On Saturday, February 21st, 1988 the 23 year old Aughnacloy footballer walked to see his Gaelic football team play a match on a field close to the border. As he approached the checkpoint, a British Army soldier fired his weapon, piercing the man in the back, killing him.

The official reason for the alleged accident is that a British soldier's wet hand slipped as he was cleaning his gun, causing him to release the trigger, discharging three rounds. One of which ricocheted off the road, striking McAnespie in the back. The soldier responsible was never prosecuted. He was subsequently charged with manslaughter, but the charges were dropped.

The McAnespie family, friends, and colleagues believe it was premeditated and intentional because he was one of the few Catholic men in the area to go back and forth on a regular basis. This case just adds to the list of victims of the security force. Killings and injustices that every family and persons had to endure and make part of everyday life in the north before peace proceedings commenced.

Aidan McAnespie will never be forgotten in the border towns of County Tyrone. A memorial marker has been erected at the spot where Aidan was shot at the border. In Boston, his memory has been continued with this football club bearing his full name, established in November 1995. The Club has come a long way in the past few years by being one of the most competitive and widely supported clubs in Boston.

 

Update: A recent inquiry into the death of Aidan McAnespie concluded that the official explanation for the shooting is "the least likely" version of what actually occurred. You can read more details, and a statement from the McAnespie family, here.

---