The 'Pitchfork Murders': To lose my ‘father figure’ was heartbreaking, says James Naan

As a teenager, James Naan enjoyed having his uncle Michael as a father figure in his life.
After the young man lost his father Enda he took great comfort in having the support of his uncle and enjoyed spending time with him on his farm at Aughnahinch.
But on October 23, 1972, Mr. Naan and another man, Andrew Murray were killed in what became known as ‘The Pitchfork Murders’. 
The attack came less than 48 hours after UDR man Robin Bell was shot dead at his farm nearby.
Described as an act of savagery, Mr. Naan was stabbed at least 17 times in the chest while Mr. Murray suffered at least 13 stab wounds.
Over six years later it emerged that members of the 1st Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders were responsible for the killings which were described by a pathologist at the time as “frenzied” and “berserk.”
And over 40 years later, the grief of Mr. Naan’s nephew is as raw today as it was then.
“I was very close to Michael; he was a father figure, he took over the role of father when my father died. Believe it or not, I feel more raw, more sore now than I did 40 years ago. I was young, it didn’t have an effect but since then it has been very much on my mind. I have a lot more questions, I think about it a lot more than ever before,” Mr. Naan told The Impartial Reporter.
He was a student at St. Michael’s College in Enniskillen when his uncle was murdered. To lose the man who took him under his wing “was heartbreaking” he says.
“I was living in Donagh at the time and I remember on the Tuesday night I was doing maths homework and my brother came in to tell me that Michael had been stabbed. I remember asking him if it was bad and he said ‘he’s dead’.”
He was called to the farm where he learned that his 32 year old uncle had been lifting hay from a trailer when he and Mr. Murray were killed. 
“It was a terrifying time, a nervous time. I remember having to go up to the farm because I was familiar with it and having to move the tractor they had used out of the way,” he recalled.
Following the death of Mr. Bell, Mr. Naan had expressed concerns about his “vulnerability to reprisal” given where he was living. But there was no link between all three of the deaths.
“They thought my uncle was a quarter master in the IRA which the IRA later denied. He was never a member of the IRA, he was a member of the local civil rights campaign,” said Mr. Naan. 
In the difficult period that followed he spent all of his time on his uncle’s farm, carrying out the very many duties he would have shared with him, and reflecting. 
“There were still cattle to be fed,” he said, recalling the many reminders of life before the attack.
Mr. Naan said he feels sorry “for all families and the victims” in the county who will never get closure following the Troubles. 
“Parents, brothers, sisters, they don’t know why they were singled out.”
And as for the murder of his uncle, he still wants answers.
“Why they would murder him I have absolutely no idea unless they were acting on instruction. I honestly believe the instructions came from above. Was there an order to kill Michael? That’s my number one question,” he said.