Kathleen O'Hagan

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC)

Offense Location:

Greencastle, County Tyrone

Summary:

Kathleen O'Hagan, a 38-year-old mother of five who was seven months pregnant, was shot dead at her home near Greencastle, County Tyrone on 7 August 1994. The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) later claimed responsibility. No one has been charged or convicted.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Offense:

On 7 August 1994, Kathleen, aged 38, was at home with her five young children, the eldest aged eight, while her husband, Paddy, attended a family reunion. Her youngest child, Thomas, aged 15 months, was lying in a cot in the bedroom with her at the time. Gunmen forced entry through the back door using a sledgehammer. One of Kathleen's sons later recalled hearing a loud crash in the kitchen, followed by her pleading, "No, no, don't do this", before gunfire rang out. Kathleen and her unborn child were killed. Her children entered the room and found her body; Thomas was still in the cot, unharmed. The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) took over two hours to respond to the emergency call, and the perpetrators had fled. A helicopter dispatched during the search failed to spot the getaway car, which was later found burned out by neighbours about a mile from the house.

Additional Details:

Kathleen was originally from Bellaghy, County Londonderry, and moved to County Tyrone after marrying Paddy O'Hagan. The couple lived in a rural bungalow near Greencastle, County Tyrone with their five children. Paddy was a former republican prisoner who had served a sentence in the Maze Prison for firearms possession. Reports described the family as having faced sustained harassment by Crown forces following his release. In 1988, security forces launched a raid on the O'Hagan home. The house was sealed off for several days, during which JCB diggers were brought in to excavate the floors of the property. Paddy was arrested during the operation. The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) claimed responsibility for the killing, issuing a statement to a local radio station in which they alleged that Kathleen had republican sympathies and had been "executed" by their mid-Ulster "active service unit." They added that her husband would also have been killed had he been home. Thomas, whose cot had narrowly escaped gunfire during the attack, died on 19 August 1997 at the age of four after sustaining injuries in a hay shed fire. Two other sons also died in later years: Niall, aged 19, in a motorbike accident on 12 July 2008, and Patrick, aged 34, on 10 December 2020. Their father, Paddy, died on 11 March 2002 at the age of 49. In 2015, Kathleen's family lodged a formal complaint with the Police Ombudsman's Office, citing serious concerns about how the investigation had been handled. They questioned the delay in police response, the absence of forensic follow-up, and the broader implications of potential collusion. As of 2023, the family stated they had heard nothing from the Ombudsman since submitting the complaint. The O'Hagan family believe there was security force collusion in Kathleen O'Hagan's murder, which is thought to have been ordered by former Mid-Ulster UVF commander Billy Wright.

Case Last Updated:

Jul 21, 2026