WALLS OF SILENCE

Hardback. When Robert McCartney was murdered in 2005, the subsequent cover-up by the Republican movement looked to be successful. However, it did not count on the bravery of his loved ones. In this book the author, one of Robert's sisters, challenges the Sinn Fein/IRA control of Northern Ireland's Catholic working-class ghettos and names the names known to everyone in the Short Strand. In a modern-day version of David and Goliath, the fight for justice has taken the McCartney family - Catherine and her sisters and Robert's partner Bridgeen - from Belfast to the White House and the European Parliament. It has incuded meetings with political leaders, including those in the IRA and Sinn Fein. But along the way, the McCartney family has had to endure bullying and cowardice on the part of neighbours and people they counted as friends: long-established friends kept silent; the Catholic Church responded indifferently; and individual priests failed to stand up to Provo intimidation. And when the media listened, certain members of the community became yet more resentful. An inspirational account of a family's grief and its journey to justice. It explodes the myth of Republican non-involvement and illustrates 6 women's strength in the face of adversity. Illus. in colour, Appendices + Index. 259pp. lge. 8vo. h/back. From the library of true crime writer, Wilfred Gregg, with his personal b/plate. F. in f. dw.