A Derry woman has claimed she is living with a life-threatening disease as a result of being exposed to chemicals while living in jail with her mother.
Nikki Toland, whose mother Jacqueline Moore was jailed for manslaughter following the INLA bombing of a Ballykelly public house in 1982 in which 17 people were killed, has called on Justice Minister David Forde to help pay for her medical treatment.
Ms Toland claims she contracted a neurological condition from chemicals used to fumigate a cell she shared as an infant with her mother in Armagh women’s jail. Prison authorities ordered the cleansing of the cell due to a “dirty protest” taking place in the jail at the time.
Ms claims the Justice Minister should take responsibility for her contracting the incurable disease as proper mother-baby living facilities were not provided in the jail at the time.
She said: “They should have had baby and mother unit. They should not have put a pregnant woman in a fumigated cell. They should not have put a baby in a fumigated cell.”
Ms Toland said her mother was innocent of the charges brought against her as she did not realise the person she was with that night was carrying a bomb.
Ms Toland was born in Armagh women’s jail in June 1984 while her mother was on remand awaiting trial.
Six civilians (four of them women) and 11 soldiers died when the INLA bombed a disco taking place in the Droppin’ Well Bar in Ballykelly on 6 December, 1982. Over 30 were injured, many of them seriously
Nikki’s mother was sentenced to 10 years in jail for manslaughter as the court believed she had been coerced into involvement. Four others – Anna Moore, Eamon Moore, Helena Semple and Patrick Shotter – were jailed for life.