The family of a schoolgirl killed by a British soldier in Co Armagh almost 35 years ago has welcomed an apology issued by the British government.
However, Michael O'Hare, whose sister, Majella, was shot dead at an army checkpoint in 1976, said the development would not bring closure to the family, who still grieved for their loss.
'We have to accept that closure never happens in a case like this,' he said.
He added: 'If you lose a child or sibling closure is a term that never really comes.
'It is not closure but we have moved along the way. It has been a long time coming. It still does not avoid the fact that Majella is dead as a result of their actions.'
Majella O'Hare, 12, was shot in the back after she walked past an army checkpoint on 14 August 1976.
She had been with a group of children who were on their way to the local church for confession.
Majella was found by her father, who was in the area and heard shots being fired. She died while she was being airlifted to Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry.
The soldier who killed her was later acquitted of manslaughter charges.
Almost 35 years after her death, the British Ministry of Defence is handing over a letter of apology to Majella's mother.
The letter to 88-year-old Mary O'Hare also corrects the army's original account of the killing in which paratrooper Michael Williams claimed he had fired in response to an attack by an IRA gunman.
The document, signed by the British Defence Secretary Liam Fox, said a recent review of the case had concluded it was 'unlikely that there was a gunman in the area' when the girl was killed.
The only other apology issued by the British Ministry of Defence over army actions in Northern Ireland was made following the publication of the Bloody Sunday inquiry last year.
