Teebane Massacre: Widow of young father murderered by IRA 31 years ago says it is 'a forgotten atrocity'

Eight Protestant workmen died and six more were injured when their van was blown up by a 500lb road-side bomb at Teebane crossroads between Omagh and Cookstown on January 17, 1992.

The IRA attempted to justify the atrocity on the grounds that the men had been doing construction work at an army barracks in Omagh.

"It doesn't get any easier," Jean Caldwell told the News Letter as she reflected on the murder of her then 37-year-old husband, Cecil.

"I think as you get older it gets harder."

Nobody was ever charged with the attack.

"It is a forgotten atrocity."

The men killed were Gary Bleeks, Cecil Caldwell, Robert Dunseath, Oswald Gilchrist, David Harkness, Bobby Irons, Richard McConnell and Nigel McKee.

The families have met many government ministers over the years about the murders.

"You just get fed up hearing the same old thing over and over again - 'oh, they will be brought to justice'. But nothing comes out of it."

The families did get an Historical Enquiries Team report into the attack.

"But it was useless. I only read a quarter of it and I was disgusted with it."

The report repeatedly blamed the company who employed the men, in relation to security measures, she said.

Several years ago the Police Ombudsman was willing to look into the police investigation, she said, but said it was unable to due to a lack of finance.

She is aware of the names of three suspects that have circulated.

"The sad thing is we are probably walking up the town and meeting some of the perpetrators."

Aged 37, she remembers getting the news.

"I was shattered and heartbroken. And how do you explain to a two-and-a-half year old girl who was standing crying waiting on her daddy coming from work?"

Her thoughts as she approaches the anniversary are clear.

"Chief Constable - put us out of our misery and get these people brought to justice. And if they can't do that I would like to see them named and shamed, which is highly unlikely as well."

Their daughter is now married with two girls of her own, aged four and almost two.

The girls were sitting on Jean's knee recently when she thought to herself: "This is so sad - they will never know their grandfather".

Bobby O’Neill, who survived the bomb attack, described how a “bearded man” walked dispassionately among the wreckage as the workers lay dead or injured. Another witness saw a man of similar appearance at the scene that morning. Police were give two similar photofits, but these were never made public, despite repeated requests from the families.

In 2017 the PSNI said that “the release of photo-fits and other material must be undertaken as part of a broader investigative strategy. As no active lines of enquiry currently exist, it would not be appropriate to release this material in isolation.”

The Teebane Annual Service will take place on Sunday 15 January 3pm at the crossroads on the main Cookstown-Omagh road.