Cousin of murdered soldier in plea to open up Troubles archives

'Scar never will heal' without the truth

- BY DAVID YOUNG

Joseph McCaig, far left, and his brother John, as well as Dougald McCaughey, right, were shot dead by the IRA in Belfast in March 1971

A FIVE-decade quest for answers to provide closure about the unsolved murders of three Scottish soldiers will only end when the truth is finally uncovered, a relative has vowed.

Brothers John and Joseph McCaig from Ayr, who were 17 and 18 respectively, and Dougald McCaughey, 23, from Glasgow, were shot dead by the IRA in Belfast in March 1971.

The bodies of the three friends, who were the first off-duty soldiers murdered in the Northern Ireland Troubles, were found on a roadside in Ligoniel a suburb of north Belfast.

The young men, who served with the Royal Highland Fusiliers, were lured to their deaths from a city centre pub.