An RUC officer observes the aftermath of the Rising Sun pub massacre in 1993

IN a poignant act of solidarity, relatives of those killed in the IRA Shankill bomb horror paid their respects today to the victims of the Greysteel massarce.

Survivors and relatives of the Rising Sun massacre are gathering in Strathfoyle for a special memorial service to those killed in the atrocity 20 years ago tonight.

Seven men and women died when UFF gunmen opened fire in the Greysteel bar on 30 October 1993. An eighth man died six months later from wounds sustained in the attack.

Among those who have arrived at the Star of the Sea Church for an Anniversary Mass taking place at 7.30 pm are members of the emergency services and local community who attended to the dying and wounded at the scene on 30 October, 1993.

Following the Mass an inter-denominational service will take place at the Rising Sun Bar during which floral tributes will be laid in memory of those killed.

The Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) said they carried out the attack in retaliation for the IRA bomb on the Shankhill Road in Belfast the previous week.

Earlier today, relatives of those killed in that atrocity and of workmen shot dead in a revenge attack at Belfast City Council yard, visited Greysteel and laid flowers at a the memorial erected in memory to those killed.

Those killed in the Rising Sun were 19-year-old Karen Thompson, from Limavady, who died alongside her 20-year-old boyfriend Steve Mullan, from Greysteel; Joseph McDermott (60), from Greysteel and 81-year-old James Moore whose son owned the bar. The father-of-five was ordering a drink when he was gunned down.

John Moyne, (50), meanwhile, pushed his wife to the floor and died protecting her and 54-year-old John Burns was shot as he walked to the bathroom.

The memorial to the Greysteel pub massacre victims

The Protestant father of three children – a 14-year-old daughter and sons aged 16 and 19 – was a former member of the UDR and lived in Eglinton. His wife was badly injured in the atrocity.

The seventh person killed was 59-year-old Moira Duddy, who came from Greysteel. Married with six children she was sitting with her husband and two friends but was the only person hit by gunfire.

A retired farmer and former member of the B Specials in Claudy was the eighth Greysteel victim – Samuel Montgomery dropped dead six months after being wounded. Blood clots resulting from his injuries had moved to the 76-year-old’s heart and lungs.

Within two weeks of the killings, four men were arrested and brought before Limavady Magistrates Court charged with the murders. Stephen Irwin, Torrens Knight, Jeffrey Deeney and Brian McNeill were jailed for life in February 1995.