Quinn hailed as ‘gentleman of truest kind’ after gesture on shooting anniversary

NIALL QUINN was praised by fans after he was videoed singing in a Loughinisland pub on the 30th anniversary of a massacre in the town.

On June 18, 1994, six people were shot and killed by the Ulster Volunteer Force in Heights Bar in the Co Down.

The shooting took place on the same day that the Republic of Ireland faced and beat Italy at the World Cup in the USA, which was playing on the TV in the bar on that fateful day.

Quinn showed his class by travelling to Loughinisland to commemorate the tragedy.

The former Republic of Ireland international attended a private church ceremony alongside family and friends of those who were killed.

And that evening, he was in a local pub, dedicating a rendition of ‘The Ferryman’ by The Dubliners in their honour.

A video of the moment was shared to Twitter by Keith Gray, who said: “Fair play to big Niall Quinn…Turned up Wednesday night in O’Tooles Bar Loughinisland Co.Down on the 30th anniversary of 6 innocent catholics slaughtered by the UVF..on the very same night Ireland v Italy USA 94 World Cup”

The photo has been viewed over 250,000 times at time of writing, with Quinn showered with praise by fans for his humanity.

‘Ned’ said: “Had the pleasure of meeting Niall once , a gentlemen, spoke to him for about half hour . A very kind bloke.

“Lovely gesture to travel up to Loughinisland for a very sombre occasion. Some community there , giants . RIP to the poor souls.”

‘Dave’ commented: “Superb. Really is a gent and role model. togs for the hurling for cancer annually too”

Another said: “What a fantastic thing to do well done Niall” while Stephen posted: “That’s brilliant! Well done Niall!”

Perry hailed: “Niall is a lovely guy, met him a few times when he was with Arsenal & then City, always seemed to be only happy to stop & have a quick chat.”

Jimmy praised: “Well done Niall……………one of the best……..fair play to ye……..was in there for a drink a few years ago…good people..”

The 57-year-old was not part of the Ireland squad at the 1994 World Cup as he was recovering from injury at the time.

He was doing punditry instead and it was in this capacity that he learned of the massacre in Loughinisland.

Speaking on the 30th anniversary, Quinn told Irish News: “The celebrations were crazy good, and in between the jigs and the reels, I was handing over my headphones and was told a US TV network wanted to speak to me.

“I thought it was about the victory on the pitch and about how well we had done. So I put on another pair of headphones to listen.

“I literally was told ‘you know this is about the tragedy’, and I didn’t know what it was, and I had to wait to find out – I was kind of caught cold.

“When I understood what it was – well you can imagine. Talk about flattening the atmosphere.

“It went from such joy, to sheer disbelief. And suddenly the euphoria we had been experiencing meant nothing.”