Sisters Ann and Kate McGerty grew up in the family home at Corporation Lands and their father, Hugh, worked at nearby Barhams Mill. They recall their brother Jim, who worked as a barman in Newtownards, Co. Down, where he married a teacher from Omagh, and the couple opened a shop in Newtownards. On 26 July 1972, Jim and another Catholic man, Francis Corr, were abducted by the UVF and shot; their bodies were discovered in a burnt-out car in Belfast. The remains of Jim McGerty, who was aged 26 at the time of his murder, were brought back for burial at Staghill near Belturbet. Two men were convicted of the murders at a later date. The sisters recall the fact that the news of the murder of their brother was brought to them in Belturbet by their widowed sister-in-law, Kay McGerty, her brother John and the local priest Fr. Morris. They also explain that their brother Jim had never been involved in any subversive activities and that in the aftermath of his murder, their parents displayed no bitterness towards the Protestant community. Ann and Kate explain that they both attempted to put the atrocity to the back of their minds, trying to get on with life and not dwelling on what had occurred.
This collection, carried out by Irish Life and Lore on behalf of Cavan County Library Service, is funded by the EU Special EU Programmes Body Peace IV fund under the objective to build positive relations with people from different backgrounds and communities to support peace and reconciliation.
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