Family of NI veteran honoured with medal commemorating his nuclear testing service

Stephen Mulholland, who was born at Bellagherty, Ballyronan, served in the Royal Engineers as a Sapper.

He returned to live in Castledawson when he left the army and died at the age of 40 on April 18, 1976, when he was found at his home following a fall.

A nephew of Stephen’s Peter Booker (originally from Cookstown) and his son Kieran who both live in Derbyshire, England, say they applied for a commemorative medal after former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that veterans who took part in nuclear tests would be recognised.

"Unfortunately, so far, all of my other searches into specifics in regards to his squadron or when he was on Christmas Island have come to nothing, I don't know if this information is in the public record. We do know that he was there for some of the nuclear testing though and that is why we were able to claim for the nuclear testing medal that the British government have started to give out to survivors or their families,” Kieran explained.

"When my father and I were recently in Belfast, we scoured the archives of the Mid Ulster Mail in the library there to see if we could find any record of an obituary for Stephen but sadly didn't find anything for the weeks around his passing.”

Although Stephen didn’t live to see the recognition for his serves, his family are honoured and proud that his time on Christmas Island in the Pacific Ocean has finally been acknowledged by the state.

“Stephen has one last living relative in Ireland, his sister-in-law May who lives in Magherafelt,” added Kieran.

The medal has been described by many as “long-overdue recognition” for the service of those involved in the nuclear testing programs.

It is awarded to UK and international personnel who participated in nuclear testing programs 70 years ago, and recognizes the bravery of those who helped build Britain's nuclear deterrent.