Murder of Robert McCartney

The murder of Robert McCartney (1971 – 31 January 2005) occurred in Belfast, Northern Ireland, allegedly carried out by members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army. McCartney was the father of two children and was engaged to be married in June 2005 to his longtime girlfriend, Bridgeen Hagans. He was a Roman Catholic and lived in the predominantly nationalist Short Strand area of east Belfast, and was said by his family to be a supporter of Sinn Féin.

Robert McCartney was involved in an altercation in "Magennis' Bar" on May Street in Belfast's city centre on the night of 30 January 2005. He was found unconscious with stab wounds on Cromac Street by a police patrol car and died at the hospital the following morning. McCartney was 33 years old.

The fight arose when his friend, Brendan Devine, was accused of making an insulting gesture or comment to a woman in the Co social club. When Devine refused to accept this or apologise, a brawl began. McCartney, who was attempting to defend Devine, was attacked with a broken bottle and then dragged into Verner Street, beaten with metal bars and stabbed. Devine also suffered a knife attack, but survived. The throats of both men had been cut and McCartney's wounds included the loss of an eye and a large blade wound running from his chest to his stomach. Devine was hospitalised under armed protection.

On 27 June 2008, Terence Davison was found not guilty of committing the murder; two other men who had been charged with affray were also cleared.

When Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers arrived at the scene, their efforts to investigate the pub and surrounding area were met with an impromptu riot. Rioting by youths, specifically attacking the police, forced them to pull back from the area, which delayed initial investigation. Police with riot gear arrived later in the evening, and were also attacked. Alex Maskey of Sinn Féin claimed, "It appears the PSNI is using last night's tragic stabbing incident as an excuse to disrupt life within this community, and the scale and approach of their operation is completely unacceptable and unjustifiable." There have been suggestions that the rioting was organised by those involved in the murder, so that a cleanup operation could take place in and around where the murder took place. Clothes worn by McCartney's attackers were burned, CCTV tapes were removed from the bar and destroyed and bar staff were threatened. No ambulance was called. McCartney and Devine were noticed by a police car on routine patrol, who called an ambulance to the scene.

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