Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles
11th November
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Thursday 11 November 1971
Two Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers were shot dead by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in Belfast. [One of the officers was a Catholic and was the first Catholic member of the RUC to be killed during the conflict.]
Monday 11 November 1974
Allan Quartermaine, a London insurance broker, was shot and mortally wounded in his chauffeur-driven car at traffic-lights in King’s Road, Chelsea, London. Quartermaine died a week later. It is believed that the Irish Republican Army (IRA) was responsible for the shooting. At the time police thought the shooting was a case of mistaken identity (McKee & Franey, 1988; p.84).
Tuesday 11 November 1975
Four men were killed in the continuing feud between the two wings of the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
Thursday 11 November 1976
The Ulster Loyalist Central Co-ordinating Committee (ULCCC) issued a plan, ‘Ulster Can Survive Unfettered’, for the setting up of an Independent Northern Ireland.
Thursday 11 November 1982
‘Shoot to Kill’ Allegation Sean Burns (21), Gervaise McKerr (31), and Eugene Toman (21), all members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), were shot dead by members of an undercover unit of Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) at a police check point on Tullygalley Road, Craigavon, County Armagh. None of the three men were armed at the time of the shooting.
[This shooting incident, together with other similar incidents where unarmed Republican paramilitaries were shot dead led to claims that the security forces were engaged in a ‘shoot to kill’ policy. This claim was officially denied.
The RUC claimed that the three men had driven through a Vehicle Check Point. There were similar incidents on 24 November 1982 and 12 December 1982. Eventually the British government set up the Stalker inquiry (later taken over by Sampson) into the incidents.] The first sitting of the new Northern Ireland Assembly took place at Stormont, Belfast. The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and Sinn Féin (SF) did not take up their seats.
Monday 11 November 1991
Dublin City Council in the Republic of Ireland voted for a resolution not to allow Sinn Féin (SF) to use the Mansion House for its annual Ard Fheis. The reason given was SF’s support for the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
Thursday 11 November 1993
Michael Ancram, then Political Development Minister at the Northern Ireland Office (NIO), held a meeting in London with representatives of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). This completed a series of bilateral meetings with the main political parties. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) published its proposals for the future of Northern Ireland in a document entitled Breaking the Log-Jam.
Monday 11 November 1996
Proposals for the joint marketing of tourism by Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland were attacked by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).
Wednesday 11 November 1998
The announcement that the Maze prison in County Antrim would close by the year 2000 if the Good Friday Agreement was fully implemented was greeted by anger by many Unionists.
[The closure of the Maze would have a large impact on security related jobs which are almost entirely held by Protestants.]
Joel Patton, then spokesman for the ‘Spirit of Drumcree’ group, was expelled from the Orange Order because of his outspoken criticism of William Bingham in July. Mary McAleese, then President of the Republic of Ireland, joined with Queen Elizabeth of England and King Albert of Belgium, at a ceremony in the Belgian village of Mesen (Messines Ridge) to commemorate the estimated 50,000 Irishmen (from north and south) who died during the first World War. The ceremony also marked the official opening of a peace tower (modelled on an Irish round tower) built by young people from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland
Thursday 11 November 1999
Political talks that formed part of the Mitchell Review of the Agreement continued at Stormont in Belfast. There was speculation that a ‘sequence’ of events was being agreed which would include a Sinn Féin (SF) statement condemning violence and the appointment of an IRA interlocutor to negotiate with the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD) led by John de Chastelain. However Unionist opponents of the proposals said that it failed to guarantee short-term decommissioning. Ian Paisley, then leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), called on the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) to overthrow David Trimble, then leader of the UUP, before he betrayed Unionists.
The Orange Order decided to halt disciplinary proceedings against Lord Dennis Rogan. Proceedings had been started because Rogan had attending the Catholic funeral of three victims of the Omagh bomb. Such participation in a Catholic ceremony is against the rules of the Orange Order.
Sunday 11 November 2001
Protestant Teenager Killed Glen Hugh Branagh (16), a Protestant teenager, was killed in north Belfast when a pipe-bomb he was holding exploded prematurely.
[It was later confirmed that Branagh was a member of the (Ulster) Young Militants (YM), the youth wing of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). Members of YM were accused of killing a Protestant man, mistaken for a Catholic, during an attack on 31 March 2001.]
Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers stated that during a riot a youth, wearing a distinctive top and mask, was seen as he was about to throw a pipe-bomb at the security forces on North Queen Street; the bomb went off while he was still holding it. The crowd then called the police officers forward to give medical assistance. Although treated at the scene Branagh died later in hospital. Two other men were injured in the explosion.
[Loyalists claimed that the bomb had been thrown by Nationalists and that Branagh had picked the device up. This claim was denied by PSNI officers who said they saw quite clearly what had happened.]
Prior to this incident there had been serious rioting in the area between rival Protestant and Catholic residents. Later in the evening there were further disturbances and police fired 9 plastic baton rounds. A Catholic girl (14) was injured when she was hit in the stomach by a plastic bullet.
Catholic residents also claimed that a boy (11) and a teenager (17) were also hit by plastic bullets. Twenty-four police officers and two British soldiers were injured during the rioting. There were several shooting incidents in Belfast during the evening and in the early hours of Monday 12 November 2001. A gunman fired a shot from a car at four youths sitting in a bus shelter on the Antrim Road, north Belfast. There were reports that a gunman had fired a shot into the Clarendon Bar, Garmoyle Street in the Docks area of Belfast at about 10.00pm (2200GMT). There were a series of events across Northern Ireland to mark Remembrance Day. Among the wreaths laid at memorials were, for the first time, ones on behalf of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).
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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.
16 People lost their lives on the 11th November between 1971 – 2001
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11 November 1971
Dermot Hurley, (50)
Catholic
Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot while in shop at rear of Oldpark Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) base, Oldpark Road, Belfast.
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11 November 1971
Walter Moore, (37)
Protestant
Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot while in shop at rear of Oldpark Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) base, Oldpark Road, Belfast.
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11 November 1972
Gerard Kelly, (58)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Red Hand Commando (RHC)
Shot at his newsagent’s shop, Crumlin Road, Belfast.
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11 November 1975
John McAllister, (19)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot while standing at bus stop, Springfield Road, Ballymurphy, Belfast. A relative of a member of Republican Clubs. Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA) / Irish Republican Army (IRA) feud.
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11 November 1975
Comgall Casey, (18)
Catholic
Status: Civilian Political Activist (CivPA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Former Republican Clubs member. Shot at his workplace, joinery firm, Andersonstown, Belfast. Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA) / Irish Republican Army (IRA) feud.
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11 November 1975
Owen McVeigh, (28)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA)
Shot at his home, Grosvenor Place, Lower Falls, Belfast. Mistaken for Irish Republican Army (IRA) member. Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA) / Irish Republican Army (IRA) feud
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11 November 1975
John Brown, (25)
Catholic
Status: Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot at his home, Cooke Place, off Ormeau Road, Belfast. Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA) / Irish Republican Army (IRA) feud.
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11 November 1976
Patrick Smyth, (24)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: non-specific Republican group (REP)
Shot while inside social club, Saul Street, Short Strand, Belfast.
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11 November 1976
Winston McCaughey, (33)
Protestant
Status: Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Shot outside his home, Kilrea, County Derry.
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11 November 1977
Patrick Shields, (53)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in car bomb explosion, King Street, Belfast. Inadequate warning given.
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11 November 1980
Owen McQuade, (31)
nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot while sitting in stationary British Army (BA) minibus, main driveway of Altnagelvin Hospital, Derry.
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11 November 1981
Cecil Graham, (32)
Protestant
Status: Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Died two days after being shot while leaving relative’s home, Lisnaskea, County Fermanagh.
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11 November 1982
Eugene Toman, (21)
Catholic
Status: Irish Republican Army (IRA),
Killed by: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC)
Shot by undercover Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) members at Vehicle Check Point (VCP), Tullygalley East Road, Craigavon, County Armagh.
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11 November 1982
Sean Burns, (21)
Catholic
Status: Irish Republican Army (IRA),
Killed by: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC)
Shot by undercover Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) members at Vehicle Check Point (VCP), Tullygalley East Road, Craigavon, County Armagh.
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11 November 1982
Gervaise McKerr, (31)
Catholic
Status: Irish Republican Army (IRA),
Killed by: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC)
Shot by undercover Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) members at Vehicle Check Point (VCP), Tullygalley East Road, Craigavon, County Armagh.
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11 November 2001
Glen Branagh, (16)
Protestant
Status: Ulster Defence Association (UDA),
Killed by: Ulster Defence Association (UDA)
Killed in premature explosion, while handling pipe-bomb, during street disturbances, North Queen Street, Tigers Bay, Belfast.
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