Birmingham Six

The Birmingham Six were six Northern Irishmen who were each sentenced to life imprisonment in 1975 following their false convictions for the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings.

Their convictions were later ruled unfair and reversed by the Court of Appeal on 14 March 1991. The six men were later given financial compensation ranging from £840,000 to £1.2 million.

The Birmingham Six

Paddy Hill in 2015

Six men were arrested: Hugh Callaghan, Patrick Joseph Hill, Gerard Hunter, Richard McIlkenny, William Power and John Walker. Five were Belfast-born, while John Walker was born in Derry.

All six had lived in Birmingham since the 1960s. All the men except for Callaghan had left the city early on the evening of 21 November from New Street Station, shortly before the explosions. They were travelling to Belfast to attend the funeral of James McDade, an IRA member whom they all knew. McDade had accidentally killed himself on 14 November when his bomb exploded early in Coventry.

Later life

Richard McIlkenny died of cancer on 21 May 2006, aged 73. He had returned to Ireland shortly after he was freed from prison and died in hospital with his family at his bedside. Hugh Callaghan died on 27 May 2023, aged 93. Patrick Hill died on 30 December 2024 in his home in Ayrshire, aged 80.

As of 2011, of the three surviving members of the Birmingham Six, Gerard Hunter lived in Portugal; John Walker in Donegal; William Power in London.

Trial

On 12 May 1975, the six men were charged with murder. Three other men, James Kelly, Mick Murray and Michael Sheehan, were charged with conspiracy.

The trial began on 9 June 1975 at the Crown Court sitting at Lancaster Castle.

Forensic scientist Frank Skuse used positive Griess test results to claim that Hill and Power had been in charge of explosives. Callaghan, Hunter, McIlkenny and Walker all had tested negative.

The jury found the six men guilty of murder. On 15 August 1975, they were each sentenced to 21 life sentences.

References

  1. ↑ Although the IRA denied that it was involved in the bombings two days after the event, and the IRA has never formally admitted responsibility for the Birmingham bomb, in 1985 a former IRA chief of staff, Joe Cahill, acknowledged the IRA's role, and 30 years after the bombings Gerry Adams, president of Sinn Féin, expressed his regrets about the bombings and the huge loss of life and injuries they inflicted (Chrisafis, Angelique. IRA fails to say sorry for Birmingham pub bombs, The Guardian 22 November 2004, Staff. Adams expresses regret for Birmingham pub bombings Irish Examiner 22 November 2004). Guardian newspaper: Birmingham Six man signs petition, 22 April 2012 - Patrick Hill, one of the Six, said in April 2012 that the Six had learned the names of the real bombers and claimed it was common knowledge among the upper echelons of both the IRA and the British government.
  2. ↑ "Birmingham Six 'were in the wrong place at the wrong time'". BBC News. 14 March 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  3. ↑ "Obituary: Richard McIlkenny". The Guardian. 23 May 2006. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  4. ↑ The Guardian 22 May 2006
  5. ↑ “RTÉ News” 01 June 2023
  6. ↑ 'Birmingham Six member Paddy Hill dies aged 80'. BBC News, 30 December 2024. Retrieved 30 December 2024
  7. ↑ Daily Record, 9 March 2011.
  8. ↑ p229 Chris Mullin Error of Judgement
  9. ↑ Schurr, Beverley (1993). "Expert Witnesses And The Duties Of Disclosure & Impartiality: The Lessons Of The IRA Cases In England" (PDF). NetK.net.au. NSW Legal Aid Commission. Retrieved 5 July 2019.