Loyalist paramilitaries bombed the pub on 4 December 1971, killing 15 civilians including two children.

The families of victims and survivors have campaigned for new inquests, having long suspected that the British Army had foreknowledge of the attack and failed to prevent it.

The Keenan family was told via their lawyer that Attorney General Dame Brenda King had “considered the submissions and documents provided and has decided that it is advisable to order a new inquest into their deaths.”

However, the inquest is unlikely to be able to take place as the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 will come into force from the start of May, ending all investigations, inquests and civil lawsuits related to the Troubles.

Solicitor Niall Ó Murchú from Kinnear and Co said: “This is a poignant reminder of the power of family campaigning and the fact that legal processes — however slow — can work if not shut down by the British state.

“The British government and its Ministry of Defence have spent millions covering up their involvement in the McGurk’s Bar massacre and its aftermath.

“Even after more than half a century, an inquest may offer the families an opportunity for truth and justice but now, of course, they first must fight for the repeal of the shameful Legacy Act, Britain’s latest attempt to bury its war crimes in Ireland.”