SAS unit ‘unjustified’ in shooting dead four IRA terrorists in ambush inquest rules
6 February 2025, 12:45 | Updated: 6 February 2025, 12:46
A coroner has ruled that members of the SAS who shot dead four IRA men in an ambush in Co Tyrone in 1992 used lethal force that was unjustified.
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Northern Ireland's presiding coroner, Mr Justice Michael Humphreys, determined that the special forces soldiers did not genuinely believe the use of lethal force was necessary, and that it was both unjustified and unreasonable.
The four Provisional IRA members - Kevin Barry O'Donnell, 21, Sean O'Farrell, 23, Peter Clancy, 19, and Daniel Vincent, 20 - were shot by the soldiers shortly after the attack which saw the terrorist fire 30 rounds of armour-piercing tracer ammunition at close range from a Soviet-made DSHK heavy machine-gun that they had mounted on the back of a lorry shortly after they had carried out a gun attack on Coalisland RUC station.
The special forces opened fire as the men arrived at St Patrick's Church car park in a stolen lorry they had used during the police station attack.
An inquest, which began in 2023, revealed that the soldiers fired up to 570 rounds during the ambush.
In his findings, Mr Justice Humphreys, also a High Court judge, stated that the use of force was not justified and that the soldiers did not hold an honest belief that it was necessary to prevent loss of life.
The soldiers, in statements at the time, claimed their use of lethal force was justified to protect their lives and others from the IRA unit. However, Mr Justice Humphreys found their actions "not reasonable" in the context they believed themselves to be in.
The judge noted that no attempt was made by the soldiers to arrest any IRA members, even while they lay seriously injured and incapacitated, either on the ground or in the cab of the lorry.
He criticised the operation, stating it was not planned or executed in a way that would minimise the need for lethal force as much as possible.
Mr Justice Humphreys also rejected the soldiers' claims that the IRA members had opened fire in the car park, calling the statements "demonstrably untrue".
He further explained that reports created by the SAS and police after the incident, including those given to government ministers, mentioned simultaneous firing and a firefight. These reports, he said, were "demonstrably untrue and must have been known to be untrue."
"The reasons for putting forward such false justifications for the actions of the soldiers are obvious," he added. "This, coupled with the lack of proper challenge by the RUC investigators, ensured there would be no actual accountability."
He pointed out that a Ministry of Defence (MoD) document referred to the Clonoe ambush as "an excellent Security Forces success."
The inquest also found that state agencies "perpetuated falsehoods" regarding the Clonoe incident, with a press release from the time claiming an "exchange of gunfire," which led the media to adopt this narrative.
"No steps were taken to rectify this and ensure that the public were made aware of a true account of events," Mr Justice Humphreys said. "Indeed, wholly implausible attempts continue to be made to assert that members of the PIRA unit opened fire in the car park. This demonstrably did not happen."
The judge noted that despite Colonel A's statement that ambushes were not carried out in Northern Ireland, the term "ambush" was frequently used in both PSNI and MoD documents created post-event.
The inquest revealed that all four men died shortly before 11pm on February 16, 1992.
Mr Justice Humphreys detailed that Soldier F claimed he opened fire when he believed those in the lorry were about to open fire on the patrol. However, he found that the IRA members were attempting to flee and could not have posed a threat.
The inquest determined that Mr O'Donnell was shot in the back while trying to escape and again in the face while incapacitated on the ground. Mr Justice Humphreys rejected Soldiers F and H's claims that they honestly believed they needed to use force, stating it "must have been obvious to them" that Mr O'Donnell posed no viable threat.
Mr Clancy was shot while attempting to flee and then repeatedly while in a crouched or kneeling position on the ground. Mr Vincent was shot while seated in the lorry's cab and again while lying incapacitated across the seat through the open doors. Mr O'Farrell was shot in the back while running away and again in the face while incapacitated on the ground.
