Ballymurphy: 'Significant' damages awarded in civil actions

Two men shot and wounded in a British Army operation in Belfast more than 50 years ago are to receive "significant" undisclosed damages.

Joseph Millen was shot in the back in Ballymurphy in August 1971 as he tried to avoid gunfire.

Bobby Clarke, who is now 89, was shot as he attempted to help neighbours and children escape.

Ten people including a priest and a mother of eight were killed over a three-day period.

The confidential pay-outs form part of High Court settlements reached by the two men on Friday in their legal actions against the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

The MoD is also to pay both plaintiffs' legal costs as part of the settlements.

The shootings happened after the introduction of internment in Northern Ireland.

Internment was a security operation in which paramilitary suspects were detained without trial.

In May last year an inquest found that those killed in Ballymurphy were "entirely innocent".

The people killed in the incident included a priest trying to help the wounded and a mother of eight. Nine of the 10 victims were killed by the Army, the coroner said.

The coroner, now Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan, could not say definitively who shot and killed the tenth victim, John McKerr.

She delivered her findings over the course of more than two hours.

She said the deaths took place during Northern Ireland's Troubles in a "highly charged and difficult environment".

A number of legal actions taken by families of those killed at Ballymurphy reached a settlement in June 2022.

Relatives of nine of those who died have already secured compensation in their claims against the MoD.

In court on Friday, it was confirmed that similar confidential settlements had been reached in lawsuits brought by Mr Clarke and Mr Millen.

Mr Clarke, who was injured on 9 August while trying to help his neighbours, was given the last rites by Fr Hugh Mullan as he lay on waste ground, and later witnessed the fatal shooting of the priest and another of the victims, Frank Quinn.

Mr Millen was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital and underwent emergency surgery after being shot in the back.

Mr Justice Humphreys was told that related claims against the chief constable of the PSNI are to be discontinued.

Congratulating all sides for reaching resolutions, the judge said: "I know a long period of time has elapsed since the events that gave rise to these claims, which doesn't make it any easier for the parties."

Speaking outside court following the announcement, Mr Clarke said "Two people died helping me…it's a terrible burden to bare, 52 years this year on 9 August, it's hard."

Meanwhile, Mr Millen said: "I got shot three weeks before I was getting married, so it has really impacted on that I can assure you. It never leaves you, I still think about it."

Padraig Ó Muirigh, who represented both Mr Clarke and Mr Millen, said his clients were "satisfied with the outcome of this litigation".