A man was charged in a Belfast court on Saturday with the murder of Robert McCartney, whose savage beating and stabbing outside a pub by members of the IRA sparked international outrage.
Terence Malachy Davison, 49, from Belfast, was charged with McCartney’s murder at Laganside Magistrates Court.
James McCormick, 36, also from Belfast, was charged with the attempted murder of McCartney’s friend Brendan Devine, who was badly injured in the fracas outside Magennis' pub in the Northern Ireland capital on January 30.
Davison and McCormick, who were arrested earlier this week in Belfast and Birmingham respectively, were remanded to appear in court again on July 1.
McCartney’s sisters and fiancee have mounted a high-profile campaign to have his killers brought to justice, winning the backing of President George W. Bush during a visit to the White House, and of the European Parliament.
Asked by reporters outside the court how she felt at the sight of the accused, McCartney’s sister Paula McCartney said: “Nauseated would be the word.”
Police had previously arrested a number of people over the murder but all were subsequently released. Detectives said the suspects adopted the classic IRA anti-interrogation technique of staring at the wall and refusing to speak.
