The Derry murder of Paul McCauley: ‘It was like a black cloud of grief over this city’

The Derry murder of Paul McCauley: ‘It was like a black cloud of grief over this city’

Author: Belfast Telegraph July 27, 2026 Duration: 24:01

In July 2000, a summer barbecue ended in unimaginable violence.  


Father-of-one Paul McCauley (29), alongside his two friends, were brutally beaten by a loyalist mob in the Chapel Road area of Derry, in what police described as an unprovoked sectarian attack.  


Paul never regained consciousness – spending almost a decade in care before dying from his injuries in 2015. 


Olivia Peden is joined by Senior Journalist with the Belfast Telegraph in Derry, Louise Doyle. 


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