The conviction in the Crown Court case over the murders on
July 12, 1998 of the three young Quinn boys - Jason, Mark
and Richard - confirms exactly where the blame for this terrible
atrocity lies.
The reasons behind the sinister events surrounding the murders
were very apparent to many people in the North Antrim area
at the time, and the evidence submitted at the recent Court
Hearing is proof indeed as to the cause of the tragic deaths
of these young boys.
The Orange Institution made it clear at the time that the
killings had absolutely nothing to do with Orangeism and totally
condemned them. The Institution's view has now been vindicated.
In the hours after the tragedy, and the subsequent days and
months, large sections of the press and media both locally
and at international level disgracefully, sought to demonise,
the Orange Institution and members of the Orange family over
the incident.
They were joined in this insidious smear campaign by leading
public figures in church, state and political life who would
generally fall into the category of "the great and the
good". How terribly wrong they all were!
The court conviction now compels these people to provide
us immediately with a complete retraction of the line they
took over the affair and to issue an apology for the very
obvious misrepresentation of the facts in the lead-up to,
and the actual attack on the Quinn home.
Notwithstanding the machinations and intent of those who
tried to implicate us over this incident, we as an Institution
can never forget the terrible tragedy of the deaths of the
three young children. We would again offer our sincere and
heartfelt sympathy to the boys' mother and other members of
the still grieving Quinn family.
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