Gerry Conlon To Join Breege Quinn At Newry Event

Gerry Conlon is set to join Breege Quinn at an SDLP event in Newry on Wednesday evening called ‘Justice Denied: A Public Discussion’.

Mr Conlon, who was wrongfully imprisoned for 15 years, will join the panel alongside Mrs Quinn from Cullyhanna, whose son was beaten to death 18 months ago. Also speaking will be Anne Morgan, whose brother Seamus Ruddy is one of the Disappeared, and justice campaigner Raymond McCord. SDLP Justice Spokesperson Alban Maginness will address the gathering too.

The meeting will offer an opportunity to hear the personal experiences of people who have suffered from miscarriages of justice or have had justice denied to them.

Speaking ahead of the event, Gerry Conlon said: “Thankfully we are now living in more peaceful times. However, for many people, the events of the past still cast a shadow over their lives, and more needs to be done to correct wrongs and bring closure.

“I’d encourage people to come along to this meeting to hear from the experiences of people who have been denied justice, and to share their own stories. This will be a powerful, yet very interesting event.”

Breege Quinn added: “We intend to keep our campaign going until we get justice for Paul, so we welcome every opportunity to speak on any platform to get that message across, especially to his murderers. We have a lot in common and a lot to learn from other families that have lost members by murder.”

The public meeting will take place in the Canal Court Hotel at 7.30pm on Wednesday 22 April. Admission is free and anyone can attend.

I had the honour of attending a similar such discussion at the SDLP conference in January and it was certainly one of the most talked about events of recent years and I'd definitely encourage anyone who can possibly make it to head down to the Canal Court to hear first-hand the stories of these people.