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Today 4 January marks the 50th Anniversary of the shooting of the Reavey brothers in Whitecross.
On Sunday 4 January 1976 just after 6pm three masked gunmen walked through the door of the Reavey family home at Greyhilla, Whitecross and opened fire on the three brothers who were in the house at the time. Normally on a Sunday night the entire 12 members of the Reavey family would have been in the house but on this occasion by sheer chance they were visiting an aunt. John Martin, 25 and Brian Reavey, 22 died at the scene but younger brother Anthony, 17 hid under a bed, and despite being shot and seriously wounded, managed to crawl to a neighbours house to raise the alarm. Twenty six days later Anthony also died.
A packed anniversary Mass was held at 10am this morning at Carrickananny Chapel. Another event that was planned to mark the anniversary today has been postponed due to family illness.
This afternoon the Reavey family grave at Ballymoyer had a light dusting of snow as the winter sun shone through the trees, a beautiful winter scene that contrasted so shockingly with the unspeakable horror that took place on this day fifty years ago
While 50 years seem an incredible length of time, especially when you are young, looking back on it, the resultant mental and physical consequences of the traumatic events of that year still remain, not just for those people directly affected but for those in the many communities when the troubles called to their door.
Despite much campaigning for justice, fifty years later no one has been held to account for the murders.
