This weekend marks the 40th anniversary of the brutal, devastating and evil murder of William Heenan by the Provisional IRA in my constituency of South Down. On 3 May 1985 at 7.10 am, William Heenan went out to feed his small number of hens at his home near Castlewellan before work. As he approached the top yard, a gunman was waiting, hiding in an outside toilet. The gunman approached him from behind, forced him to his knees and shot him twice in the back of the head at point-blank range. The gunman dragged William by his feet to conceal the body at the side of a barn. The lone gunman made his escape in William's car.

The shots wakened William's 12-year-old son, Sammy, who was in bed when he heard his daddy's haunting and dying screams outside his bedroom window, and Sammy witnessed the gunman drive off. As 12-year-old Sammy approached the yard, he saw blood and followed the trail, where he found his father's body. My heart breaks at the image of that little boy seeing that, leaving him an orphan, as his mum had previously died. Sammy ran to the nearest neighbours, half a mile away, distressed.

The South Down command of the Provisional IRA claimed responsibility. It was horrific and pure evil, which, we all know, defines the IRA. Further to that, it is a disgrace that Sinn Féin glorifies it and throws salt into the wounds of every innocent victim of the IRA with the South Down MP operating a constituency office just five miles from William Heenan's murder scene called the McNulty-Magorrian Advice Centre, which is formally named after two IRA men: McNulty, killed by his own bomb as he tried to blow up Castlewellan RUC station, and Magorrian, shot by security forces while on active service for the IRA. That is disgraceful from Sinn Féin and is the cause of much hurt and pain to innocent victims locally.

William Heenan was born on 17 December 1933 and was brought up in the townland of Legananny at the foot of Slieve Croob. An only child, he worked in a number of manual jobs and then for the DOE Roads Service. In the late 1950s, he enlisted in the ranks of the Ulster Special Constabulary and served until it disbanded in 1970. He married Eva Perry in 1971, and they had one son, Sammy, in 1972. William was an enthusiastic member of all loyal orders, a staunch unionist and a founding member of Legananny Accordion Band. He seldom missed a parade.

William's son, Sammy, grew up to be an amazing man of firm Christian faith. He is a man whom I am proud to call a friend. He has been a tireless advocate in the innocent victims' fraternity in ensuring that the truth of the past is properly conveyed to future generations. My thoughts and prayers are with Sammy and his family today, this weekend and every day as we remember William Heenan and the truth of his story.