The IRA on Friday admitted that it murdered a 14-year-old Catholic girl in Derry in 1973, despite it having previously blamed the army for her death and having killed a soldier in retaliation.
Kathleen Feeney, the sister of an SDLP councillor, was killed by a single bullet fired by a gunman aiming at troops on patrol near her home in the city's Bogside. Her father witnessed the shooting from the doorway of their home.
After Kathleen's siblings pushed for an explanation and apology for the murder, the IRA issued a statement in yesterday's Derry Journal. It said a new internal investigation had confirmed what "the Feeney family have always believed."
The statement said the schoolgirl was "hit by one of a number of shots fired by an IRA active service unit that had fired upon a British army foot patrol ... The IRA accepts responsibility for the death of Kathleen Feeney. Our failure to publicly accept responsibility for her death until now has only added to the hurt and pain of the Feeney family.
"The leadership of Oglaigh na hEireann wish to apologize unreservedly to the Feeney family for the death of Kathleen and for all the grief our actions have caused to them."
The Feeney family offered a muted welcome in a prepared statement. Siblings of the slain girl had approached IRA members in Derry earlier this year.
"In memory of our parents, Kathleen and Harry Feeney, the family of Kathleen Feeney decided to seek an unconditional apology from the Provisional IRA for the death of their sister," the family statement said, using the IRA's full formal name. "It is the family's wish that this will help bring closure."
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