Sunday Tribune February 13, 2005 Family accuse IRA men of murder by Suzanne Breen The family of a man fatally stabbed outside a Belfast city-centre  bar a fortnight ago has accused Provisional IRA members, who are also  Sinn Féin election workers, of his murder. Robert McCartney (33) was stabbed in the stomach, kicked, punched  and beaten with sewer rods. His friend, Brendan Devine, who was also  stabbed and beaten, remains under police guard at Belfast's Royal  Victoria Hospital. A gun was produced, although not used, during the attack outside  Magennis's bar. The McCartneys said the murder was more important than  the Northern Bank robbery and they would not rest until the killers  were convicted. Speaking from her home in the Short Strand area of Belfast,  McCartney's sister Paula said: "We are an ordinary, working-class  nationalist family. We are not securocrats out to ruin the peace  process. "Robert voted Sinn Féin. Our mother voted Sinn Féin, two of my  sisters voted Sinn Féin. We have no political agenda. We are simply  seeking justice for our brother. "There has been a huge outcry about the Northern Bank raid.  Robert's murder raises far more questions than any robbery. No amount  of money, even £26 million, is more important than a human life." The names of the six IRA men involved in the attack are known to  the Sunday Tribune but cannot be published for legal reasons. They are  from the Short Strand and Market area of Belfast. The most senior is the operations' officer of the IRA's general  headquarters (GHQ) staff. He is a former Belfast Brigade OC. The men  have a reputation for thuggery and many complaints have been made  about them to Sinn Féin over the years. They have all acted as Sinn Féin election workers, and one was a  bodyguard for Martin McGuinness when he visited Queen's University  Belfast. The McCartneys said they knew the attack was the work of  individual Provisionals and wasn't authorised by the leadership.  Police sources confirmed this. However, the family accused the IRA of "a cover-up" to protect the  senior figure involved. They blamed the Provisionals for a campaign of  intimidation to silence the community and frustrate the police  investigation. Paula McCartney said: "The IRA was involved in a clean-up  operation in the bar so there would be no forensic evidence. The IRA  threatened eye-witnesses. "The IRA visited the local community centre and ordered people not  to talk to the police and media, not even to talk to each other, about  the murder. This raises very serious questions for Sinn Féin." The McCartneys are considering presenting the names of their  brother's killers to Gerry Adams, and asking how he thinks the family  can find justice. Paula McCartney stressed they wanted to pursue the matter in a  purely peaceful manner through the courts. Robert McCartney, a father  of two, worked as a doorman in a local nightclub. His partner Bridgeen  said she was "disgusted" by the murder.