IRA visit McCartney murder witness

[30 May 2008]

A friend of Robert McCartney, who was murdered in Belfast, was visited by IRA representatives days after the killing.

Mr McCartney, 33, was beaten and stabbed to death outside a Belfast bar in 2005. His friend, Ed Gowdy, was was with him on the night of the murder, told Belfast Crown Court that he was told he should not co-operate with police. His statements to the police therefore contained lies because he feared retribution from the IRA. Some weeks later, an IRA army council representative told him that he could talk to detectives investigating the murder. Mr Gowdy subsequently gave a full police statement.

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