The killing of a man believed abducted and murdered by the IRA at the height of Northern Ireland‘s conflict was senseless and cruel, a priest at his funeral said today.
Peter Wilson (21), was kidnapped after leaving his home in west Belfast in August 1973. His remains were recovered on a beach north of the city last month.
Innocent and child-like, he had learning difficulties and his family was devoted to him.
He was the ninth so-called Disappeared victim discovered and was found following a tip-off from republican sources.
Requiem Mass was held today at Holy Cross Catholic church in west Belfast.
Fr Gary Donegan said: “Your death was so senseless and cruel. Each life is a unique creation, it mirrors its creator no matter how brief its existence.”
Although 21, Mr Wilson had the intellect of a child of 13 or 14.
The unemployed Catholic left his home in the Beechmount area and was never seen again. His family had to wait until searches produced the remains on November 2nd this year in the seaside village of Waterfoot in the Glens of Antrim.
Families of those killed held marches and campaigned for the bodies of their loved ones to be returned to them for burial. That prompted the British and Irish Governments to order fresh investigations organised by an independent commission.
Archaeologists and other experts carried out an examination and discovered Mr Wilson. Following a DNA examination, the Independent Commission for the Location
of Victims’ Remains (ICLVR) confirmed his identity.
Fr Donegan said he was innocent, even giving away his father‘s suit on one occasion.
He had a Beatles haircut and listened to The Who and watched Westerns at home.
“A boy in a man‘s body who would remain forever young," he said.
He was the fourth of six children, born in 1952 and the priest paid tribute to his family‘s love and devotion.
“Peter‘s story is also a story of loyalty and integrity, of a never forgotten love of a devoted family whose home was steeped in Gospel values,” Fr Donegan said. “The loss of someone we love is a shattering experience, all the more so when that loss is sudden, tragic and violent."
Mr Wilson’s family believes the IRA was responsible for the murder, although the organisation’s leadership has never officially admitted the killing. The new inquiry by the ICLVR was triggered by a tip-off understood to have come from within the republican movement.
Fifteen men and one woman disappeared during the Troubles and their families fear they were killed by republicans.
The latest excavation is the first search undertaken in Northern Ireland and the first in a populated area.
Mr Wilson was laid to rest beside his parents at Milltown Cemetery close to where he lived on St James Road.
PA