Sectarian atrocity was carried out as Republic claimed famous World Cup win
A night of World Cup celebration turned to murderous horror in an instant.
The Republic of Ireland were beating Italy 1-0 in their USA 94 group match in New Jersey and the fans crowded around the TV in the tiny Heights Bar in Loughinisland were longing for the final whistle.
Ray Houghton had scored his famous looping volley and Jack Charlton’s team were writing another chapter in World Cup folklore.
The UVF gunmen knew what they were doing.
Nationalists in Northern Ireland felt more affiliation with the Republic’s football team, so the killers were aware the bar in the Co Down village was likely to be crowded with Catholics.
In their perverse logic, it was a perfect target for the latest blow in the bloody tit-for-tat sectarian bloodshed of the Troubles.
Around 10.10pm, two men armed with automatic rifles and wearing boiler suits and balaclavas burst through the doors shortly after the second half had kicked off at Giants Stadium, and opened fire.
They sprayed the bar with bullets as the football fans dived for cover.
By the end of killing spree six men had been killed, and five were injured.
It was the horrific events of that night, and the persistent claims of state involvement in them, that provided the focus of film maker Alex Gibney’s No Stone Unturned documentary.
The 2017 film, which Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey worked on, broke new ground by naming what it claimed were key suspects.
One of those murdered at Loughinisland was pensioner Barney Green.
At 87, he was one of the oldest victims of the Troubles.
The others were Adrian Rogan, 34, Malcolm Jenkinson, 53, Daniel McCreanor, 59, Patrick O’Hare, 35, and Eamon Byrne, 39.
Within months, loyalist paramilitaries had declared a ceasefire and the Troubles were nearing an end.
Almost 25 years on, the sectarian massacre remains seared in the memory of the village and beyond.
In 2012, the Republic of Ireland played Italy in the group stages of the European Championships in Poland.
By coincidence the encounter fell on the same day as their historic encounter in 1994.
The Irish players took to the field wearing black armbands, a visible sign that the victims of Loughinisland would not be forgotten.
“I think it’s only right that we do wear the armbands out of respect for everyone’s families,” said Ireland’s then striker Robbie Keane.
“To let them know as a team, and as a nation, we’re thinking of the families.”
In 2016, the anniversary again fell on a crunch Republic of Ireland match, this time against Belgium in Bordeaux during Euro 2016.
On that occasion the fans were asked to stand up during the sixth minute to commemorate the six fans who never lived to see the final whistle a generation earlier.
