Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles
7th December
Tuesday 7 December 1971
An off duty member of the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) was shot dead by members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in County Tyrone.
Friday 7 December 1979
Charles Haughey replaced Jack Lynch as Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister). The Fiannia Fáil parliamentary party voted by 44 votes to 38 in favour of Haughey.
Tuesday 7 December 1982
The Irish Supreme Court made a ruling which opened up the possibility of extradition between the Republic and the United Kingdom (UK). The court rejected the claim that paramilitary offences were politically motivated.
Wednesday 7 December 1983
Edgar Graham, then a Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Assembly member, was shot dead by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) at the Queen’s University of Belfast. Graham was also a lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the university
Saturday 7 December 1985
Two Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers were shot dead during an attack by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) on the RUC base at Ballygawley, County Tyrone.
Wednesday 7 December 1994
The European Commission agreed the funding of a £230 million aid programme for Northern Ireland and also border counties in the Republic of Ireland. The funding was to be spread over the following three years.
Thursday 7 December 1995
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) issued a statement which said that the British government
“has sought only to frustrate movement into inclusive negotiations … there is no question of the IRA meeting the ludicrous demand for a surrender of IRA weapons”.
Sunday 7 December 1997
At Dunloy, County Antrim, a ‘suspect device’ was found near the Orange Order Hall on the outskirts of the village. The device was made safe. Members of the Apprentice Boys of Derry (ABD) held a religious service at the Orange Hall but did not attempt to march through the village. Mary McAleese, then President of the Republic of Ireland, broke new ecumenical ground when she took communion at a Church of Ireland service in Christ Church, Dublin.
[The decision caused a debate in the Catholic church with a number of senior figures criticising the President over the coming days and weeks.]
Monday 7 December 1998
There were reports that members of the “real” Irish Republican Army (rIRA), which was on ceasefire, were offering assistance to the Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA) the only Republican paramilitary group not on ceasefire.
Tuesday 7 December 1999
There was a series of walk-outs by pupils at state (Protestant) schools in protest at the appointment of Martin McGuinness as Minister of Education. Protests were held in Carrickergus, Cookstown, Glengormley, Newtownabbey, and the Shankill Road in Belfast.
McGuinness claimed that the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) was orchestrating the protests. The DUP denied the claim. Gary McMichael, then leader of the Ulster Democratic Party (UDP), denied that there was a split within the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) over whether or not appoint an interlocutor to the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD).
Thursday 7 December 2000
There were two pipe-bomb attacks on the homes of Catholic families in Coleraine, County Derry. As a result of these attacks, and earlier ones, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) requested the deployment of British Army (BA) patrols in the town. A 30 year old man was alone in the kitchen of his home on Lilic Avenue when a pipe-bomb exploded in the back garden after bouncing off the kitchen window. The attacks were carried out by Loyalist paramilitaries.
Friday 7 December 2001
John Hume, former leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), was awarded the Mahatma Ghandi Peace Prize by the India government.
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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.
9 People lost their lives on the 7th December between 1971 – 1993
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07 December 1971
Denis Wilson, (31)
Protestant
Status: Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Shot at his home, Curlagh, near Caledon, County Tyrone.
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07 December 1972
Ernest Elliott, (28)
Protestant
Status: Ulster Defence Association (UDA), Killed by: Ulster Defence Association (UDA)
Found shot in back of abandoned car, off Donegall Avenue, Village, Belfast. Internal Ulster Defence Association dispute.
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07 December 1972
See The Disappeared
Jean McConville, (37)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Abducted from her home, St. Judes Walk, Divis, Belfast. Her remains eventually recovered, on general instructions from the IRA, buried at Shelling Hill beach, near Carlingford, Co. Louth, on 27 August 2003.
See: Jean McConville – The Shameful & Unforgivable Murder of a Widow & Mother of Ten
See: IRA Nutting Squad
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07 December 1974
Ethel Lynch, (22)
Catholic
Status: Irish Republican Army (IRA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Died five days after being injured in premature bomb explosion in house, Crawford Square, Derry.
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07 December 1974
John McDaid, (16)
Catholic
Status: Irish Republican Army (IRA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Died in premature bomb explosion in derelict house, Bridge Street, Derry.
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07 December 1983
Edgar Graham, (29)
Protestant
Status: Civilian Political Activist (CivPA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Ulster Unionist Party Assembly member. Shot outside his workplace, Queen’s University, University Square, Belfast
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07 December 1985
William Clements, (52)
Protestant
Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot during gun attack on Ballygawley Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) base, County Tyrone
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07 December 1985
George Gilliland, (34)
Protestant
Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot during gun attack on Ballygawley Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) base, County Tyrone.
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07 December 1993
Robert McClay, (38)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF)
Shot at his home, Hillview Avenue, Ballyhackamore, Belfast.
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See: IRA Nutting Squad
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