Northern Ireland: The Patrick Finucane Case

Please join the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission for a hearing on the pending British government inquiry into collusion in the brutal murder of the human rights lawyer Patrick Finucane.

In 1989 Patrick Finucane, a renowned Irish human rights lawyer, was shot to death in front of his wife and children by Loyalist paramilitaries. It has been long suspected that British State agencies colluded in this crime and actively assisted the killers. As part of the negotiations accompanying the Good Friday Agreement, the British government agreed to conduct a public judicial inquiry into the Finucane murder. It has not yet honored this commitment. The U.S. Congress has repeatedly called on Britain to conduct a full, independent, public judicial inquiry into the Finucane murder (H. Con. Res. 20, 110th; H. Res. 740, 109th). In 2020 over 25 members of the US Congress wrote to the then prime minister urging him “to establish an independent public inquiry into state collusion in the murder of human rights attorney Patrick Finucane.”

On September 11, 2024, the British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland announced that a statutory inquiry would be held into Mr. Finucane’s murder. That decision was welcomed by his family, who described it as “a watershed moment in the difficult subject of legacy.” Little is known, as yet, about the terms of reference or who will preside over the taking of evidence, but the Finucane family continues to negotiate with the British Government to ensure that the inquiry be as wide-ranging and thorough as possible. Despite the extensive information that has come to light about the activities of State-backed paramilitaries in Northern Ireland throughout the conflict, very few in positions of influence and control have ever been called to account for their actions. The Finucane case may now, finally, allow for a proper public examination of the evidence.

The four surviving members of Pat Finucane’s family will testify about the 35-year process of seeking justice, and their hopes and objectives for the upcoming public inquiry.