Key dates in Claudy bomb inquiry
This is the timetable of key events surrounding the Claudy bomb massacre 30 years ago.
July 31, 1972
:: Suspected IRA bombs explode in Claudy, Co Derry, without warning, killing nine people.
March 1980
:: Father James Chesney, former curate in the parish of Cullion, Co Derry, dies in obscurity.
:: Catholic Church leaders say he denied rumours that he was an active member of the IRA’s South Derry Brigade when he was brought in for questioning.
July 2002
:: On the 30th anniversary of the bombing, the father of the youngest victim, nine-year-old Kathryn Eakin, urges the IRA to break its silence and admit if it was responsible for the attack.
September 2002
:: It emerges that a letter was sent to several prominent people claiming a Father John Chesney had admitted his involvement with the Provisionals during a meeting with another priest in Malin Head, Co Donegal, in 1972.
:: The discrepancy in the name led some to claim the letter was bogus, but it was enough to reopen the Claudy investigation.
October 2002
:: The Police Service of Northern Ireland begin a new inquiry into the bomb attack, led by Detective Chief Inspector Pat Steele.
December 2002
:: Police chiefs reveal that the Catholic Church and former Northern Ireland Secretary William Whitelaw were aware of a priest’s involvement in the bombing but failed to arrest or question him.
