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06 Sept 2025
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06 Sept 2025
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Shot dead.... Danny Doherty, left, and William Fleming.
A provisional date for the inquest of two Derry IRA men shot dead by British soldiers in 1984 has been set for April next year.
At a preliminary hearing today into the deaths of William Fleming (19) from the Waterside area of Derry and Danny Doherty (23) from Creggan, coroner Mr Justice Ian Huddleston said he had provisionally booked Banbridge Courthouse for six weeks from April 17 2023 for the purposes of hearing the inquest.
The two men were on active service and were shot a total of 84 times by under SAS soldiers as they rode a motorcycle through the grounds of Gransha Hospital on December 6 1984.
In 2010, after it emerged some documents had not been made available the then Attorney General John Larkin, ordered a new inquest into the deaths.
At today's hearing, counsel for the coroner Fiona Doherty said that some non-sensitive material had been received from the PSNI and the Ministry of Defence and sensitive material was still outstanding.
Mark Robinson QC for the PSNI said that there were four lever arch files of sensitive material to be gone through.
He said a process had to carried out on this material which he hoped would be complete by September of this year.
A barrister for the Ministry of Defence said he hoped to be able to follow a similar timetable.
Ms Doherty told the hearing that the situation of some military witnesses also had to be ascertained.
Karen Quinlivan QC for the next of kin said it was important to establish if some military witnesses were willing to make statements to the coroner's staff.
She said in other inquests were military witnesses were reluctant to make statements a procedure had been put in place.
The coroner said he was willing to consider written submissions as to where the inquest should be held but as for now he had booked Banbridge for next April.
A previous hearing had heard that William Fleming had been shot four times in the head and 56 times to the body while Danny Doherty had been shot three times to the head and 21 times to the body.
The next review date for the hearing was fixed for May 24.
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