Journalist
Today marks 30 years since a sheep farmer discovered the battered body of 18 year-old Inga Maria Hauser in a remote spot of Ballypatrick Forest Park on the outskirts of Ballycastle, Co Antrim. The backpacker from Munich had arrived in Northern Ireland on April 6, 1988 after taking a ferry from Scotland just a few … Continue reading Face-to-face with the main suspect in the Inga Maria Hauser murder case
Published in the Sunday World (March 25, 2018) IT'S been over 40 years since Rosemary Campbell was left a heartbroken widow. But for the 84 year-old nothing has changed since the day her Catholic RUC husband was murdered by loyalist paramilitaries. That's because the grandmother has been left with a collusion legacy where walls of … Continue reading The RUC widow left with a collusion legacy
Last week I spoke to institutional abuse survivor Cecil Wilson, who after almost four decades, bravely made a formal police complaint about a violent assault carried out by a teacher inside one of Northern Ireland's most notorious children's homes. This June will exactly mark 40 years since Cecil was left with permanent damage to … Continue reading ‘I want to send a clear message to all abusers…we are coming after you. You will all face justice’
By Patricia Devlin POINTING at an image of his bandmates on an assembly hall screen, Stephen Travers asks a roomful of school pupils, 'Can any of you identify the Protestants or the Catholics?' It was a question no teacher would dare ask, but for the Miami Showband survivor it was part of an important lesson not being taught in today's classroom - the horror … Continue reading Bringing the horror of Ulster’s past into today’s classroom
Simone aged 8 By Patricia Devlin A WOMAN left for dead in a sickening sex attack when she was just eight years-old has broken her silence for the first time. Brave Simone Cunnane from Newry, Co Down, has waived her right to anonymity to tell the Sunday World: "I know the identity of the stranger … Continue reading ‘I know I am not the only one he has raped’ – woman left for dead after horror attack at 8 years old breaks silence
Martin McGuinness 1950 - 2017 News broke shortly after 7am today that Martin McGuinness, former IRA leader turned peacemaker, had passed away. The 66-year-old Irish republican died after a short illness in Derry’s Altnagelvin hospital surrounded by his family. He had a rare genetic disease caused by deposits of abnormal protein – amyloid – in … Continue reading ‘I worked on vital negotiations that I believe have changed Ireland forever, and for good’ Martin McGuinness
Last year I carried out an investigation into how anti-abortion protesters were confronting women using Belfast's Marie Stopes Centre. The article received a lot of feedback, with most shocked at the tactics used by some'pro-life' campaigners. Following this month's High Court case involving one activist challenging a harassment notice served on her by the PSNI, I thought I'd … Continue reading ‘I was told that if I’d been raped, I’d get over it – but I’d never get over terminating my pregnancy’
