Forty-nine years after an IRA bomb killed his son, Billy Gallagher is not giving up the fight for answers.

Tomorrow, marks the anniversary of nine-year-old Gordon Gallagher being killed by an IRA bomb that was in the garden of his home at Leenan Gardens in Creggan.

For many years the IRA had claimed that though the device had been left in the garden, the British army had added the detonator.

That claim was false with the IRA 10 years ago, via a statement given to the Pat Finucane Centre by them, admitted full culpability for the death of Gordon saying: “Republicans fully accept their responsibility for the death of Gordon and apologise to the parents and family of Gordon Gallagher for the pain and grief caused.

“Republicans remain truly remorseful and profoundly sorry for the circumstances that led to Gordon's death.”

At the time of the admission by the IRA back in 2012, Billy was quoted as saying: “I accept the IRA's responsibility for the murder of Gordon, even though it came through a third party and they didn't speak to me directly.

“This has opened the door for further investigation – I want to know who did it and why. I am glad they take full responsibility and accept that they were to blame and no one else was.

“This will help to make sure that everyone else knows the IRA were to blame for Gordon's death, even though I always knew that.”

Questions though still remain and Billy Gallagher is still very much determined to find out the full story of not only what happened to his son but also how easily could the device's detonation have been avoided.

Billy, who is 84 years of age, hopes an official inquest into Gordon's death can be set up soon to establish the full facts but years of lobbying for one appear to keep hitting brick walls.

He said: “I'm speaking because Gordon will be 49 years dead soon and I was hoping if I can twig someone's memory about what happened.

“The police were informed and the army were informed twice before the bomb went off, but they didn't come out to my house at all.

“That has always bothered me for years. The army said that they didn't come out because they thought it was a hoax and then someone else said that they did come out but went to the wrong street.

“The Historical Enquiries Team (HET) had been doing interviews regarding what happened. I gave them the names of two IRA men – the HET never even spoke to them.

“I phoned their office but was told by the girl who answered that 'there was some information that we can't give out to people' – even though I was directly affected with what happened to Gordon.

“Maybe had they interviewed those two IRA men then maybe one of them might have spoken about what happened. But it looks like the HET didn't speak to them. Those two men are still running about and still in Derry.

“I've been trying to get an inquest into Gordon's death as well but nothing has been done so far and I'm a wee bit disgusted with the whole lot.

“The police were no help at all. At the time, they just sent a photographer to take pictures of the scene of the explosion. No one spoke to me – nor did they send anyone round later on.

“They just took photographs around the garden where Gordon was killed and then went straight out.”

In response to this, a PSNI spokesperson said: “The opening of a fresh inquest is a matter for the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service, not the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

“The murder of William Gordon Gallagher was reviewed by the Historical Enquiries Team ( HET ) and a Review Summary Report was delivered to the family in 2010. 

“No new investigative opportunities were identified as a result of the HET review. 

“Murder investigations are never deemed closed and should further credible lines of investigation be identified, which are capable of leading to the identification and prosecution of those responsible, police will follow them.”

A happy, outgoing boy who was bright as a button

Looking back on that fateful day in 1973, Billy said that not long after the killing of his son, two IRA members visited his home to admit leaving the bomb in his garden.

He added: “Two boys came and lied about it at the start. They told me their unit put the bomb there, but no detonator, that the Army must have come back and put a detonator – it's ridiculous.

“Shock or no shock, I never believed that for a second. One of the men who came to tell me the lies, about two or three weeks after it, his wife arrived at my door and she apologised.

“She said, 'We're sorry about your son but these things happen in war'.

“I said, 'Sure my son wasn't at war, he was only nine years of age.' I chased them from my door.”

Billy recalls what happened on the day itself – especially how a change in their usual Sunday morning routine would have devastating consequences when Gordon asked if he could go to an earlier mass service than the one the family usually attended at noon.

He continued: “Gordon came to me on the Sunday morning asking if he could go to the ten o'clock mass. Normally, he would have been with me at the quarter past twelve mass.

“That's when the bomb went off – when the quarter past twelve mass was taking place. I had let him go to the earlier mass.

“It was a cold February morning. We had built a snowman at the back of the garden. He was playing Cowboys and Indians with his younger brother and then it happened.

“An ambulance took him to Altnagelvin. I was at mass and the priest took me there straight from that when we heard what happened.

“I went to see Gordon and his last words to me were, 'daddy can you get me a drink?'. Five hours after the bomb going off, Gordon died.

“Gordon was bright as a button. He was a happy, outgoing boy. His uncle was teaching him karate which he loved.

“He hadn't much of a life as he was only nine when he was killed. We moved out of the house not long after Gordon died. My oldest son, who was 10 at the time, used to stand out on the landing looking out at where it happened so we thought it was best to get him out of there to a new house. We moved a couple of months after it happened.

“One of my other sons, Paul, was there when it happened. My wife said she remembered the look on his face when he came in and said she had never seen a face like it – it was full of fear.

“My wife was in shock for about three years – she couldn't say Gordon's name. “I had a heart-attack two years after Gordon was killed. My doctor, whose no longer with us now, told me it was a result of delayed shock.

“Regarding compensation, we never got one penny from anybody. No disrespect to the Bloody Sunday families but they got support from councillors, solicitors and others – nobody spoke to us.”

Ten years ago, following the Gallagher family made an appeal to the-then joint First Minister, Martin McGuiness.

At the time of Gordon's killing, Mr McGuiness was, by his own admission, second-in-command in the IRA – although he was in jail when the tragedy happened.

Following the appeal from the Gallaghers to Mr McGuiness, the apology – as well as a statement from Republicans was issued via the Pat Finucane Centre.

It read: “On the night before Gordon was killed IRA personnel were in the process of planning an elaborate plan of attack on a British Army foot patrol whose incursions into the area had been monitored over a period of time.

“The operation was planned to happen in the hours of darkness to avoid civilian casualties. During the process of planting the devices one was accidentally triggered. “This resulted in the IRA having to withdraw because of the presence of the British Army foot patrol and the IRA assumed that the operation was at this point compromised and therefore should be aborted.

“Because of the potential danger to the community the IRA made the decision to notify the RUC/British Army through an anonymous phone call – this clearly indicated the location at the rear gardens behind Melmore/Leenan gardens.

“Following the phone call the immediate district was then saturated by British troops. “The IRA, believing that the British Army had discovered the device during the course of their search, withdrew from the area believing the British army would have cleared the area and rendered the device safe.

“The IRA felt that if they had moved back to retrieve the device given that the British Army now heavily saturated the area they would be captured or shot.

“The following morning young Gordon went out to play in his garden and accidentally triggered the explosive device.

“Republicans fully accept their responsibility for the death of Gordon and apologise to the parents and family of Gordon Gallagher for the pain and grief caused.

“Republicans remain truly remorseful and profoundly sorry for the circumstances that led to Gordon’s death.”