Statement from Geraldine Finucane on the announcement of a Public Inquiry into the 1989 murder of her husband Pat Finucane
I welcome the announcement of the Secretary of State in the House of Commons today, that an independent statutory public inquiry will be established into the murder of my husband, Patrick Finucane. After 35 years of campaigning for such an inquiry, I believe this announcement represents a significant step forward for my family in our fight to uncover all of the circumstances behind Pat's murder.It has been a long journey to get to the point where the establishment of an independent public inquiry has finally become a reality. I look forward to having the opportunity to participate in a statutory inquiry and expose publicly the whole truth behind the murder of my husband.
This has always been the objective of the campaign that my family and I have pursued for 35 years. We have only ever been concerned with uncovering the truth. It is this that has kept us going. It is the thing that has been missing, all these years. We did not believe that his murder was simply the work of gunmen who killed him. We had no confidence that police investigations would ever bring those truly responsible to justice. We were not satisfied with private, limited reviews from which we were excluded. We could not and did not accept the assurances of previous British governments that they were anxious to set the record straight, because they were never prepared to do so in public.
An independent, statutory public inquiry is and was the only way to bring the whole truth behind the murder of Pat Finucane into the light of day.
The journey to this point is not one that my family and I have had to endure alone. Indeed, we would never have succeeded without the assistance and support and encouragement of so many people over the years. I could not begin to thank them all by name here today. So many people, all over the world, were willing to give generously of their time and talent again and again. I want to record my heartfelt thanks and gratitude to each and every one of them. We would not be here today without them.
However, I would like to single out one person out for special mention, and that is Peter Madden. Peter was my husband's business partner and friend, throughout Pat's all-too-short legal career. He has been a source of unending strength and resilience. I cannot thank him enough for what he has done for my family, or, indeed, the entire legal team that has represented us so fearlessly and brilliantly in our fight for a public inquiry.
Most of all, I believe this inquiry can be a watershed moment in the difficult subject of legacy in this part of our island. If a public inquiry in to the murder of Pat Finucane can finally publicly examine all of the collusion that plagued our society for so many years, then there is hope that the real process of healing can begin. The murder of Pat Finucane is the last remaining Weston Park case. It is high time it was properly investigated, publicly examined, and finally resolved.
I believe that my family deserve this after so many years. Pat Finucane deserves this after so many years. Society as a whole deserves this, after so many years.
After 35 years of cover-ups, it is time for truth.
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Also looking for an inquiry into the death of many of his bandmates in the Miami Show Band is Stephen Travers (center) shown in Chicago receiving the iBAM! Person of the Year award in 2019.Cyril Regan, Stephen Travers and Breandán Magee. Stephen was in Chicago where a capacity audience heard of the continuing injustices perpetrated against victims of the conflict in Ireland regardless of religious or political persuasion. Stephen Travers and Eugene Reavey are co-founders of Truth and Reconciliation Platform, (tarp.ie)
The British Government Announces Inquiry Into the Murder of Pat Finucane
