The family of a Real IRA man who was killed by the group in Derry two years ago said yesterday that they believed Alan Ryan, who was shot dead in Dublin this week, had important information about his murder.
Kieran Doherty (31) was lured from his home in the Brandywell area of Derry on the night of February 24th, 2010. He was taken to the nearby Braehead Road, close to the border with Co Donegal, stripped and bound and then shot twice in the back of his head.
Yesterday Doherty’s uncle, Vincent Coyle, speaking on behalf of the family, said they believed Ryan had vital information about the circumstances surrounding the murder. “Kieran and Alan Ryan were very close friends and they spent a lot of time together. It is our belief that the people who carried out the brutal murder of Kieran had travelled from the Republic of Ireland to this city to carry out this heinous crime that night. We believe Mr Ryan has taken with him to his grave secrets about Kieran’s murder and that is a great regret to us,” he said.
The Doherty family denied claims that Kieran Doherty had been involved in drugs.