What happened to Jack Kielty?
On January 25, 1988, the UFF, a front for the UDA, shot murdered the building business owner and prominent GAA member as he sat in his Dundrum office.
The father of the Irish comedian Jack Kielty was shot to death by the Loyalist while he was working inside his office.
Jack was shot in the neck and the head six times by the Ulster Freedom Fighters not giving him space and time to run.
At the height of the Troubles, terrorists falsely claimed that Jack had served in the IRA as an officer.
Jack had been a victim of extortion by James Pratt Craig, a leader in the Ulster Defence Association, a Northern Irish vigilante organization known for extorting money from building contractors, many of whom were Catholics.
The casket of Jack was carried by his three sons, Patrick, and his brothers.
Who Were Jack’s Murderers?
Jack Kielty was brutally murdered on a false accusation by three Loyalist men, Delbert Watson, William Bell, and David Curlett at his workplace in Dundrum 30 years ago.
Among three shooters, Delbert Watson was a vengeful shooter who used to terrorize towns and villages across south Down.
In cold-blooded sectarian retribution for the IRA death of his ex-prison officer brother Charles Watson the previous year, he took part in the sectarian 1988 murder of Jack Kielty. The latter was forty-five years old and had no political ties.
For the murder of Jack Kielty, Watson, Curlett, an ex-Royal Marine Bell, all members of the South Down UVF, were sentenced to life in jail.
The Good Friday Agreement allowed them to be freed from prison at the end of 1998 upon the agreement of Jack’s son Patrick.
Watson settled in Newcastle, and Curlett returned to Dundrum after their release from prison, but nothing is known of Bell after then.
Delbert Watson is still freely roaming around the city and posting rants on his social media, showing no signs of guilt.