President Connolly meets sister of 1984 Troubles murder victim after controversial photo
President Catherine Connolly held a courtesy visit with Ann Travers, whose sister Mary Travers was killed in 1984, following criticism of a photo showing Connolly with Mary McArdle.
Catherine Connolly welcomed Ann Travers and her brother Paul to Áras an Uachtaráin for a courtesy call, responding to Travers’s grievance about a photograph taken at a women’s centre on Belfast’s Falls Road. The picture showed Connolly standing with Mary McArdle, the only person convicted of the 1984 murder of Travers’s sister, Mary Travers. In an Irish Times op-ed, Travers described the image as “ironic” and said it broke her, noting that former paramilitaries are now accepted in society.
Connolly’s office offered a meeting to address the concerns, which Travers described as “delighted” and hopeful for a positive outcome. The presidential residence posted a photo of the encounter but gave no further comment. Mary Travers, a teacher, was 23 when she was killed; her parents survived the attack.
Why it matters
The encounter highlights the lingering sensitivities around The Troubles and how political leaders handle victims' families.
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