Statement by Fermanagh and South Tyrone TUV spokesperson Donald Crawford:
“Today, 9th February, marks the 50th anniversary of the Brougher Mountain massacre in which five innocent men working for the BBC to repair a transmitter were blown up by an indiscriminate IRA bomb attack. It is believed that the device was intended to kill soldiers they hope to lure to the scene. Debris was thrown 400 yards down the wind swept mountain side by a blast which left a five foot crater. Three of the men were contractors for a Kilkeel firm.
“For a number of years after the bomb the father of one of the victims travelled to Brougher Mountain to play a lament for his son on the pipes.
“Sadly IRA murders became commonplace in the West of the Province but this incident has left a deep and abiding impression upon people even after half a century has past.
“It is important that such savagery is not forgotten or whitewashed. I commend the South East Fermanagh Foundation for their efforts to ensure that a memorial is erected on the site of the massacre and believe the relatives and SEFF have shown leadership and civic responsibility in postponing the unveiling of the monument until later in the year.”