Father's unsolved murder led sisters to seek global justice

Summarised from BBC Northern Ireland's report · Updated 24 Oct, 05:08 · Archive

Robert McCartney, a 33-year-old father-of-two, was killed in Belfast in January 2005, but no one has been convicted of his murder.

Robert McCartney was killed in January 2005 outside Magennis's bar, located behind the Royal Courts of Justice in central Belfast. The 33-year-old father-of-two was engaged at the time. Violence erupted inside the bar, but according to available accounts, McCartney took no part in it. He was attacked as the melee spilled onto the street and died from his injuries, yet no one has ever been held to account.

Immediate steps were taken to destroy evidence. The pub's CCTV tape was removed and the bar was cleaned with bleach before police could examine it. A former Police Service of Northern Ireland detective noted that the systematic destruction of evidence suggested experience in such cover-ups. The IRA later acknowledged that several of its members were involved in the killing.

McCartney's sisters have pursued justice persistently, campaigning internationally including at the White House. Their efforts led to the creation of a documentary series, Murder in Belfast: Sisters Seeking Justice, bringing the unsolved case to wider attention.

Read the report

• The gang murder and the women who went to the White House looking for answersThe fallout of the murder of 33-year-old Robert McCartney, a father-of-two, reverberated around the world - forcing the IRA to acknowledge several of its members were involved.BBC Northern Ireland · 24 Oct, 00:01

In this story: Robert McCartney · Belfast · IRA · Police Service of Northern Ireland

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