Reaction
In the short-term the murder of Bratty was greeted as a triumph even by some normally opposed to violence. However, the aftermath saw three Catholics killed by the UDA in separate attacks with these sparking a series of PIRA bomb attacks on loyalists bars, thus bringing about a temporary return to the spiral of tit-for-tat killing. The killings of Bratty and Elder, along with that of Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) leader Ray Smallwoods earlier the same month, played a central role in delaying the Combined Loyalist Military Command ceasefire. The CLMC had been considering declaring a ceasefire following the shootings in Loughinisland, but reversed their decision after these three killings as any cessation of violence would have been seen by the PIRA as a sign of weakness in their determination. This was confirmed by the UDP's David Adams, who said the CLMC was ready to call a ceasefire in late June/early July 1994, although his party colleague Gary McMichael admitted the killings of Bratty and Smallwoods convinced him that an IRA ceasefire was near as he felt these were long-standing targets who were being cleared up before calling a halt to hostilities.
Certain hardline elements with the UDA would later claim that Bratty's killing had been sanctioned by members of the CLMC who were eager to see a ceasefire as Bratty had been an outspoken opponent of the initiative. The allegations were never proven however. Pastor Kenny McClinton, a dissident former UFF gunman who was variously associated with the Ulster Independence Movement, the Loyalist Volunteer Force and the Orange Volunteers, even suggested in a pamphlet that Bratty's killing had been arranged by the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP). This was part of a wider theme in McClinton's writing arguing that the PUP was a front for MI5 activity.
Bratty and Elder were commemorated in a wall plaque erected outside the Kimberley Bar off the Ormeau Road. The pub, where the pair had been on the day they were killed, was known as a UDA stronghold in the area. In 2007, a banner honouring Bratty during Twelfth of July celebrations by members of the Orange Order was met by outrage from the relatives of those Bratty allegedly killed.
Read more about this topic: Joe Bratty
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