Paul Moan

Paul Moan 15 years, Glen Road, West Belfast, shot dead on 31 March 1980, in a stolen car by members of a British army foot patrol on the Shaw’s Road.

Paul Moan was the second oldest in a family with nine children. He was a pupil at the Christian Brothers Secondary School on the Glen Road. His parents speaking to Relatives for Justice in the mid 1990s described their son as a ‘pleasant out going person who thought good of everybody.’

On the night of 31 March 1980 Paul left his home at 8pm. Before leaving he told his mother he was going to a near-by youth club. ‘That was the last time I saw him,’ said his mother, ‘he was dead by 9-30pm. It was a terrible ordeal for all the family.’

Instead of going to the youth club Paul met up with some of his friends and walked about the greater Andersonstown area. Shortly after 9pm, Paul and six other teenagers were in a stolen car travelling down the Shaw’s Road, towards the main Andersonstown Road, when they came upon a British army checkpoint. The soldiers opened fire on at the car as it passed through the checkpoint, shattering the back window of the vehicle. The car then went out of control and crashed a short distance away. Immediately the car crashed five of the seven youths inside scrambled out and ran away in all directions. However, one youth was critically injured, and Paul Moan, who was sitting in the back seat, was shot dead. He had been shot twice, in the head and neck.

It was later revealed the car had been stolen only minutes before the shooting in the Andersonstown area.

The British army Press Office issued a statement claiming one of their military patrols had set up a checkpoint on the Shaw’s Road to try and stop a car that had been reported stolen. They claimed those driving the car tried to run down two members of the patrol. Other members of the patrol then fired four shots at the car, which crashed.

Local residents said people were prevented by the British soldiers at the scene from going to the assistance of the injured youths. One resident who had asked a soldier if any shots had been fired at them was given the reply, ‘We did not give them time.’

A local politician commenting on the shooting said, ‘the boy shot dead was alleged to have stolen a car. An offence for which one does not normally received a prison sentence. Had he lived, a ticking off, or a warning might have been considered sufficient.’

The British Army refused to issue any further statements, referring any questions regarding the matter to the RUC. When the RUC was asked about the shooting they simply repeated the British army statement.

An inquest into the killing of Paul Moan was held February 1981. None of the British soldiers involved in the killing attended, instead a representative read out their statements, identifying each soldier by a letter of the alphabet. In their statements the soldiers claimed they had been told to set up the checkpoint for a stolen car. They also repeated their claim that the vehicle was deliberately driven towards them.

An RUC member read out the statement of a 15-year-old boy, the driver of the car, who apparently did not attend the hearing. The youth said he was driving very fast to get through the checkpoint. He said he was hit twice and the next thing he remembered was waking up in hospital.

The coroner at the conclusion of the hearing said he hoped the death would serve as a warning to others to not get involved in joyriding.

The jury returned an open verdict.

Some time later Paul Moan’s parents received compensation from the British Ministry of Defence for their son’s killing. They pointed out to the RFJ that although they received compensation the British army did not accept any liability for the killing.

The youths who were in the car with Paul Moan when he was shot and killed were later all arrested and convicted with offences connected with stealing and driving a stolen car. They all pleaded guilty and received conditional discharges.

No British soldiers were ever charged in connection with the killing of Paul Moan.