President Connolly meets siblings of woman murdered during Troubles
President Catherine Connolly met with the siblings of Mary Travers, a woman murdered by the IRA in 1984, following controversy over the President's previous meeting with the convicted killer. The meeting aimed to address the trauma and hurt felt by the victims' families regarding the ongoing peace and reconciliation process.
Why it matters
This highlights the persistent tensions and emotional complexities involved in post-conflict reconciliation in Northern Ireland.
President Catherine Connolly has said she was pleased to meet Ann and Paul Travers, whose sister Mary was murdered by the Provisional IRA in 1984.
On a visit to Belfast last month, Connolly met Mary McArdle, a non-executive director of the Falls Road Women’s Centre.
McArdle was the only person convicted of the murder of 23-year-old schoolteacher Mary Travers while she was walking home with her parents from Sunday Mass on April 8th, 1984.
The original target was Mary’s father, Tom, who was a resident magistrate. He was shot six times but survived. A gun was placed to the head of his wife, Joan, but it jammed.
Ann Travers subsequently wrote an article in The Irish Times in which she said that seeing the president meeting McCardle “broke me”.
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