RUC appeal for witnesses to journalist's murder

The RUC has appealed for witnesses to the murder of a journalist in Lurgan, Co Armagh to come forward.

The RUC has appealed for witnesses to the murder of a journalist in Lurgan, Co Armagh to come forward.

Mr Martin O'Hagan, a Northern Ireland correspondent for the Sunday World, was shot dead as he walked home from a pub with his wife on Friday night.

RUC detectives have asked anyone who may have noticed the couple as they walked home to come forward.

They also want to speak to the occupants of a silver Subaru car seen in the area at the time of the shooting.

READ MORE

The RUC found a burned-out car a short distance from the scene which they believe was used in the murder.

Mr Martin O'Hagan

Mr O'Hagan's wife has been recalling the last minutes of his life.

Mrs Marie O'Hagan escaped death when the Sunday Worldreporter pushed her into a hedge as gunmen struck a few yards from their home in Lurgan, Co Armagh.

The couple, who had been to the Carnegie Inn in the town centre, were close to their Westfield Gardens home when gunmen pulled up in a car and fired at them at least seven times.

"I can't really remember what happened. People tell me Martin shoved me into the hedge and used his own body to try to shield me," said Mrs O'Hagan.

"It's coming back to me in flashes but the fact that I wasn't shot dead or wounded speaks for itself."

Mr O’Hagan was shot twice in the back. As he lay dying on the pavement he told his wife to "get an ambulance".

One of his three daughters, Ciara who is due to be married in a few weeks time, was passing by in a car when she saw her father slumped on the ground.

She said: "I thought he had maybe tripped and fell. I jumped out of the car. Then I saw the blood on his shirt. I grabbed his jacket and tried to wrap it round him to keep him warm."

The murder has been claimed by loyalist terror group the Red Hand Defenders, a cover name used by the Loyalist Volunteer Force and the Ulster Defence Association.

In a call to a Belfast newsroom, the group said they shot the 51-year-old journalist for "crimes against the loyalist people". Senior security sources believe that the LVF, which has a strong presence in Lurgan and nearby Portadown, carried out the killing.

The Northern Ireland Secretary Dr John Reid said he is appalled at the "barbaric killing" and vowed to track down those responsible.

PA