Ireland's OWN: History

 
Samuel Devenny

On 19th April 1969, the Devenny family was assaulted on William Street in Derry; three months later, Sammy Devenny was dead.

Samuel Devenny was beaten by the RUC; no explanation for the beating was given to his family. During the attack, Devenny's children were also assaulted, as were two of his friends. No officers were ever charged.  And, this police brutality was only the beginning of something more sinister — within weeks the tension would lead to the Battle of the Bogside, the pogroms in Belfast and British occupation on the streets of the North of Ireland.

The RUC refused to supply information regarding the assault for 32 years. Finally, in the Summer of 2001, the incident was investigated; and Police Ombudsman, Nuala O’Loan, issued a statement (shown below) three months later, but deemed it “too late” to pursue disciplinary action against the murderers. 

Excerpt from Martin McGuinness: From Guns to Government
—by Liam Clarke and Kathryn Johnston*

"A few days after the Easter Commemoration, the RUC were chasing a group of rioters who managed to escape through the door of a Bogside house. In frustration, the RUC attacked the occupant, Samuel Devenney (sic), who was standing chatting to a neighbour at his front door. The severe beating he received resulted in a fractured skull and a subsequent heart attack. Devenney (sic) died of his injuries shortly after the annual 12 July Orange parades. The mood in Derry darkened, as it seemed to many that the RUC could literally get away with murder."

*Clarke L and Johnston K. Martin McGuinness: From Guns to Government. Mainstream Publishing. Edinburgh, 2001. pp 36-37.

Police Ombudsman Releases Findings on Devenny Investigation

PRESS INFORMATION
STRICT EMBARGO: 11a m Thursday Oct 4 2001
Office of Police Ombudsman
New Cathedral Buildings,
St. Anne ’s Square,
11 Church Street,Belfast

The Police Ombudsman’s Office has released results of a three-month investigation into a complaint by the family of Derry/Londonderry man Samuel Devenny who died three months after he and members of his family and their friends were attacked in his home on the evening of April 19, 1969 by members of the RUC.

  • The Office has upheld the family’s complaint that the RUC never communicated to them directly about the events of that night.
  • The Office was able to locate a complete copy of the report of an investigation into the incident carried out by Metropolitan Police officers, under the direction of Detective Chief Superintendent Kenneth Drury, which was never before made public and which acknowledges and details attacks by RUC officers on the family.
  • The Police Ombudsman’s Office was also able to make known to the family that the Drury investigation could neither prove nor disprove the allegation that Mr. Devenny’s death had resulted from the RUC attack on him.
  • The Police Ombudsman, Mrs Nuala O ’Loan, has concluded that it would not be possible after all this time to pursue disciplinary action against the officers involved.

 

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