15th July, 2022.
Anne Caldwell was speaking ahead of a number of commemorative events to mark the death of Tobias Molloy, who was just 18-years-old when he was killed by a rubber bullet fired by a soldier at the Camel’s Hump checkpoint on July 16, 1972. Blasted in the chest at close-range, Tobias was taken to a hospital in Letterkenny where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
This Saturday marks five decades since the teenager was killed.
“It’s hard for me to think that I might see justice,” Anne Caldwell remarked. “I was 20 when he was killed. It doesn’t feel like 50 years ago.
“To be honest, I have no faith in British justice at all. The things that have happened over the years have compounded that belief – not just in our case but in lots of other cases.”
Speaking yesterday (Wednesday) Anne remarked that the recent incident where mourners were attacked at the funeral of the killed Palestinian journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh threw into stark relief, the day her cousin’s remains were brought home to Fountain Street. “Basically, that brought it all back,” she explained.
“When that journalist was killed and her funeral cortège was attacked that brought up a memory for me. I remembered when Tobias’s remains were being brought back to his mother’s house,” she explained.
“The British Army fired rubber bullets at the cortège, some of them even struck the hearse.
“There were lots of young people there following the hearse and to me, all the army did was swell the ranks of the IRA that night.”
After that despicable incident, Mrs Caldwell agreed that many local people were outraged and angry, which in a way led to the massive turn out the day Tobias was laid to rest in Doneyloop Graveyard.
“The day of his funeral, the town came to a standstill,” Anne remembered. “People either left their work or didn’t go to work and walked with the hearse all the way from Strabane to Doneyloop. I remember the day was so hot the tar was bubbling on the road. It was the biggest funeral I’d seen until the ones for the hunger strikers took place.
“I think although he was a quiet lad, what happened when the rubber bullets were fired at the cortège after the remains were coming home, it made people come out in such big numbers to the funeral.”
Why Tobias was singled out to be shot, has never been established although it is believed by the family that it was because he was an IRA volunteer.
In recent years, the Pat Finucane Centre (PFC) has been working towards seeking a new inquest in the North, although this prospect was refused in 2021 by the Attorney General.
“When Tobias was shot, he was taken to a hospital in Letterkenny where he was pronounced dead on arrival,” a spokesperson for the PFC explained. “This meant his death was recorded in the republic and the subsequent inquest was heard in this jurisdiction – without the ability to call military witnesses or test the evidence fully.
“For the past number of years, we have been working with the Molloy family and their lawyers to seek a new inquest in the North, so that the military witnesses and MOD technical experts can come and account for their actions. This has proved an almost insurmountable task… but from the evidence gathered to date, including from eyewitnesses and a new pathology expert report, it is arguable that Tobias died on impact when the rubber bullet was fired directly at, and struck Tobias’s chest… if Tobias died in the North, his inquest should, by law, be held in the North too.”
The spokesperson concluded, “The British government now plans to roll out new legacy legislation that effectively would close down the Molloy family’s chance at justice, as well as justice for thousands of families bereaved during this conflict.”
Although Anne Caldwell says it remains a comfort to the family that Tobias is still remembered half a century after he was murdered, she maintains that the British Government has hidden information to protect the person responsible for the killing.
“They’re using as an excuse that he wasn’t killed on this side of the border but that is debatable,” she added.
“A witness has said that they heard him taking his last breath on the spot when he was shot. The British Government are still hiding evidence to this very day, rather than look for justice for victims.”
The Itinerary of events
• Friday, July 15 midnight (July 16 morning): Torchlight procession from Daly’s Filling Station – An Siopa Beag (Coneyburrow Road) to the former Camel’s Hump site retracing the steps Tobias took on that fateful night.
• Saturday, July 16, 1-3pm: ‘In their Footsteps’ shoes display, Castle Street, Strabane, hosted by the Pat Finucane Centre. The ‘In their Footsteps’ campaign is a call on the British and Irish governments to implement an acceptable and effective mechanism to deal with the past. On display will be pairs of shoes belonging to individuals who were seriously injured or killed during the conflict.
• Saturday, July 16, 6.30pm: Anniversary mass, Church of the Immaculate Conception.
•Saturday, 7.30pm: Unveiling of Memorial Stone to Tobias at the Memorial Garden located at the entrance to Inisfree Gardens.
• Sunday, July 17, 4pm: Anniversary march from Cluney Gardens, Clady to Donnyloop Cemetery. The speaker will be Padraig Mc Lochlainn TD.
The organisers would like to extend a Céad Míle Fáilte to everyone to join them at each of these events as they fondly remember Tobias Molloy.
With many thanks to: We Are Tyrone and Michael Devlin for the original publication.
Follow these links to find out more on this story: No justice for Molly family after 50 years
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