Woman whose brother was killed in IRA atrocity at Narrow Water praises 45th commemoration service - and presses governement for answers

Christine Blair travelled from Glasgow for the 45th annual commemoration service outside Warrenpoint yesterday, which was attended by some 250 people.

Her brother, L/Cpl Donald Blair, 23, was one of the 18 men killed in the attack.

Christine is determined that the government should be providing the families with answers about those behind the attack.

The IRA bombers targeted a convoy of vehicles transporting Parachute Regiment soldiers from Ballykinler barracks to Newry on August 27 1979.

As they passed the old Narrow Water castle ruins, terrorists remotely detonated the two bombs from a firing point across the Newry River in the Republic of Ireland.

There was also a 19th victim – Michael Hudson, who had been visiting the Republic of Ireland from London, was killed by Army gunfire across the river following the blasts.

The incident came just hours after Lord Mountbatten, two members of his family and a Co Fermanagh teenager were killed by the IRA in a boat bomb in Co Sligo.

“It went really well, it was a lovely service,” Christine told the News Letter after yesterday’s roadside service. “I saw people I have not seen in 40 years.”

This was only her second time at the event, her first being two years ago.

She is not a fan of the Troubles legacy act, which had been widely claimed to offer amnesty-like deals to perpetrators.

“It doesn't benefit us. It just hangs people like Donald who died to protect their country out to dry while their killers get a get-out-of-jail-free card.

“We have still no answers or justice after 40 years. Nobody should be above the law.”

Speaking of her brother she said: “He just loved life. He loved coming home to spend time with his family and his friends down at the pub.

“He loved the Irish people and had friends in Ireland and back home.

“He just wanted them to have the same freedom as he had. He loved life – but he never had a chance to live it.”

She praised the support she gets from victims’ group the South East Fermanagh Foundation (SEFF).

“There are the only ones who have ever tried to help us get answers.”

The PSNI's Historical Enquiries Team report into the massacre was never completed, she added.

“I think the authorities are just hoping that we all die off before they have to answer any questions.”

Delegations from the DUP, UUP and TUV attended yesterday's service, as well as representatives of the Parachute Regiment Association, SEFF and FAIR (Families Acting for Innocent Relatives) which organised the event.

South Down DUP MLA Diane Forsythe said the 18 soldiers had come to Northern Ireland “to serve here [and] to stand against terrorism and to protect the wider community”.

“Their bravery was clear, but the cowardice of terrorism was to result in their lives being lost here at Narrow Water.”