Glenties, Co Donegal, in April 2006.
[ Who was Denis Donaldson?Opens in new window ]
The murder happened four months after he was exposed as an MI5 informer, with him admitting to leading a double life for the previous 20 years.
He was one of Sinn Féin’s most senior figures in the North — also serving periods in Long Kesh prison and was friends with Bobby Sands — and the revelation came in the wake of his working as the party’s top administrator in the Stormont Assembly after the signing of 1998 Belfast Agreement.
No one has ever been charged with the killing.
Ms Donaldson is also critical of Garda Commissioner Drew Harris, who she said had refused “point blank” to meet her family.
A journal in which her father “wrote his final words” remains with gardaí despite previous assurances it would be returned.
Ms Donaldson told The Irish Times that following her father’s death, the family went to retrieve his personal belongings. “For years we’ve asked for the journal to be returned. It’s his final writing, we want it to give to mummy. We don’t know exactly what it contains but for us, it’s very personal,” she said.
The Donaldson family approached the Government three years ago seeking an independent judge-led inquiry into the case.
Ms Donaldson claims that written requests to meet the Taoiseach and Tánaiste “have been ignored” since then.
“No Irish Government Minister or Minister in the Northern Ireland Executive wants to tackle the lack of transparency in my father’s case,” she said.
Denis Donaldson’s death is among the 164 “post-conflict” murders since the signing of the 1998 peace accord.
Two years ago, a police watchdog report found “corporate failures” by the Police Service of Northern Ireland in that they did not carry out a threat assessment once Donaldson’s whereabouts had been revealed.
However, the ombudsman report did not find that the murder could have been prevented.
Ms Donaldson said she believes that some people “allowed, or even enabled, my father to be exposed as an agent of the state”.
“But they do not want to expose the truth of their role in his murder, or in many other murders directly related to the conflict. No side wants to come clean on this. That remains one of the biggest obstacles to a new truth recovery process,” she added.
Responding to Ms Donaldson’s criticism, the Garda said that it “does not comment on ongoing investigations or on remarks made by third parties.”
It appealed for anyone with information to come forward “to help us bring those responsible to justice”.
The Department of Justice described Donaldson’s murder as a “callous act of violence” and said it was “regrettable” that it has not been possible to bring those responsible to court to answer for their actions.
“Extensive inquiries” have been carried out by Garda authorities and the criminal investigation remains “open and active” with a family liaison officer assigned to the family, it added.
The department said it appreciated that the adjournment of inquest proceedings “will be a matter of concern for the family of Mr Donaldson” but added that “adjournments arise in circumstances where the criminal investigation into the death is ongoing in order to ensure that the criminal proceedings are not compromised by the conduct of an inquest”.
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