Uploaded May 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
27th March 1992 - Colleen McMurray
Colleen McMurray, a married 34-year-old Protestant from Sixmilecross who was an RUC Constable.
Colleen was travelling in a patrol car along Merchants Quay, Newry when a horizontally fired Provisional IRA Mark 12 mortar hit the passenger side of the car.
The mortar had been hidden in a parked car and was fired through a hole in a metal panel. The device was triggered by a flash-gun unit most commonly used by photographers, for the other side of Newry Canal to avoid detection.
The attack took place at 11.30pm on the 26th March 1992 and Colleen died a few hours later from her injuries in Daisy Hill Hospital. A male colleague also lost both legs in the attack.
A Constable who was in another car told the inquest: 'I heard an explosion and we were engulfed in a cloud of smoke and dust. After two or three seconds the dust cleared and I saw the lead vehicle had been hit.'
The coroner said: 'A young woman from the island of Ireland with the name Colleen represents an ideal of Irish nationality worldwide. Colleen was brutally murdered by men who claim to be in pursuit of such an ideal.'
Cardinal Cahal Daly, describing the killing as brutal and despicable, said of her: 'She was herself greatly respected as a caring young woman who saw her policing work as a service to all sections of the community.'
Colleen joined the RUC in 1976 shortly after leaving school and married less than 2 years before her life was cruelly taken.
27th March 1992 - Colleen McMurray
Colleen McMurray, a married 34-year-old Protestant from Sixmilecross who was an RUC Constable.
Colleen was travelling in a patrol car along Merchants Quay, Newry when a horizontally fired Provisional IRA Mark 12 mortar hit the passenger side of the car.
The mortar had been hidden in a parked car and was fired through a hole in a metal panel. The device was triggered by a flash-gun unit most commonly used by photographers, for the other side of Newry Canal to avoid detection.
The attack took place at 11.30pm on the 26th March 1992 and Colleen died a few hours later from her injuries in Daisy Hill Hospital. A male colleague also lost both legs in the attack.
A Constable who was in another car told the inquest: 'I heard an explosion and we were engulfed in a cloud of smoke and dust. After two or three seconds the dust cleared and I saw the lead vehicle had been hit.'
The coroner said: 'A young woman from the island of Ireland with the name Colleen represents an ideal of Irish nationality worldwide. Colleen was brutally murdered by men who claim to be in pursuit of such an ideal.'
Cardinal Cahal Daly, describing the killing as brutal and despicable, said of her: 'She was herself greatly respected as a caring young woman who saw her policing work as a service to all sections of the community.'
Colleen joined the RUC in 1976 shortly after leaving school and married less than 2 years before her life was cruelly taken.
