Two men are to be prosecuted in connection with a crush outside a disco in Northern Ireland that killed three teenagers in 2019.
Northern Ireland’s Public Prosecution Service said on Thursday that the men, aged 43 and 55, would each be charged with three counts of gross negligence manslaughter.
Lauren Bullock, 17, Morgan Barnard, 17, and Connor Currie, 16, died after pandemonium erupted in a densely packed crowd outside the Greenvale hotel in Cookstown, County Tyrone on 17 March – St Patrick’s Day – in 2019. Survivors described a festive atmosphere rapidly dissolving into terror when people waiting in cold, wet conditions surged towards a door leading to a function room.
The need to interview hundreds of witnesses and survivors, and to scrutinise the behaviour of police officers who withdrew from the scene of the crush to await back-up, prolonged the investigation.
The two men to be prosecuted – one is believed to be Michael McElhatton, the hotel owner – will also be charged with one offence of contravening the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978. Tobin Ltd, the company that runs the Greenvale Hotel, will also face a charge of contravening health and safety legislation.
The senior public prosecutor, Graham Cardwell, thanked the victims’ families for their patience during a “voluminous” and “complex” case. “Criminal proceedings will commence in due course,” he said.
McElhatton said in a brief statement: “I am conscious that this is a highly sensitive time for the families and I feel that it would be inappropriate to comment at this time.”
James Bradley, the father of Morgan Barnard, welcomed the decision to prosecute the two men. “This aspect of the decision confirms what we always knew: that there is a case to answer for the manslaughter of our son.”
However, Bradley criticised prosecutors’ decision to not prosecute police officers who withdrew from the scene. “We have instructed our lawyers to immediately engage with the PPS in seeking a review into this decision.”
Liam Kelly, the chair of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland, welcomed the decision not to prosecute the officers. “This has also been a difficult three years for our officers, and I am sure they are relieved that any potential criminal matters are not being progressed against any of them,” he said. Kelly urged the police ombudsman to swiftly decide if she would recommend any misconduct proceedings.
