Witness who Claims IRA men Killed in SAS Ambush Were ‘Psychopaths’ Called a ’Liar’

Inquest into 1991 incident in Coagh also hears eyewitness account from former RUC officer

Undated image of murals showing a soldier smashing a barricaded door with a sledgehammer and Bogside residents fleeing from a teargas attack, in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. (Carole Jobin)

An inquest into the deaths of three IRA men killed in an SAS ambush in 1991 has heard them described as “psychopaths” by a former member of the Provisional IRA.

But Vincent McKenna was immediately accused of being a “liar” and an “attention seeker” by the family of one of the dead men, who also pointed out he had been convicted of sexual offences against a child.

On June 3, 1991, Michael “Pete” Ryan, 37, Lawrence McNally, 39, and Tony Doris, 21, were gunned down in the village of Coagh in County Tyrone by an SAS unit which had set an ambush.

Their car collided with another car and a wall and was engulfed in flames.

It was reported at the time the IRA men were intercepted by the SAS as they drove a stolen car through Coagh on their way to murder a member of the security forces.

Doris was a cousin of Michelle O'Neill, the former deputy first minister of Northern Ireland, who is the vice president of Sinn Fein, which was originally the political wing of the IRA.

Sinn Fein's leader in Northern Ireland, Michelle O'Neill (C) posing for a selfie with two unidentified men at the funeral of IRA man Bobby Storey in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on June 30, 2020. O'Neill was Tony Doris's cousin. (Sinn Fein/PA)

The families of the three IRA men have been campaigning for years for an inquest and have claimed the SAS soldiers “executed” the men after wounding them in the ambush at Coagh.

The inquest finally resumed at Laganside courts complex in Belfast (accessed via videolink) and a former member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) gave evidence anonymously, using the cypher P9.

His witness statement was read out in which he said he was a police constable with the RUC’s headquarters mobile support unit at the time of the Coagh incident and he was armed with a Heckler & Koch 33 assault rifle and a Smith & Wesson sidearm on the day.

In the statement, P9 said: “This was an arrest operation involving highly dangerous active terrorists. Our role was to provide a cordon around the village in order to protect life and to prevent any of the terrorists exiting the scene.”

Witness Recalls Seeing Terrorists’ Car Coming ‘Under Fire’

He went on to say: “We blocked the street at the junction of Hanover Square and Urbal Road. I could see the terrorists’ car was under fire ... I can recall the terrorists’ car veering into a wall. The car did not hit the wall at speed, it crawled slowly into the wall. There were four or five soldiers with their rifles trained on the vehicle at this stage. The firing had stopped.”

P9 said the car quickly burst into flames and the fire was “raging.”

“I also heard what I thought were occasional shots. But it wasn’t the same noise I had previously experienced when being under fire. I realised it was ammunition in the terrorists’ car burning off and also the soldiers weren’t reacting to the shots as their rifles were not raised.”

Later, under questioning by the barrister for one of the families, P9 clarified that he had not “physically seen the car hitting the wall.”

McKenna’s witness statement, given in October 2022, was then read out and he was questioned about it.

In the statement, McKenna said: “In June 1991 I would have been a member of the Provisional IRA and Sinn Fein in Monaghan town [in the Republic of Ireland] and at this time Anthony Doris, Michael ‘Pete’ Ryan and Lawrence McNally were at that time members of a Provisional IRA active service unit operating from Monaghan town.”

McKenna, who claimed his cousin was the IRA’s chief of staff at the time, went on to say in the statement: “I would have known all three of the deceased. I would have been very friendly with Lawrence McNally. We would have trained and competed in marathons together. I first met Ryan in 1981 in a pub in Monaghan and shortly afterwards he escaped from the Crumlin Road jail [in Belfast]. After escaping from jail, he became part of the ASU [active service unit] and Monaghan and he became the CO [commanding officer] of the unit.”

‘I Would Describe Them as Psychopaths’

McKenna went on to say: “All three men were active members of the ASU, taking part in numerous attacks. I would describe them as being psychopaths as they seemed to have no conscience about killing. In my experience with the IRA this was commonplace as I had seen men I would regard as conservative Catholics give orders to take life without second thoughts.”

McKenna said he became disillusioned by the IRA’s campaign of violence and became an informer, supplying the Garda Siochana’s special branch in Monaghan.

McKenna’s statement went on: “Whilst I was not aware of the details of the operation at Coagh, I knew at that time an operation was to take place. I was aware that Lawrence McNally’s wife was to drive Lawrence McNally and Pete Ryan over the border to meet Tony Doris as part of the operation. I am 100 percent positive this happened.”

McKenna said that after eight IRA men were killed by the SAS at Loughgall in 1987, “people were reluctant to put themselves forward for operations” and he said this was why McNally’s wife had to drive the two men to meet Doris.

Dramatic Exchange Between Witness and Barrister

Karen Quinlivan, KC, a barrister representing the Doris family, then questioned McKenna.

She started off by asking to confirm he was convicted by a court in the Republic of Ireland for 31 sexual offences between November 1985 and January 1991.

McKenna accepted this was true but he denied her assertion that he had lied on oath when he gave evidence at that trial.

But Quinlivan persisted and called him a “liar” and said, “I’m going to suggest you that you’re lying about your knowledge or your purported knowledge of Mr. Doris.”

McKenna denied he was lying but Quinlivan went on: “I’m going to suggest to you that really what you’re doing today, you are a bit of an attention seeker. And I’m going to suggest to you that as far as anything you say about Mr. Doris is concerned it’s not true.”

“I'd rather be on the moon than be here today,” McKenna replied.

McNally’s former partner—who said she had never been married to McNally—then gave evidence and rubbished McKenna’s evidence.

She said she did not remember McNally ever mentioning McKenna and she said she only ever heard of him as a “convicted paedophile” in the newspapers.

“Since Lawrence’s death, it’s very common for people to tell me that they knew him most of the time,” she said.

The inquest continues.