Derry Launch of Eugene Reavey's 'The Killing of the Reavey Brothers'

The Bloody Sunday March Committee (BSMC) said it is "delighted" that Eugene Reavey is having a Derry Launch of his book 'The Killing of the Reavey Brothers'.

The launch, part of BSMC's programme of events, will take place on Friday, January 30, at 7.30pm, in St Columb's Hall, when Eugene Reavey will be in conversation with Jim Keys. 

This year marks the 50th anniversary of when the Reavey family’s life was devastated by sectarian murder. 

Eugene’s brothers, John Martin, Brian and Anthony, were viciously shot in a gun attack when loyalist gunmen burst into their Whitecross family home. 

John Martin and Brian were killed instantly and Anthony would die of complications from his wounds.   Less than a mile away on the same night, three members of the O’Dowd family were also attacked and killed. 

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Both shootings are now known to have been the work of the notorious Glennann Gang, a loyalist paramilitary grouping which included members of the UDR and the RUC.  

Anyone familiar with the story will be aware of Eugene’s steadfast pursuit of justice for his brothers’ murders, his strong commitment to truth, due process, even-handed application of the law, as well as to reconciliation between our divided communities. 

Eugene is a founding member of 'The Truth and Reconciliation Platform', a grass roots grouping that organises events where victims of state, republican and loyalist violence come together on a shared platform to tell their stories. 

In spite of this commitment to truth and justice, and most likely because of it, shamelessly, he was falsely named by Ian Paisley, under 'Parliamentary Privilege', of being responsible for setting up the Kingsmill’s massacre, an incident commonly seen as a revenge attack for the Reavey and O’Dowd murders. 

The book is harrowing and inspiring in equal measure, a story of fierce courage underpinned by deep love of life and for his three lost brothers. 

We learn about how he came to know the names of his brothers killers and his commitment to keeping those names to himself as he kept holding out for the law to confront the truth. 

So, amongst other things to be explored, is why, at this point, he has decided to go public with the names and what he hopes may come of that.

This event is hosted by Gaslight Media Trust as part of this year’s programme of events.

Jim Keys is the Co-ordinator of Gaslight Media Trust and its epilogues project.  Within epilogues, Eugene’s is one of 27 stories of loss on all sides that form the heart of the project’s exploration of the conflict in and about “Northern Ireland”.