Ballycastle man appointed as volunteer member of Victims and Survivors Forum

The Forum is a group of victims and survivors, founded in law, with members broadly representing different demographics of victims and survivors; across the gender profile, community background and the type of experience that led to them being a victim. Their role is to bring the lived experience to the research and policy development work the Commission undertakes.

Shane Laverty is a retired school principal from Ballycastle. His brother, an 18-year old, was murdered by the IRA in 1972 when Shane was just ten years old. In 1973, Shane was in close proximity to a large exploding car bomb. The plate glass windows of two shop fronts were shattered on either side of himself and another older brother.

Speaking of his motivations for joining the Forum, Shane said: “There’s a great Martin Luther King quote: ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’ It’s one that really sticks with me and encapsulates my reasons for joining the Forum.

“For me, this isn’t about chasing after anything for myself or my family, but I do want things to be better here for my grandchildren as they grow up. I am not an advocate of forgetting the past. We need to acknowledge every person’s experience learn from what has gone on before, so we do not repeat past mistakes.”

New members of the Forum also include a UDR veteran, the granddaughter of a civilian killed by the British Army, and the son of a Garda officer killed by an IRA splinter group.