Well-known victims’ advocate Gerry Armstrong, who has spent the last 25 years keeping alive the memory of his brother Paul, murdered by the UVF on November 8, 1974, will no longer speak publicly about him.

Gerry said that after the 50th anniversary on November 8 this week, he will stop talking about Paul’s murder and the events surrounding it, explaining that the last 25 years have been a momentous journey for him and his family.

The north Belfast man said: “It has been a huge journey for me and my family, keeping Paul’s memory alive. This has led me to talk endlessly about Paul for the last 25 years and, finally, to write a book.

“For the first 25 years we didn’t talk about Paul and for the last 25 I haven’t shut up about him. On October 13th we planted a tree at Wave Trauma Center in memory of Paul that will be there forever and we will take November 8th of this year as family time to remember Paul.

“My mother never spoke about Paul, she couldn’t attend the funeral and she didn’t dare visit Paul’s grave in Milltown. My father couldn’t talk about Paul either and he passed away in 1986.

“When my mother passed away in 1999, I felt it was right to start talking about Paul and what he meant to our family. No journalist came to our door to ask us about him and now, after 25 years, I want this to be the last time we talk about what happened to Pablo.

“I want to say that if any newspaper approaches me on November 9 and asks me to write an article about Paul, I will politely say no.”

Belfast author Gerry Armstrong, whose 18-year-old brother Paul was murdered by the UVF almost 50 years ago, has revealed that for 25 years after Paul’s murder his family were so traumatized they never spoke his name.

Speaking in the OLA garden today where,… pic.twitter.com/CuhQieHrNA

– WAVE Trauma Center (@WAVETrauma) October 13, 2024

Gerry revealed that he recently had a face-to-face meeting with British Secretary of State for the North, Hilary Benn, and took the opportunity to tell her about Paul’s murder and also grilled her about promises made during the Labor election campaign on repeal. and replacing the famous Legacy Bill.

“He didn’t say much, but I didn’t expect him to say much,” she recalled. “I was able to tell him my story and where I came from. I gave him a copy of the book and he shook my hand and said it was an honor to meet you, Gerry, but I’ve never had faith in governments or politicians.

“On October 13 we planted a tree at Wave Trauma Center in memory of Paul, which will be there forever and we will take November 8 of this year as a family time to remember Paul.”

A special night at the Wolfhill Center in Ligoneil to commemorate the re-release of Gerry Armstrong’s beautiful book ‘A Stolen Young Life’. It is dedicated to his brother Paul Armstrong, who died in 1974. A very fitting tribute to keep Paul’s memory alive. Gerry’s parents would be very proud. pic.twitter.com/sJklNjm6I5

– WAVE Trauma Center (@WAVETrauma) September 28, 2023

Gerry described how he wrote his book, ‘A Stolen Young Life: A Memoir of Growing Up in War-Torn Belfast’ and said the book was his way of telling the full story of what happened to Paul and what happened afterwards. with the inept investigation into Paul’s death. murder and the journey his family has taken. He reflected on the book and said he continues to receive letters from people who say the book had greatly helped them come to terms with the loss of their loved ones.

“Over the years, many people have contacted me to tell me how much my story has impacted them, but it was never something I intended to do. I mainly wrote the book for Paul, myself and my family, but the journey I have been on talking about Paul over the last 25 years has led many people to say that reading the book has helped them enormously and I have received numerous letters from people who said they were deeply moved.

He added: “For years I was told over and over again to forget the past and draw a line in the sand, but I have decided that I will now draw a line on my own terms, on the Armstrong family’s terms.

“Paul was only 18 years old when he was murdered. He was a merchant seaman at 16 and traveled the world and then came back to this place and was picked up in broad daylight, tortured and murdered while the entirety of Ligoniel was filled with British Army patrols.

“For years people have used this phrase in relation to Paul’s murder: ‘I was in the wrong place at the wrong time’, but I wasn’t. I was in the right place at the right time. He was walking down his own street on his way to sign back into the shipping group. “Paul was exactly where he should have been, it’s the ones who killed him who weren’t there.”

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REMEMBERED: Paul Armstrong (18) was murdered by the UVF on November 8, 1974

When asked if the last 25 years had brought him any closure, Gerry said: “I don’t know if deciding to stop now has brought him closure, there’s no word for that in the English language. I think about Paul all the time, but writing the book helped me a lot. But now I have a sense of satisfaction, I’m at peace and I know that for many years I was in a very bad situation with this, but over the years, telling Paul’s story has been almost an uplifting experience in many ways.

“The trauma of Paul’s murder will always be there, but by telling Paul’s story we have been able to grow a little through that trauma, they call it post-traumatic growth, and by telling Paul’s story we have been able to help myself and my family. “

“Over the years people have asked about truth, justice and reconciliation, but I don’t want their truth and justice and how can we reconcile with what they did to Paul? All I want is for people to know who Paul Armstrong was and what he mattered. “He was a person, he was loved and important.”