Date Posted:Tuesday, December 18, 5:00:39 Author: birminghamipsc Subject: McGurk's Bar owner dies.
Patrick McGurk, the owner of McGurk's Bar in Belfast where 15 people were killed by a UVF bomb in 1971, has died.
He was 86 years old. His wife and his 14 year old daughter were among those killed in the north Belfast bomb.
Fifteen people, including two children and three women died in what was one of the worst atrocities of the Troubles.
The theory that the explosion in the Catholic bar was caused by the IRA added to the pain felt by the bereaved. In 1977, a UVF man confessed to it.
The driver of the getaway car admitted his part in the attack and it became clear that it was carried out by loyalist paramilitaries, the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF).
The driver received 15 life sentences and remains the only person ever to have been convicted in relation to the explosion.
Mr McGurk and his three sons were also injured in the blast.
A memorial was unveiled on the Queen Street site of the bar in 2001 to mark the 30th anniversary of the bombing.
Mr McGurk forgave those responsible for the explosion and prayed for the men who carried out the atrocity.
