Victims campaigner died without recognition he deserved, say family

By Rebecca Black, PA

A veteran victims campaigner died without the recognition he deserved, his family has said.

Paddy Cassidy, from north Belfast, survived a random loyalist shooting in 1971 when he was 21 which left him to contend with severe spinal injuries for the rest of his days.

He was involved in a campaign to secure support payments for those injured in the Troubles but died earlier this week while the scheme remained stalled due to political disagreement.

As he was laid to rest on Friday, his family said he died without the recognition he deserved and vowed to fight on.

There have been reports that Stormont will announce next week that it will contribute £2.5 million towards preparatory work for the scheme that had been due to open for applications on May 29.

Stormont and the Government are at odds over who foots the £100 million-plus bill.

Meanwhile, Sinn Fein are blocking the appointment of a Stormont department to oversee the scheme, due to a stand-off with the Government over eligibility criteria which would require former convicted paramilitaries to go before an independent panel to determine whether they should get the payment.

Mr Cassidy's family welcomed reports of the £2.5m but said things are beyond the point where preparatory work is an acceptable outcome.

"This pension scheme is one that should already have been in place," the family said in a statement.

"This is a pension that Paddy Cassidy and the other injured victims of the Troubles should already have been able to apply for when he was alive.

"This can-kicking exercise has meant that our grandfather, father, husband has died without the recognition he deserved."

They have urged politicians to "do the right thing" and ensure the payments start.

Members of the Wave Injured Group - who have been campaigning for the payment - gathered on the Castlereagh Road to pay tribute as the cortege passed on the way to Roselawn cemetery.

They clapped for around 30 seconds as the cortege paused beside them.

Alex Bunting, a fellow campaigner and friend of Mr Cassidy, was among those who gathered.

He was left severely injured in a bomb placed under his taxi on the Sandy Row in south Belfast in 1991.

Mr Bunting told the PA news agency the applause had been a show of respect to their friend.

"It was very sad as the cortege pulled in and we clapped, it was a very sad, poignant moment especially on the journey we have all travelled together - and we are still nowhere near it yet," he said.

He recalled Mr Cassidy, a former member of the Merchant Navy, as contending with pain from his injuries throughout his life.

"I have known Paddy for most of my life as he was born on the Oldpark Road and so was I," he said.

"But I really got to know him better over the last 11 years when we started the campaign for the injured.

"He was a die-hard supporter of the group because he had been shot in the back and paralysed. When he did walk it was with calipers but then it got to the stage where the pain was unbearable, he was in pain 24 hours a day.

"The only time Paddy was ever out of pain was when we went swimming and he was in the water.

"He was also a character, always up for a laugh, told all the stories because he was in the Merchant Navy when he was young, telling us about all the different countries he used to travel in.

"Later on, over the last couple of years, he was in enormous pain, he was back and forth to England for operations but nothing ever worked to ease his pain."

Mr Bunting said Mr Cassidy wanted the payments not for himself but his family who cared for him.

"Paddy always said he would take a lump sum because of his age, he always said to me, 'I look forward to trying to help my children and my grandchildren, I would give it round them', because he never had any money in life as he was unable to work from he was shot at such a young age," he added.