IRA murder in Belfast 2005: survivor speaks out for first time on TV

Brendan Devine, who survived a 2005 IRA knife attack in Belfast that killed his friend Robert McCartney, has spoken publicly on television for the first time.

Belfast murder survivor breaks silence on IRA attack that killed his best friend

Brendan Devine, the sole survivor of a 2005 knife attack in Belfast linked to the Provisional IRA, has spoken on television for the first time about the night his friend Robert McCartney was killed beside him, bbc.co.uk reports.

The two men were attacked near Market Street in Belfast city centre after leaving Magennis's bar on 31 January 2005. Devine had his throat slashed inside the bar and suffered a severe stab wound to the abdomen. McCartney, a 33-year-old father of two who was planning to marry his partner Bridgeen Hagans, was beaten and stabbed outside and did not survive.

"I don't feel guilty for the actual happening but I do worry that my big mouth could have inflamed the situation, and got Bert killed," Devine said. "It's terrible. To have to live with that and to think that you could be a reason for the death of your mate."

Named an IRA leader outside the bar

Devine's account, given in the new BBC documentary series Murder in Belfast: Sisters Seeking Justice, centres on a moment outside the bar when he called out the name of IRA leader Gerard "Jock" Davison.

"I says 'who's Jock Davison? Did he do this to my throat?' And as soon as I said that name, four or five guys were in front of me, and they started shouting, 'you're getting it, you're getting it, you're getting it'," he recalled.

He believes naming Davison — reported to be one of the most senior IRA figures in Belfast at the time — directly triggered the fatal assault on McCartney. "I do and have struggled with guilt of slabbering outside the bar, of shouting at Jock Davison, of inflaming an already hostile situation," he said. Davison himself was killed in a gun attack in Belfast in 2015.

Evidence destroyed, witnesses silent

Despite as many as 70 people being present in the pub that night, not a single witness came forward to identify the attackers. CCTV footage from the bar was taken and destroyed, and forensic evidence appears to have been wiped away when the premises were cleaned with bleach. Police photographs released to the BBC show suspected blood stains that had been marked for forensic examination.

The IRA initially denied involvement. It later issued a statement acknowledging that three of its members had taken part, including two described as "high-ranking volunteers".

Case drew attention from the White House

The murder occurred at a sensitive moment in the Northern Ireland peace process. The IRA was observing a ceasefire but had already been accused of involvement in a string of high-profile robberies, including the theft of £26.5m from the Northern Bank in Belfast.

McCartney's sisters and fiancée launched a public campaign for justice that attracted international attention. They were invited to meet US President George W Bush in Washington DC, and their cause received support from the European Parliament. A former detective who worked on the case describes McCartney in the documentary as "as innocent as they come."

IRA questioned Devine in parallel inquiry

Devine also reveals that the IRA conducted its own secret investigation alongside the official police inquiry and questioned him four times in its aftermath. He later testified at the 2008 trial of three men charged in connection with the killing — all three were acquitted.

He said he only cooperated fully with the police after receiving clearance from the IRA to do so. During the trial he also changed elements of his account of the night's events, though he denied this was done to align his testimony with that of another witness.

Devine was subsequently diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. He describes the period following the murder as one of relentless intimidation and mental strain.

"I had loads of death threats and it was a wee bit daunting trying to juggle all this," he said. "So you're hearing all this, and then even top republicans were saying to me, 'you open your mouth about anything', more or less, 'you're in trouble'."

Regret over acquittals

Twenty years on, the murder remains unsolved in any practical sense — no one has been convicted. Devine says he regrets that his evidence was not sufficient to secure a guilty verdict.

"Am I going to be held responsible for not getting justice?" he asked. "How am I going to get a result with the whole shenanigans of it? The whole lot. It was just a stressful time."

Murder in Belfast: Sisters Seeking Justice was made by BBC Northern Ireland in association with RTÉ.

Source: Google News IE — Crime (en)