Patrick Kielty thought he was in trouble as he was told dad was dead
Patrick Kielty thought he was in trouble with the head teacher when he was called into the school office to learn of his father’s gruesome death at the hands of loyalist gunmen in Northern Ireland.
Patrick Kielty thought he was in trouble and had to scold when he was called into the headteacher’s office to learn that his father had died during the Northern Ireland Troubles.
The comedian, now 52, was just 16 years old when his businessman father Jack was shot at his desk in 1988 at the age of 44 by Ulster Freedom Fighters loyalist gunmen after he refused to pay protection money.
In a new BBC documentary, Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland, Patrick recalls being called into his headmaster’s office to hear the news that his father had been killed.
According to the Mirrorsaid the star on the programme: ‘I remember going to school and like many 16-year-olds putting up your posters for Comic Relief.
And being called into the principal’s office and thinking “I didn’t ask permission to put up these posters, here we go”.
Shocl: Patrick Kielty thought he was in trouble and had to scold when he was called the headteacher’s office to learn that his father had passed away
Dead: The comedian, now 52, was just 16 years old when his businessman father Jack (pictured) was shot by loyalist gunmen during the Troubles in Northern Ireland
The director said, “I think you should sit down.” There was a slow motion but very fast exchange.
‘He said ‘your father was shot’. I said “is he dead?” and he said yes.’
Only later did Patrick and his family discover why his father had been targeted.
He explained: “Instead of paying protection money to loyalist paramilitaries, he decided to go to the police.”
Patrick’s father was in the office of his construction company when members of the Loyalist Ulster Freedom Fighters sprayed it with bullets.
It was a case of mistaken identity, with the killers thinking Jack was an IRA officer, a link immediately rejected by the Royal Ulster Constabulary and relatives.
Patrick has previously said he is not ready to forgive the loyalist paramilitaries who shot dead his father in Northern Ireland more than 30 years ago.
In a 2018 BBC One documentary, My Dad, the Peace Deal and Me, Patrick relived the horror of his parents’ death.
Horrifying: Patrick’s father was in the office of his construction company when members of the Loyalist Ulster Freedom Fighters sprayed it with bullets
Patrick also revealed that the IRA was trying to recruit him to get revenge on his killers.
He returned to his home village of Dundrum, Co Down, for the program on the Troubles and the impact of the peace process on Good Friday.
Patrick said, “I can’t forgive them. But whether or not these people are in jail, it’s not going to bring Daddy back.
“I felt like if this is what needs to be done to prevent this from happening to someone else, I’ll suck that up. I won’t hug them and say it was okay, but I want to move on.”
Speaking of the time when the IRA tried to recruit him, he told the programme: ‘When my father died there were thousands of armed paramilitaries and it would have been easy for me to pick up a gun myself.
“My dad’s brother had been approached in the graveyard by the IRA to say, ‘Look, we could probably use some good, smart, strong guys like those Kielty guys if they’re interested in revenge.
“They were told where to go in no uncertain terms.
“Everyone wants to believe that their loved one died for a purpose. But my father died for nothing.’