THE son of an Irish soldier murdered by the IRA close to the Fermanagh border over 30 years ago says he remains determined to get justice for his father.

David Kelly was only nine-years-old when Private Patrick Kelly, of the Irish Defence Forces, was shot dead along with a new Garda recruit while searching for kidnapped businessman, Don Tidey, in Ballinamore, County Leitrim, on December 16, 1983.

To date, no-one has ever been convicted of involvement in the father-of-four’s murder.

Private Kelly is one of the many victims of terrorist from across the British Isles to feature on a memorial quilt that has been produced by South-East Fermanagh Foundation (SEFF).

Speaking to The Impartial Reporter this week, his son, David, said it was a “source of pride” to see his father included on the quilt, which honours the memory of those who lost their lives to terror, civilians and security force members alike.

Mr. Kelly said that a “great emptiness” came into the lives of his family after his father’s death.

He said: “A state funeral was held for him and there was huge media attention and massive goodwill towards us. However, my mother was paralysed with grief and withdrew into herself and did not seek help as she was overwhelmed by events.

“In her loneliness and despair she got into a relationship with a man who promised to take care of us all and we all moved to London. Once there, he failed to find us a stable home and we ended up homeless and completely isolated from life back in Ireland.”

Mr. Kelly said that domestic violence became a way of life for them in a tough council estate in north London, with no contact with family back across the Irish Sea.

“We had fallen a long way in a short few years,” he recalled.

Eventually, all four sons moved back to their home country.

David said he had no family of his own, but his brother Andrew, who is a soldier like his father, is married with three young children. Andrew’s wife, Hazel, is currently expecting another child.

Mr. Kelly first made contact with SEFF when he was asked to speak about his father, alongside the sons of other members of the Irish security forces murdered in the line of duty by various terrorist organisations.

“In the intervening two years I have had the opportunity to meet many others bereaved or dealing with lifelong injuries from Northern Ireland, and it has helped me in the sense that it is good to talk and receive support from others in with a similar situation,” David said.

Despite over three decades passing since the murder, he said he remains determined to get justice for his father.

“It is now 34 years after the event, such a long time, but the more people tell me to forget about seeking justice for my father the more determined I am not to let him down.

“I believe that somebody one day will be held to account for my father’s murder in a court of law, regardless of what others think and contrary to the lack of successful prosecutions of ‘Troubles’ related crimes,” David said.