Ballymurphy families anxious over inquest findings

The Ballymurphy families attended a Mass ahead of the inquest findings

A relative of one of those killed in Ballymurphy almost 50 years ago said the victims' families are anxious about the findings of the inquest.

The inquest, which began in November 2018, has examined the deaths in and around the Ballymurphy area of west Belfast in August 1971.

The coroner will present the findings from 11:00 BST on Tuesday.

The 10 deaths happened in the wake of an Army operation in which paramilitary suspects were detained without trial.

The court heard more than 100 days of evidence from more than 100 witnesses.

These included more than 60 former soldiers, more than 30 civilians and experts in ballistics, pathology and engineering.

• Ballymurphy shootings: Who were the victims?

The killings happened over three days immediately following the introduction of Internment - the arrest and detention of so-called terrorist suspects without trial.

The victims included a priest trying to help one of the wounded and a mother of eight.

The inquest examined the deaths of 10 people in Ballymurphy in 1971

Inquests had been held into the deaths in 1972, but they were separate and returned open verdicts.

John Teggart, whose father, Danny, was among the victims, said on Monday that the families were "thinking positive".

"We're very anxious of what the result will be tomorrow. After campaigning for 50 years, we're going to get the result of the findings," Mr Teggart said.

John Teggart, whose father Danny was among the victims, said the families were "thinking positive"

"We're confident in the work that we have done, and the amount of eye witnesses, and we're confident it will be a good day. We're praying for a positive result."

He said it was going to be a hard and anxious day.

The victims included a mother of eight and a priest