merrion street

Justice, Equality and Defence Minister Alan Shatter intends to appoint an independent person to conduct a review into matters relevant to the deaths of Cpl Fintan Heneghan, Pte Mannix Armstrong and Pte Thomas Walsh, on 21st March 1989, while serving with ‘C’ Coy, 64th Infantry Battalion, United Nations Interim Force in the Lebanon (UNIFIL).

In the course of preparing the State’s defence against a legal case, new information has come to light. This information was not available in 2003 when the Department of Defence conducted a review of its records and concluded that no further enquiry was warranted.  Had the information been available then, it is possible that a different conclusion might have been reached.

The review will encompass both a review of all relevant documents and interviews with persons considered appropriate by the appointee.  It is anticipated that such independent person will be appointed in the coming days with a brief of reporting back to the Minister with his/her findings within three to four months.

However, the Minister wishes to stress that a commitment has been made to the families that they will be informed in the first instance in relation to the identity of the reviewer.  No further statement will be made by the Department until such time as the families have been informed.  Senior officials have already met with the families.