STOREY FUNERAL: 'No political interference' at Roselawn

An independent investigaiton into the events at Roselawn Cemetary on June 30 2020 has concluded, and will be published later today (Thursday).

Outrage followed scenes of mass gatherings at the veteran republican's funeral, despite covid regulations being in place to restrict outdoor gatherings.

Peter Coll QC's completed report, a Sinn Fein Councillor has revealed, shows there was 'no political interference' at the crematorium.

Meanwhile Belfast City Council has today said it 'unreservedly apologises' to families effected.

"We recognise that what happened in the differential treatment was unacceptable and we apologise wholeheartedly and unreservedly."

The statement continued: "Party Group Leaders are now considering the findings and recommendations outlined in Mr Coll’s report. We will act swiftly to ensure that a repeat of such a situation occurring is avoided, and, that no other family would experience the hurt and pain of the families affected.

"The Council would like to reassure members of the public that we are determined that vital lessons are learned to ensure public confidence in our services.

"We acknowledge that the report has taken longer to complete than what was initially anticipated; however, it has been a complex and detailed investigation, made all the more challenging by the ongoing pandemic, and it was essential that the investigation was robust and thorough."

'No political interference'

Sinn Fein group party leader, Councillor Ciaran Beattie said: "First and foremost, I want to acknowledge the grief and suffering of all the families involved and all of those who have lost loved ones during this pandemic.

"In this report, Peter Coll has made it clear that there was no political interference at Roselawn Crematorium or in the operation of council's policy at the facility and I welcome that.

"There was a lot of misinformation put into the public domain which only added to the hurt and grief of all the families involved and that has been addressed in this report.

"I understand and acknowledge that this was an extremely difficult issue for council staff and workers to deal with in the face of the unprecedented challenges presented by the pandemic and hopefully the publication of this report will address the concerns raised.

"All of the families involved, including the Storey family, were put through more grief and trauma by the controversy created around this and I hope that with the publication of this report their questions will be answered and they can now grieve in peace."

Meanwhile, SDLP Belfast City Council Group Leader, Councillor Donal Lyons has said that the Council must now learn lessons.

The Balmoral Councillor has said that 'it was unjust for eight families to be denied cremation services, while another family received preferential treatment'.

He also said: “There was a clear disparity of treatment of grieving families that day.

“Not withstanding the impact on the public perception of covid-19 restrictions, this incident clearly brought the reputation and professionalism of Belfast City Council into disrepute.”

“There are a number of issues that must be addressed, such as the practice of councillors lobbying senior directors and Council officials over operational issues and areas where communication needs to be drastically improved.”

“It is important that lessons are learnt, to ensure the Council treats all the citizens of Belfast fairly.”

“Our thoughts today are with the eight families who were denied the opportunity to grieve properly. The SDLP will continue to seek answers and assurances that no other family in our city will have to endure this unfair treatment.”