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The family of Patrick Rooney, the first child to lose his life during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, is set to receive substantial compensation, as revealed in a High Court hearing on Thursday. Patrick, who was nine years old and the eldest of six siblings, was fatally shot in his bedroom at the Divis flats in west Belfast during August 1969. At the time, Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers were firing from vehicle-mounted machine guns in an effort to disperse rioters outside.
The case arose from legal proceedings initiated by Patrick’s 88-year-old mother against the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). Due to her ill health, she was unable to attend the court hearing. Alongside the settlement, an official apology was issued expressing regret for the pain and loss the family endured. Details about the amount of compensation were not disclosed, but the judge urged for a swift conclusion to the settlement process. On that tragic night, Patrick had been sheltering with his five siblings and their parents when up to 200 high-velocity rounds were discharged by officers, with Patrick tragically struck by a bullet to the head. Emergency medical help was delayed, forcing his father and bystanders to carry him to receive ambulance assistance.
Legal representatives for the Rooney family have criticized the RUC for taking measures that obstructed a proper investigation into the shooting. A 2021 Police Ombudsman report highlighted serious operational and investigative shortcomings related to Patrick’s death as well as three other shootings in Belfast during that period. The report condemned the use of machine guns mounted on police vehicles to control the rioters as “disproportionate and dangerous,” and noted that no former officers were prosecuted due to insufficient evidence. Patrick’s mother brought a lawsuit targeting the PSNI chief constable concerning both the shooting and subsequent failures in conducting effective inquiries or disciplining accountable officers. The legal claim encompassed allegations of negligence, breach of statutory duty, assault and battery, conspiracy to commit unlawful acts, and misfeasance in public office.
As part of the settlement resolution, a formal apology was read aloud in court. It acknowledged the suffering caused to the Rooney family and expressed sincere regret from the PSNI for their loss. However, before the settlement’s damages can be finalized, approval must be obtained from the Policing Board along with the Departments of Justice and Finance at Stormont. Reflecting on the events and their long-lasting impact, Mr Justice Rooney described the trauma experienced by the family as “just unimaginable.” Patrick’s brother, Con Rooney, spoke outside the court, emphasizing that their pursuit was never about financial gain but about obtaining an apology. Con recalled the terror of that night at age eight, fearing that police would violently enter their home and harm them, saying, “They petrified us.” The family’s solicitor remarked on the significant passage of time it took for an official apology to be made and lamented the “violent, indiscriminate and avoidable” nature of the circumstances that led to Patrick’s death in the place he should have felt safest: his own bedroom
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