SCREENSHOTS

Mark’s lawyers have shared some materials with me. I don’t know if they are acting in good faith or if they are trying to influence my reporting / approach in interviewing their client. Amongst the materials are these screenshots from Mark’s phone: a WhatsApp conversation between him and Mr Finerty that took place after Felicity McKenna’s brothers followed Mark to his place of work. Mark’s lawyers believe this conversation, and other evidence, shows that he was the victim of a more domineering Finerty. They claim they show Mark had neither any knowledge of the McKenna brothers’ existence prior to meeting Finerty, nor that he harboured any ill sentiment towards them. They claim the fact that Mark didn’t respond to Finerty’s question ‘do you trust me?’ (18.51) shows that he both didn’t and that he was too afraid to say so. Part of their defence is to shift responsibility towards Finerty. But if Finerty is guilty of a crime, why isn’t he on trial?

INTERVIEW SECURED

This is just to announce that I have secured an interview with Mark McCarthy. The court case is going to begin in a few weeks. His lawyers have asked that I don’t meet him until after legal proceedings have begun. They are hoping that the quiet around the case will be of benefit to their case, for now. Another story is dominating public consciousness in Northern Ireland at the moment: the one concerning Jeffery Donaldson. Perhaps these two stories are connected in some way - culturally; in terms of why Donaldson has escaped justice, until now. I wonder whether Mark’s story will come to capture public consciousness once Donaldson’s case has been adjudicated, or if my own story will affect consensus in any way.

DUP SUPPORTS GUARD IN NORTHERN IRELAND

For obvious reasons, Unionist parties in Northern Ireland have historically (mostly) supported the presence of the British Army in the province. Recently, the Westminster government has announced it will no longer be funding the guard on military bases here, deeming current security risks no longer merit it. At Stormont, the DUP has been lobbying for a guard, comprised of professional soldiers, to remain in place. This may be pure politicisation, rather than genuine concern for either the job security of professional guards or for security on the bases that remain in Northern Ireland. In any case, politically, two issues come to mind. First, if it is indeed true that a militarised guard is no longer required in Northern Ireland, why is it still policy that all military guards must carry a personal protection weapon with them at all times? The Troubles ended 27 years ago; in 2025, Mark McCarthy was armed on his day off. Secondly, given the track record of the current government, is the closing of the guard nothing more than a money-saving, austerity measure that will ultimately impoverish both those who lose their job directly and the wider economy in the longer term? When I emailed the Northern Ireland Office this week, they confirmed that these professional soldiers are going to be replaced by zero-hour security contractors from G4S. If this is really the case, then two things are true: the government deems risk to still be at least somewhat significant and they care more about cost cutting than the jobs of individuals like Mark. I want to find out if Mark was aware he was about to lose his job. I’m trying to arrange an interview, but have yet to hear back from his lawyers.

REDDIT POST

I have been sent screenshots of what I believe to be the original public Reddit post made by Ray Finerty’s ex-girlfriend in complaint of his behaviour. Ray makes reference to it in his conversation with Mark (see prior post ‘Demesne Audio’). The post was made to the popular forum ‘Two X Chromosomes’ (r/TwoXChromosomes on Reddit). This is a subreddit that focuses on women’s experiences, often from a feminist perspective.

CCTV FOOTAGE

This is footage taken from a CCTV feed at McCarthy’s place of work, when he was on duty. He claims he was followed by these men and that they are the ‘brothers’ referenced in the previous conversation with Ray Finerty. The flashing lights are floodlights, deployed as a deterrent to warn off individuals who may not know they are at an Army base. Bases in Northern Ireland are often situated in unremarkable locations, like the end of a cul-de-sac, in the city. They are designed to go unnoticed to the general public.

DEMESNE HOUSE AUDIO

I don’t know what to make of this audio clip, but I am extremely grateful to the individual who passed it on to me. I’ve ascertained that the soldier (an army guard, I have learned - this is why he was carrying a PPW whilst off duty) is a man called Mark McCarthy. And he was living at Demesne House, a property of Antrim and Newtonabbey Council. His flat was down the corridor from another individual named Ray Finerty. This guy seems like a real piece of work. Petty criminal, highly unpleasant and provocative. I’m told that an elderly man named Sal who lives in the building has in the past reported him to the police, but others are afraid to do so. He’s been causing issues for some of the local families. He seems to want to perpetually provoke and is a known drug dealer. He’s often having deliberately loud conversations from his flat and leaves his door open. A single mother lives opposite him and has three children under seven years old. She’s been recording some of the conversations she hears from Mr Finerty’s flat on voice notes and wasn’t sure what to do with them - I can understand why she hasn’t reached out to the PSNI, given Mr Finerty’s dealings. I met her when I went to Demesne House this week. She was reticent to talk at first, but decided to share the voice recordings with me as she was pretty sure the soldier, Mark, was spending time with Ray recently. She recorded them for hours one night. I’ve spent the last few days listening through the audio and isolated this conversation. I’m pretty sure it relates to the killing. Mark McCarthy seems intimidated by Ray. Anyway, I’m leaving it here. Any further information you might have about this, please reach out. I promise to protect your identity.

BBC DOC STRING OUTS (PART 2)

Here is some more footage sent over by my contact at the BBC. Again, I’ve done my best to remove any identifying features of the regiment. I’m told this man is called Mark. In the context that this is one of the biggest annual parades in NI, it’s surprising to me that Carrick is looking so dilapidated. I’ve been in contact with another journalist who’s sent me some quite chilling, different material. I’m going to work through it and post what I feel I can in the coming days.

BBC DOC STRING OUTS

I’m making a new documentary about an event that hasn’t been reported on widely yet, but I assume it will be. Its covers a killing that took place on Downhill beach. Trying to work out why it’s not been reported on. The person involved is a soldier from belfast. He claims it was caused by an accident with his personal protection weapon. I’ve been looking into what happened and why we’re not hearing about it, or about the victim. A contact at the BBC sent me this footage. It’s string outs from a separate documentary that was never released about the future of the army in Northern Ireland. There’s loads of great footage in here. Apparently, this is the guy — he was going to be one of the characters in the doc. This is from a parade the crew filmed in Carrick a couple of years ago. I was asked to mask out the cap badges / identifying features from the uniform for legal reasons. I’ll release more of what I find. I’m going to be following the case throughout the summer.