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| Felix Maginn: star seeking answers for a brother lost in the Troubles | Felix Maginn: star seeking answers for a brother lost in the Troubles |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Felix Maginn is the frontman of the most famous indie band in Holland, has been a guest of Karl Lagerfeld's during Paris fashion week and counts Paul Weller as a friend. | Felix Maginn is the frontman of the most famous indie band in Holland, has been a guest of Karl Lagerfeld's during Paris fashion week and counts Paul Weller as a friend. |
| But the west Belfast-born singer-songwriter is still haunted by an incident that happened the same year he left his native city to find stardom abroad: the police killing of his 17-year-old brother. | But the west Belfast-born singer-songwriter is still haunted by an incident that happened the same year he left his native city to find stardom abroad: the police killing of his 17-year-old brother. |
| Returning home to Belfast just before Christmas, the singer in the Dutch band Moke was seeking answers to questions surrounding his brother Gerard's fatal shooting at the hands of police officers on 3 November 1991. | Returning home to Belfast just before Christmas, the singer in the Dutch band Moke was seeking answers to questions surrounding his brother Gerard's fatal shooting at the hands of police officers on 3 November 1991. |
| Maginn wrote The Song That You Sing in memory of what happened to his brother, and the way his family, like many Irish families, have coped with loss. "It wasn't really a protest song: it was more working thing out. The song is about conveying things that were going on in my head at the time," he says. | Maginn wrote The Song That You Sing in memory of what happened to his brother, and the way his family, like many Irish families, have coped with loss. "It wasn't really a protest song: it was more working thing out. The song is about conveying things that were going on in my head at the time," he says. |
| Gerard Maginn was shot dead in the back of a stolen car on the Glen Road in west Belfast. At the time of the shooting, the Royal Ulster Constabulary's press office issued a brief statement saying: "The car was seen acting suspiciously in Lisburn and was followed out of town. A high-speed chase developed and a number of shots were fired at the vehicle in Poleglass." | Gerard Maginn was shot dead in the back of a stolen car on the Glen Road in west Belfast. At the time of the shooting, the Royal Ulster Constabulary's press office issued a brief statement saying: "The car was seen acting suspiciously in Lisburn and was followed out of town. A high-speed chase developed and a number of shots were fired at the vehicle in Poleglass." |
| Later, the RUC claimed that officers who opened fire believed a shot had been fired from the car, prompting them to shoot back. At the inquest two years later, a forensic scientist told the hearing there was no evidence of shots being fired from the car, and of the 13 shots fired by the three RUC officers, nine had hit the vehicle. Later the police suggested officers had been confused, thinking they were under attack after the car backfired. | Later, the RUC claimed that officers who opened fire believed a shot had been fired from the car, prompting them to shoot back. At the inquest two years later, a forensic scientist told the hearing there was no evidence of shots being fired from the car, and of the 13 shots fired by the three RUC officers, nine had hit the vehicle. Later the police suggested officers had been confused, thinking they were under attack after the car backfired. |
| Following the inquest, Maginn's mother said: "Gerry went from joyrider to ram-raider, and finally to luring the police into a terrorist ambush. The police said as they approached the car it backfired and, fearing they were under attack, opened fire. The jury found this to be so, only they could not make a finding on the police assertion that the car backfired." | Following the inquest, Maginn's mother said: "Gerry went from joyrider to ram-raider, and finally to luring the police into a terrorist ambush. The police said as they approached the car it backfired and, fearing they were under attack, opened fire. The jury found this to be so, only they could not make a finding on the police assertion that the car backfired." |
| No RUC officer involved was ever prosecuted over the killing and an internal inquiry cleared them of any wrongdoing. The Maginn family, though, have always disputed the official version of Gerard's death. | No RUC officer involved was ever prosecuted over the killing and an internal inquiry cleared them of any wrongdoing. The Maginn family, though, have always disputed the official version of Gerard's death. |
| Two decades later, Felix says he and another brother who is a lawyer in England want the truth to finally come about what happened to Gerard. | Two decades later, Felix says he and another brother who is a lawyer in England want the truth to finally come about what happened to Gerard. |
| They want to use institutions set up under the Good Friday Agreement such as the police ombudsman's office, which can investigate Troubles-era killings and the way the RUC investigated them. | They want to use institutions set up under the Good Friday Agreement such as the police ombudsman's office, which can investigate Troubles-era killings and the way the RUC investigated them. |
| "All we are looking for is for the truth to be established – not revenge," Maginn says. "It would be nice if we could really get to the bottom of what really happened. At the end of the day, for my parents, truth would give them peace of mind to know exactly what happened to Gerard. | "All we are looking for is for the truth to be established – not revenge," Maginn says. "It would be nice if we could really get to the bottom of what really happened. At the end of the day, for my parents, truth would give them peace of mind to know exactly what happened to Gerard. |
| "We know that the [officer] who shot my brother wasn't suspended from duty, not even for a minute. In a normal society, if a shooting happened involving the police, that officer or officers would be suspended, and the firearm has to be handed in before any inquiry, before you might be allowed back on duty … That did not happen in Gerard's case. Even that in itself is very, very strange. | "We know that the [officer] who shot my brother wasn't suspended from duty, not even for a minute. In a normal society, if a shooting happened involving the police, that officer or officers would be suspended, and the firearm has to be handed in before any inquiry, before you might be allowed back on duty … That did not happen in Gerard's case. Even that in itself is very, very strange. |
| "The reason why my other brother Emmett is a barrister is because of what happened to Gerard. It's not only myself and my family that needs closure in our story: the whole of Northern Ireland needs it, because without truth and closure you can't move on to reconciliation." | "The reason why my other brother Emmett is a barrister is because of what happened to Gerard. It's not only myself and my family that needs closure in our story: the whole of Northern Ireland needs it, because without truth and closure you can't move on to reconciliation." |
| Moke have reached No 2 in the Dutch charts and played to audiences of up to 60,000 spectators at the Lowlands festival, the Netherlands' version of Glastonbury. Some of the songs still hark back to Maginn's experiences growing up during the Troubles close to a sectarian interface. | Moke have reached No 2 in the Dutch charts and played to audiences of up to 60,000 spectators at the Lowlands festival, the Netherlands' version of Glastonbury. Some of the songs still hark back to Maginn's experiences growing up during the Troubles close to a sectarian interface. |
| He describes it as "very strange" that he enjoys so much fame in Holland while being relatively unknown in Ireland or Britain. Soon to be married to a famous model, with whom he has a child, last year Maginn was voted the best dressed man in the Netherlands by the Dutch edition of Vanity Fair. | |
| Lagerfeld liked Moke's all-black stage attire so much that he invited them to Paris four years ago and asked them to promote his "K" line of clothes in the Benelux countries. Weller, meanwhile, is an admirer of the band's two albums and Moke toured with him in 2007 and 2009. | Lagerfeld liked Moke's all-black stage attire so much that he invited them to Paris four years ago and asked them to promote his "K" line of clothes in the Benelux countries. Weller, meanwhile, is an admirer of the band's two albums and Moke toured with him in 2007 and 2009. |