by Ronan McSherry r.mcsherry@usterherald.com

Mass-goers in Drumquin were startled to find the road was blocked off on Sunday morning to accommodate filming of the re-enactment of the murder of Dermot Hackett. The 37-year-old Castlederg man was shot 15 times by the UFF as he drove his bread van along the Omagh-Drumquin road in May 1987.

The filming was part of a follow up documentary to the controversial BBC programme Facing the Truth screened last year. In that programme Mr Hackett's brother Roddy and widow Sylvia came face to face with the notorious loyalist hitman Michael Stone, the man convicted of his murder. The meeting was facilitated by Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who led the Truth and Reconciliation Commission into the crimes of the apartheid era.

A local resident who did not wish to be named said, "There were a lot of people dressed as soldiers and film crews at the Crooked Bridge outside the village. We were stopped and they were acting out the shooting. There was a bread van and a black car and we could hear instructions being given. Then two fellows jumped out of the car and opened the door of the bread van and there were bangs and sparks coming out of their guns. Obviously we knew it was all fake and the police held us back until they had finished."

The man who was subsequently late for Mass added, "It seemed to be a big production and they were there for most of the day. At Mass Fr Mullan actually said anyone who was late had a good excuse and he spoke about Dermot Hackett."

Roddy Hackett explained, "It is part of the programme we did last March. The depiction of Dermot's murder will be a fleeting glimpse as background and won't be a total re-enactment of what happened. Recently we have been told that several men were arrested and questioned about the murder and of course Michael Stone is back in jail for his attack on Stormont in December."

The Milltown murderer is now being held in solitary confinement at Maghaberry, facing five attempted murder charges after his one-man offensive at Parliament Buildings, which ended with him being trapped in a revolving door and disarmed by two Stormont security staff.

Mr Hackett added, "The programme asked me for further comments and I talked to them while getting on with my day-to-day life at work and visiting a bar. I also went to Belfast to meet the author Henry McDonald who has written about loyalists. That was filmed as well."

Despite the recreation of his brother's killing Roddy Hackett said it did not upset him. "They had stopped by the time we arrived and after 19 years there is not much more for me to see. I have seen enough footage and photographs of it over the years."

The programme which is still to be completed is expected to be shown in the Spring. A spokesperson for the BBC said, "Following wide spread public interest in the Facing The Truth series on BBC, a follow up documentary has been commissioned and will be screened at a time to be announced."