Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles
22nd October
Tuesday 22 October 1974
Members of Parliament (MPs) who were part of the United Ulster Unionist Council (UUUC) elected James Molyneaux as their leader. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) carried out a bomb attack on the Brooks club, in St James’s Square in London. Although the bomb was thrown into an empty dining room, two members of the kitchen staff were severly injured in the blast.
Wednesday 22 October 1975
‘Guildford Four’ Patrick Armstrong, Gerard Conlon, Paul Hill, and Carole Richardson (who became known as the ‘Guildford Four’) were found guilty at the Old Bailey in London of causing explosions in London in October 1974. The four were sentenced to life imprisonment.
[Following an appeal the four were released on 19 October 1989. The court of appeal decided that the ‘confessions’ had been fabricated by the police.]
Thursday 22 October 1981
The European Court ruled against the British government on the grounds that it was discriminating against homosexuals by treating homosexuality as a crime in Northern Ireland.
Monday 22 October 1984
The European Commission on Human Rights decided that the use of plastic bullets by security forces in Northern Ireland was justified in riot situations.
Friday 22 October 1993
While addressing the House of Commons at Westminster, John Hume, then leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), said that he thought the Hume-Adams Initiative was the best chance of achieving peace that he had seen in 20 years. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) issued threats against the staff of five firms that were undertaking building work on behalf of the security forces.
Tuesday 22 October 1996
The Irish News (a Belfast based newspaper) published details of an opinion poll One result showed that 94 per cent of all respondents, and 70 per cent of Sinn Féin (SF) supporters, wanted an immediate Irish Republican Army (IRA) ceasefire.
Friday 22 October 1999
Some journalists were shown identity cards that were alleged to have been taken from two British soldiers who had been “arrested” by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in the Short Strand area of east Belfast. Republicans claimed that the soldiers had been involved with a group of Loyalists in throwing stones at Nationalist residents of Short Strand. It was said that the two soldiers had been questioned by the IRA before being released.
Two men were shot in the legs in a paramilitary ‘punishment’ shooting in Strabane, County Tyrone. The IRA were believed to have been responsible for the attack. Following their arrest on 20 October 1999, seven men were charged with firearms offences and in the case of three other men files were forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions in the Republic of Ireland. Political talks that formed part of the Mitchell Review of the Agreement continued late at Stormont, Belfast.
Monday 22 October 2001
Adams Asks IRA to Decommission At around 1.00am (0100BST) rioting resumed in the Limestone Road and Halliday’s Road area of north Belfast. Petrol bombs and fireworks were thrown at the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). John Reid, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, gave a speech in Belfast in which he said that the British government would not be “grudging or ungenerous” in the event of decommissioning of weapons by paramilitary groups. Later in the day Reid met a number of political leaders to discuss the issue of decommissioning.
Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), held separate meetings with John Reid and David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). Adams later made what he described as a significant speech at 5.00pm (1700BST). In his speech he said: “Martin McGuinness and I have also held discussions with the IRA and we have put to the IRA the view that if it could make a ground-breaking move on the arms issue that this could save the peace process from collapse and transform the situation.”
[The IRA responded on Tuesday 23 October 2001.]
The announcement was welcomed by Nationalists, the Irish government, the British Government, and the American administration. Those Unionists who had supported the Good Friday Agreement also welcomed the announcement. Adams also confirmed that one of the three men arrested in Columbia, South America, on 13 August 2001, was SF’s representative in Cuba. Adams said that Niall Connolly, who had lived in Cuba for a number of years, had been asked to represent SF in Cuba by a senior member of the party. However, Adams said that the “decision was taken without the knowledge or authorisation of the international department or any other party structure including the party chairperson or myself”.
———————————————————————————
Remembering all innocent victims of the Troubles
Today is the anniversary of the death of the following people killed as a results of the conflict in Northern Ireland
“To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.”
― Thomas Campbell
To the innocent on the list – Your memory will live forever
– To the Paramilitaries –
There are many things worth living for, a few things worth dying for, but nothing worth killing for.
4 People lost their lives on the 22nd October between 1972 – 1982
————————————————————–
22 October 1972
John Bell, (21)
Protestant
Status: Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Shot at his farm, Derrydoon, near Newtownbutler, County Fermanagh.
————————————————————–
22 October 1973
Ronald Fletcher, (46)
Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: non-specific Loyalist group (LOY)
Killed during bomb attack on Wilson’s Bar, Upper Newtownards Road, Ballyhackamore, Belfast.
————————————————————–
22 October 1974
Dominic Donnelly, (48)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: non-specific Loyalist group (LOY)
Killed by booby trap bomb hidden in radio, at Eastwood’s Bookmakers, Marquis Street, Belfast.
————————————————————–
22 October 1982
Thomas Cochrane, (54)
Protestant
Status: Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Abducted while travelling to work, Glennane, near Markethill, County Armagh. Found shot Lislea, near Camlough, County Armagh, on 29 October 1982.
————————————————————–
Belfast Child 