'20 years on, there's still a culture of silence over my son's death'

The father of a man who died nine years after a sectarian attack in Londonderry has said that 20 years on, a "culture of silence still exists" around what happened to his son.

Paul McCauley died nine years after he was attacked at a barbecue on Chapel Road in the Waterside in the early hours of 16 July 2006.

The father of one, who was 29 at the time, was left in a persistent vegetative state and died in a care facility in June 2015.

In 2018 two men from Derry were jailed after pleading guilty to killing McCauley, but it's believed more people were involved in the assault.

Piper John McClements, previously known as Daryl Proctor, from the Fountain area, was sentenced to a minimum term of three years in jail for murder.

Matthew Brian Gillon, of Bonds Street, was sentenced to 10 years for manslaughter - five of those in prison.

At the time, police believed a gang of up to 15 people were involved in the attack.

Following Paul's death in 2015, the PSNI upgraded their investigation to a murder inquiry.

Detectives arrested and questioned multiple individuals, but further prosecutions have not yet followed.

In the years following the attack, the lack of information coming forward to police was raised at Stormont.

The McCauley family called for a "wall of silence" within unionist communities in the city "to be broken".

For Jim McCauley, 16 July 2006 is a date that marks the end of life as he and his family knew it, forever.

"It may be 20 years on, but at times it feels like yesterday," he told BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme.

"I would say that date is like a clear guillotine in our lives, before the attack and after.

"Paul was the eldest, he had just moved to Belfast and was starting his new life.

"He had his job in the civil service, and he was doing an Open University science degree.

"It was just so much loss."

Jim said that life changed dramatically for him and his late wife Cathy, as they took on caring responsibilities for Paul in hospital.

"It is difficult to explain to people what it is like to spend so much time with someone in a vegetative state.

"There were all sorts of problems, staff couldn't be with him at all times, so we stayed many hours with Paul."

Two decades on, Jim said he still gets contacted on anniversaries by police officers who worked on his son's case, from clergy and Paul's friends and it's "nice that people remember".

His son's attackers "mean nothing to him".

Jim said two people remain of interest in the investigation and police are "still anxious to convict the full cohort of people who attacked Paul".

"It was noted during the investigation and in the court proceedings, there was a pressure put on people not to speak.

"It feels like that culture of silence is still there."

He said it's "a matter of conscience" for those who have information they have not yet passed on.

"It may be difficult, but the police have stressed it does not take a lot of courage to ring their confidential phone line."

In a statement the PSNI said it's "unimaginable" what Paul's family and friends have had to live with in the 20 years since the "brutal attack".

"With the passage of time, and with allegiances and loyalties possibly having changed, we urge anyone with any information about what was such a vicious attack to call police.

"It is never too late to do the right thing, and you can still come forward.

"Even the smallest piece of information could be significant."

Jim added that he hopes people remember Paul's "commitment, success and determination to progress in life".

"He was so happy in the civil service, his friends from there visited right Paul right up to his final moments.

"Paul was a father - his daughter was just seven when he was attacked.

"She went through life without her dad there."