Government admits to covering up Catholic priest’s role in 1972 Ulster car bombing: The Church of England Newspaper, Aug 27, 2010 p 5.

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Willie Whitelaw in 1972

First printed in The Church of England Newspaper.

A Roman Catholic priest was the mastermind behind a 1972 bombing in Northern Ireland that left nine dead, a report by the Police Ombudsman into the Claudy bombing has found.

The report concluded that Fr. James Chesney was behind the terror attack.  However, the priest was able to escape justice after a deal was brokered between the government and the Catholic Church to transfer him to the Republic of Ireland.

The government has apologized for its role in the cover-up, while the Roman Catholic Church has accepted the “shocking” findings in the report released on Aug 24.

On July 31, 1972 three car bombs exploded in the village of Claudy, injuring 30 and leaving nine, including three children dead.  No one was ever charged with the murders, but the Police Ombudsman’s report found that the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) detectives who investigated the attack determined that Fr. Chesney “was the IRA’s director of operations in South Derry and was alleged to have been directly involved in the bombings and other terrorist incidents.”

“Police ombudsman investigators spoke to a former special branch detective who said he had wanted to arrest Fr. Chesney in the months after the bombing,” the report stated, “but that this had been refused by the assistant chief constable (ACC) special branch, who had advised that ‘matters are in hand’.”

Fearful of provoking civil unrest and fueling sectarian conflict if a Catholic priest were arrested for the murders, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Willie Whitelaw met on Nov 30, 1972 with Cardinal William Conway, who agreed to transfer the priest to Donegal.

Fr. Chesney later died of cancer in 1980, aged 46.

The Church of Ireland welcomed the release of the report saying “the indiscriminate bombings that took the lives of nine people in the quiet village of Claudy were a brutal act. The events of that day brought pain and suffering that cast a long shadow over the lives of many families in the Claudy area.”

A spokesman for the Diocese of Derry and Raphoe said “we pay tribute to the dignity and persistence of the families who have long sought for truth concerning this tragedy. Our prayer and hope is that this report will make a significant contribution in a journey of healing for the scars of a terrible act”.

Writing from Oberammergau while on holiday, Bishop Ken Good stated his “thoughts and prayers” were with those “who have walked a painful journey since that tragic day in Claudy. The truth surrounding these events should have come out at that time. It is right that the truth should come out now. Those who were so cruelly bereaved or injured on that day deserve no less.”

Following the release of the report, the Northern Ireland secretary, Owen Paterson, said: “For my part, on behalf of the government, I am profoundly sorry that Father Chesney was not properly investigated for his suspected involvement in this hideous crime, and that the victims and their families have been denied justice.”

In a joint statement Archbishop Seán Brady of Armagh, and Bishop Séamus Hegarty of Derry, said “we accept the ombudsman’s findings and conclusions.”

“Throughout the Troubles, the Catholic church, along with other churches in Northern Ireland, was constant in its condemnation of the evil of violence. It is therefore shocking that a priest should be suspected of involvement in such violence,” the Catholic leaders said.