Rory O'Kelly

Mr O’Kelly, who was a founding member of the SDLP, a devout Catholic and a father of five, was shot dead at Lyttle’s Bar in his native Coalisland on 4 March 1977 after having returned home to attend a funeral.

Mr O’Kelly had been a solicitor in private practice in Dungannon and Coalisland since 1947. In 1973 he gave up private practice and joined the DPP as an assistant director. His particular responsibility was as assistant DPP for Armagh and Down. Upon taking up the job, he relocated his family from Coalisland to Bangor.

The report notes a comment from a spokesperson for the DPP in the immediate aftermath of the murder that Mr O’Kelly had “been involved in no controversial cases” or any associated with the prevailing security situation at the time. The Commission concludes that the Provisional IRA murdered him “for the sole reason that he worked for the DPP.”

Mr O’Kelly was the first and only member of the DPP to be killed during the conflict but was at the time the fifth person holding judicial office or working in the legal profession killed by the Provisional IRA.

The report finds that Mr O’Kelly’s murder was part of a broader campaign against persons the Provisional IRA considered representatives of the British state and judicial system, but it was unable to identify the gunman.

Mr O’Kelly’s daughter Anne Frances O’Kelly stated that learning of the circumstances of her father’s death was “something sacred and transformative” for her and her late brother, Roger, adding that: “It is only now I realise that no matter how far away I got from Northern Ireland, how happy and interesting my own life turned out, there continued deep inside a feeling of irrecoverable loss and distress.”

Ms O’Kelly concluded: “I hope for a just and satisfactory outcome for everyone who has come to the ICRIR for answers.”

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Sir Chris Bryant, said: “Almost 50 years on from Rory O’Kelly’s brutal murder, it is a momentous day for his family to finally have the information surrounding his death detailed in this report. Reading Anne O’Kelly’s deeply moving personal statement, I was struck by the transformative impact the information provided by the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) has had on her and her family.

“Many families have waited too long to find out what happened to their loved ones during the Troubles, but I strongly believe that the work to uncover this information is of vital importance.

“I look forward to a steady rhythm now being established for the publication of ICRIR’s reports, as we work together to prepare for its transition to the Legacy Commission as set out in the NI Troubles Bill.”