A commemorative event is being held in Newtownbutler next Sunday, October 23 to mark the 50th anniversary of what became known as the “pitchfork murders”.

Local farmer and civil rights activist, Michael Naan, and farm labourer Andrew Murray, were murdered in a farmyard at Aughnahinch in 1972. They were stabbed to death multiple times as they lifted hay off a trailer.

The gruesome circumstances of their killings led to years of speculation as to who had killed them, and why.

As neither Naan nor Murray were members of the IRA, it was widely believed that they were victims of a sectarian attack. 

In the late 1970s, however, a former soldier of the British Army’s Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Regiment revealed that members of his platoon were responsible.

His revelations led to the eventual incarceration of three soldiers in 1981, but their affidavits and evidence provided by other soldiers raised questions about the possibility of a wider conspiracy involving more senior members of the British security forces.

These issues were addressed in a publication to mark the 40th anniversary of the killings and in a televised reconstruction of the pitchfork murders. 

According to the author of that publication, local historian Brian Mac Domhnaill, “further information has emerged in recent years that reveals why Michael Naan was targeted and by whom”.

This new information will be presented by Mr. Mac Domhnaill at the commemorative event, which is scheduled to begin in Newtownbutler Community Centre at 5pm.