George Kirkpatrick: Man who fought Troubles murder conviction dies

He maintained he was framed for a notorious Troubles murder, but has died without clearing his name.

Earlier this week, in a quiet corner of the County Down countryside several miles outside Rathfriland, about 30 people gathered in a churchyard.

Braving an unseasonal chill in the air and the passing showers, the mourners quietly looked on as the body of 74-year-old George Kirkpatrick was lowered into the ground.

The funeral service and burial were short.

There was little fuss.

To the casual observer, the wider import of this moment wouldn't have been apparent.

But the passing of George Kirkpatrick is significant.

Because while some in this community will say good riddance to a man they believe was a murderer, others are haunted by the fact he went to his grave always protesting he was an innocent man.

And they fear the truth about an almost 50-year-old murder mystery remains buried too.

George Kirkpatrick was born into a Protestant farming family, near Castlewellan, County Down, in the 1940s.

He was, those who knew him admit, a sometimes difficult man. Not always easy to get along with. But he was liked too.

In the 1970s, he found work as a lorry driver. He got married and lived a fairly simple, low-key type of life. He had a passion for tractors and cars.

He was living in Castlewellan in May 1975, when 17-year-old Catholic Francis Rice was abducted and murdered near the town.

The killing was claimed by the Protestant Action Force - a cover name for the UVF.

Six years later, three Protestant men from the area, Mr Kirkpatrick and brothers Eric and Cyril Cullen were arrested over the killing.

Speaking to BBC Northern Ireland's Spotlight programme, in 2018, George Kirkpatrick recalled his police interview.

"They said: 'Well you know why you are here.' They took all the stuff off us, bootlaces, shoelaces and all that off us.

"And I says: 'I have no idea why I am here.' He says: 'You are in here for the murder of Francis Rice.' And I think I said to them: 'You have got the wrong man, I had nothing to do with that. Nothing whatsoever.'"

After several days of continuous questioning, Mr Kirkpatrick and the Cullens all signed confessions saying they carried out the murder together.

But from the moment they were charged and out of the interview suites, all three claimed they had been tricked and coerced into the confessions by detectives.

The confessions were the only evidence against them.

But they were all found guilty and served 12 to 13 years in prison.

In the 2018 Spotlight programme, serious concerns were raised about the safety of the convictions.

A forensic psychiatrist questioned the veracity of the confessions and how they could have been admissible in court.

He was concerned that Mr Kirkpatrick, in particular, was a person susceptible to pressure.

Various inconsistencies in the case against the men were also identified.

Other possible suspects emerged, including Leslie Ross - a known UVF man and suspected serial killer, now dead - who lived in Castlewellan at the time. It was also confirmed that none of the three convicted men ever had anything to do with the UVF.

The PSNI has not commented on claims that the three Castlewellan men suffered a miscarriage of justice, because the Rice murder is being reviewed by the Police Ombudsman.

Two detectives involved in the case in 1981 were contacted by Spotlight in 2018 but did not respond to a series of written questions put to them.

However the family of Francis Rice have always steadfastly believed the right people were found guilty.

In 2018, George Kirkpatrick said: "I do feel for the Rice family. They have lost a son but the man they think killed him didn't kill him. They think I done it but there is a day coming I hope that Mr and Mrs Rice will know the truth."

As a result of the Spotlight film, the Criminal Case Review Commission has been re-examining the safety of the convictions.

Cyril Cullen died in 2016.

Eric Cullen, now 66, remains the lone survivor of the so-called Castlewellan Three.

As the rain came down on the churchyard and mourners hurried away from George Kirkpatrick's grave, Mr Cullen vowed to continue to fight to clear their names - still insisting they did not kill Francis Rice, and clinging onto the hope that new facts may yet emerge and not be buried with the passing of Mr Kirkpatrick and the passing of time.