Speech by RFJ Advocacy Casewroker Haley Olig at the unveiling of a family plaque in memory of Patrick Quail killed by the British army at Carlisle Circus, Belfast, January 1976, aged 37.
Good afternoon – my name is Haley Olig. I’m an advocacy caseworker with Relatives for Justice and I’ve had the privilege of working with the Quail family the last few years. While it is an immense honour to be invited to this commemoration, we should not be here today.
Patrick Joseph Quail should have lived a long and happy life. He should have felt the pride of watching his sons, Patrick and Martin, mature into adulthood. He should have grown old alongside his wife, Teresa; and together, they should have experienced the joy of becoming grandparents and the wonder of meeting their great-grandchildren.
Instead, today we mark the 50th anniversary of his death. It has now been half of a century – a literal lifetime – since Patrick was shot at this spot. And yet all of us gathered here are still awaiting the full truth about his murder, and for his killers to be held to account.
A year ago today, we published a report documenting not only the details of Patrick’s case, but also the immeasurable pain of his loss. A pain which has only been compounded by the lies and opposition his family has faced in their tireless pursuit of truth and justice.
For decades, we were led to believe Patrick was the victim of a random act of loyalist violence. We now know the truth: that he was deliberately murdered by a member of the A-Company of Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders 1st Battalion, and that the rest of the company staged a cover-up. In 2012, we learned that the RUC conducted two re-investigations into the murder, while his family were misled and kept completely in the dark. Sadly, this obfuscation and obstruction became a pattern.
The Attorney General repeatedly denied applications for a fresh inquest; the Public Prosecution Service insisted that responsibility remains with the PSNI, who refuse to carry out their investigative duty; the Police Ombudsman investigation was scrapped before it could get off the ground; and there is still no explanation why the Historical Enquiries Team and its PSNI successor mysteriously dropped their own team’s recommendation for the arrest and questioning of at least one soldier.
Further, and more distressingly, the 2023 Legacy Act shuttered all these avenues and took away any recourse the Quails may have had. Its architects have been clear from the start: the Legacy Act was designed to shield British military and police from accountability for their actions in the North of Ireland.
Their uniforms do not grant absolution.
Proponents of the Act claim that British Army veterans are subjected to a ‘witch hunt,’ forcing them to dredge up unpleasant memories of their time in the North of Ireland when they should be allowed to live out their lives in peace. Why is that same care and concern not extended to their victims?
Let me be clear. There is no witch hunt. There are no vexations prosecutions. There is only the pursuit of truth and justice, and the refusal to accept the legally and morally indefensible impunity.
That refusal is not intransigence born of spite. It is, above all, a testament to the strength of love and the memory of Patrick Joseph Quail and the victims like him.
May this plaque stand as a tribute to this love; a tribute to Patrick Quail, to his legacy, and the family from whom he was so tragically taken. And may it be a tangible reminder that Patrick and his memory will be carried forward for generations to come.
Finally, I would like to extend my gratitude to the Quail family for inviting us to join today’s event and to acknowledge the Quail family’s decades of ceaseless work unearthing the truth about Patrick Sr’s murder, and to acknowledge the many family members who passed away before learning the truth.
