A victims’ group has renewed an appeal for information on the 40th anniversary of the murder of a part-time police officer in County Fermanagh.

John McVitty, aged 46, was shot dead by Provisional IRA gunmen on 8 July 1986 while working off-duty on his farm at Drumady, near Rosslea. He was a reserve constable in the Royal Ulster Constabulary and had previously served in the Ulster Special Constabulary. The attackers fled towards the nearby Irish border.

His son Gary, then 12, was with him at the time of the ambush. Mr McVitty also left a wife, Hazel, and two daughters, Rosalind and Gillian.

The family is supported by the South East Fermanagh Foundation, a victims and survivors group. Its director, Kenny Donaldson, said Mr McVitty was a well-respected family man, excellent police officer and hard-working farmer whose killing was met with revulsion across the community.

Mr Donaldson recalled that at the funeral, the local Church of Ireland rector, Canon Edwin Kille, criticised the Roman Catholic Church for conducting funerals of IRA members known to have killed members of his congregation.

Despite the trauma, Mr Donaldson said the McVitty family had refused to allow terrorism to define them. They have not become embittered and have tried to honour his memory by living positive lives.

On the anniversary, Mr Donaldson urged anyone with information about those responsible to come forward. He said there was never justification for one neighbour to murder another in pursuit of a political objective.