Pat Finucane, born on this day in 1949, was an Irish criminal defense lawyer who defended prominent IRA activists such as Bobby Sands. Finucane was assassinated in 1989 by loyalist forces acting in collusion with the British state. No member of state security forces has been prosecuted for his murder.
Patrick Finucane was born on March 21st, 1949 to a prominent Republican family in Belfast. Three of his brothers were Irish Republican Army (IRA) members, two of whom would be imprisoned by the British government.
Finucane himself was a criminal defense lawyer. Although he had represented both Republicans and loyalists, Finucane's most notable client was likely Bobby Sands, a member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) who died on hunger strike while imprisoned at HM Prison Maze in Northern Ireland.
On February 12th, 1989, while eating a Sunday meal at home with his wife and three children, Finucane was shot fourteen times by two gunmen. Twelve shots were to his face. The loyalist paramilitary Ulster Defence Association took credit for his murder, alleging without evidence that Finucane was a high-ranking member of the IRA.
Following a 2001 peace agreement, the British government promised to consider opening an inquiry into Finucane's death, appointing an international judge to review his case. The government declined to open an inquiry, however, after the judge found evidence of state collusion.
In 2004, Ken Barrett, a member of the Ulster Defence Association, pled guilty to Finucane's murder. The identity of the second gunman remains unknown.
In 2011, British Prime Minister David Cameron met with Pat Finucane's family and admitted to state collusion in his assassination, but as of February 2022 no member of the British security services has been prosecuted.
On November 30th, 2020, Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland Secretary, rejected calls for a public inquiry into Finucane's killing.
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