Claudy priest was moved to Convoy in 'cover-up'

The priest at the centre of this week's Claudy bombing enquiry was said to have been transferred to the Convoy parish in Donegal as part of a reported high-level cover-up involving the British government and the Catholic Church.

Catholic priest, Fr. James Chesney, served as CC in Convoy for almost a year after being transferred to the village in late 1973.

Locals at the time were surprised at the sudden arrival of a priest from outside the diocese and this week one man recalled how "eyebrows were raised" at his appointment as CC.

Fr. Chesney also served as a CC in Moville and Malin Head and was chaplain at Fahan's Nazareth House, where he died from cancer in 1980, aged 46.

According to this week's report from the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman, Fr. Chesney has long been long been suspected as the IRA man who masterminded the 1972 atrocity.

Nine people, including a young girl and two teenage boys, were killed and 30 injured when three car bombs exploded in the Derry village of Claudy in July 1972.

The report cited police intelligence that indicated that Fr. Chesney remained active in the IRA after being moved to Donegal. This week, some relatives of those killed and injured in the bombing said they were outraged at the revelation.

Tuesday's damning report by Ombudsman Al Hutchinson also revealed the part allegedly played by the RUC in the cover-up. Police conspired with the British government and the Catholic Church to protect Fr. Chesney's role in the bombing, the Police Ombudsman reported.

Fr. Chesney was transferred to a parish in Donegal following what the report described as secret talks between the then secretary of state William Whitelaw and the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Cardinal William Conway. There is some confusion as to where in Donegal Fr. Chesney first served, with some reports suggesting Malin Head was his first parish here. However, his pastoral records indicate that he served in Convoy first.

No-one has ever been charged with the murders, which happened on the same day as British troops stormed republican no-go areas in Operation Motorman.

Findings in Mr Hutchinson's report disclosed that detectives believed Fr. Chesney was the IRA's director of operations in south Derry and was a prime suspect in the Claudy attack and other terrorist incidents. The report noted that a detective's request to arrest the cleric was refused by an assistant chief constable of RUC Special Branch who instead said, "Matters are in hand."

Fr. Chesney was transferred to Donegal in late 1973 and never ministered again in Northern Ireland. According to Church records, he denied involvement in the attacks when questioned by his superiors.

But he died seven years later having never faced police interview. All Ireland Primate, Cardinal Sean Brady said the Catholic Church did not engage in a cover-up.

According to his Donegal pastoral history, Fr. Chesney was CC in Moville from 1964-66; CC in Convoy from 1973-74; CC in Malin Head from 1974-77; and Chaplain at Nazareth House, Fahan, from 1978-1980. He died at Fahan in 1980.

He also served for a short time in Elphin, Sligo.

Representatives of some of the families said that while the report told them "nothing they did not already know", discussions with those who compiled the report had revealed the shocking allegation that Fr. Chesney had continued in active service in the IRA following his relocation to Donegal.

Tracey McClelland, a relative of James McClelland - one of those killed - said: "I want to know how many more people he hurt, how many more lives he destroyed. I want to know how many more people would have lived if he had been brought to justice."

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