Press conference, Trinity Hotel, Strand Road, Derry
Thursday October 4 at 11.45
The family of Sammy Devenny will hold a press conference on Thursday October 4 to respond to the report of the Police Ombudsman’s office into the events leading up to the death of their father, the results of which will be made available tomorrow. Sammy Devenny, along with members of his family and neighbours, was brutally assaulted in the Devenny home on April 19 1969 by members of the RUC. Sammy Devenny was admitted to hospital on April 19 and released on April 22. He was readmitted with a coronary thrombosis on April 23 and released on May 19. Mr Devenny suffered a heart attack and died on July 17 1969, aged 42 years.
The assault on the Devenny home, the subsequent death of Sammy Devenny and the failure to prosecute those members of the RUC responsible was a major contributory factor in the escalation of violence in Derry and elsewhere and the worsening of relations between the nationalist community and the RUC.
The Police Ombudsman, Nuala O’Loan, will hold a press conference in the Trinity Hotel, Strand Road, Derry at 11am on Thursday October 4. The Devenny family will respond to the report at a second press conference in the same venue at 11.45. No member of the family will be available for comment before 11.45am and the press are asked to respect this request and not contact the family.
The Police Ombudsman is not entitled under law to release the full document however the Devenny family have decided to put the document into the public domain so that the full truth will emerge surrounding the attack on their home.