Inquest into Denis Donaldson's 2006 murder in Donegal adjourned for the 27th time

The family of Denis Donaldson have expressed their frustration that the inquest into his 2006 death was adjourned for the 27th time.

Donaldson, 56, was murdered in April 2006 at a remote cottage at Cloghercor, Doochary, in a killing claimed by the Real IRA, with the case remaining unsolved.

The Belfast man had admitted, just months before the killing that he had been a British spy at the very heart of the republican movement for 20 years.

“The delay in this investigation by the Irish Government has repeatedly frustrated the rights of the Donaldson family to establish the truth about this case,” reads a statement from the family’s solicitors, Madden and Finucane, Castle Street, Belfast.

“The Donaldson family, supported by a cross-section of people in public life, wrote to the Irish Justice Minister, Helen McEntee, in April 2021. They requested the creation of a Judge-led commission to examine all information and documentation relating to Mr Donaldson’s murder.

“A response was only received from Ms McEntee this week (on August 12). In the response, Ms McEntee states that: ‘In the circumstances, and particularly in the light of an active ongoing criminal investigation by An Garda Síochána in this jurisdiction, I do not believe that it would be prudent to consider the establishment of a commission of enquiry in this jurisdiction.’

On behalf of her family, Mr Donaldson’s daughter Jane made the following comment: "The Irish Government is publicly demanding an Article 2 compliant approach to legacy cases in the North of Ireland while it continues to refuse to provide an Article 2 compliant investigation into my father’s murder. In two decades since my father's murder, no Irish Government Minister has been willing to meet my family and account for its double standards and differential treatment.

“Whilst others - like agent Stakeknife - were shielded and shepherded away to safety, my father was left exposed and given no protection. State agencies and officials in both jurisdictions were complicit in that and it is in the public interest to uncover the truth in an open, robust and transparent manner capable of commanding public confidence."