The family of a south Armagh schoolgirl have finally been recognised as victims of the Troubles after a quarter of a century.
Majella O'Hare was 12 when she was killed in controversial circumstances by a member of the British army's Parachute Regiment just a few yards from her home near Whitecross, Co Armagh, in August 1975.
The schoolgirl was on her way to Confession at a local church when she was fatally wounded by two bullets fired from an army light machinegun.
A 24-year-old soldier was later charged with manslaughter.
He was subsequently acquitted after claiming he had fired on a terrorist gunman, whom the army alleged had been seen in the area at the time.
To date and despite the court case, the British army has never admitted responsibility for killing Majella O'Hare.
However, following a report in a Sunday newspaper last month highlighting the circumstances of the schoolgirl's killing, her mother, Mary, has received an invitation from the Northern Secretary, Dr John Reid, to attend a reception at Hillsborough Castle later this month for the victims of the Troubles.
Majella's brother, Mr Michael O'Hare, said yesterday: "This is the first time we have received anything official or been properly acknowledged as victims in 25 years.
"Both my mother and I will be attending the Hillsborough reception and we will be asking Dr Reid to supply us with the full facts about the circumstances of Majella's killing."
Mrs Mary O'Hare said she now wanted to meet the soldier who had fired the fatal shots to ask him why he had killed her daughter.
The O'Hare family have also provided the human rights group, British/Irish Rights Watch, with information on her death.