Eddie Copeland | |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Bubbles[1] |
| Born | 1970 (age 55–56) |
| Paramilitary | Provisional IRA |
| Rank | Officer Commanding |
| Unit | 3rd Battalion,Belfast Brigade |
| Conflict | The Troubles |
Eddie Copeland is a prominentIrish republican fromBelfast,Northern Ireland.[2]
He joined theProvisional Irish Republican Army after the fatal shooting of his father by theBritish Army. John Copeland died on 31 October 1971, two days after being shot near his home in Strathroy Park inArdoyne. John Copeland was not known to be affiliated with any paramilitary group.[3][1]
Copeland has been the target ofloyalist paramilitaries due to being anOfficer Commanding of theBelfast Brigade's 3rd Battalion.[4] In December 1996 he was seriously injured in anUlster Defence Association car bomb attack at his home.[5] He suffered leg and arm injuries but escaped with his life when loyalist paramilitaries planted a booby-trap beneath his car.[6] The bomb had been made byFrankie Curry, who had been a leading figure in theRed Hand Commandos before becoming an independent dissident.[7] Copeland later received £60,000 in compensation for the injuries he received.[8]
On 8 February 1995, Andrew Clarke (27), aprivate in theBritish Army, was sentenced at Belfast Crown Court to ten years' imprisonment for the attempted murder of Copeland when he opened fire on mourners outside the home of deceased Provisional IRA VolunteerThomas Begley in Belfast in October 1993.[9][10]
On 19 May 1999, theMinistry of Defence was found guilty of negligence at Belfast High Court and Copeland was awarded £27,500 compensation for the injuries he received.[11][12]
In 2001, Copeland was refused bail at Belfast High Court on charges of kidnapping, false imprisonment, assault and threatening to kill another person. The charges arose from the abduction of a man from a betting shop in Ardoyne.[2] Copeland was later granted bail when the defendant retracted asworn affidavit.[13] The charges were withdrawn in August 2002.[14]
In December 2004, Copeland's house was searched by thePolice Service of Northern Ireland as part of an investigation into theNorthern Bank robbery.[15][16]
In September 2015, Copeland was arrested alongsideBobby Storey andBrian Gillen in relation to the murder of former Provisional IRA member Kevin McGuigan.[1][17] All three were later released without charge.[18][17]
But when the case came to trial last August the charges were withdrawn.
Mr Storey and two other senior republicans, Brian Gillen and Eddie Copeland, were arrested last week in connection with Mr McGuigan's murder and then released "unconditionally".
