Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles
2nd April
—————————————————————-
Thursday 2 April 1970
Serious rioting continued in Belfast.
Monday 2 April 1973
[Public Records 1972 – Released 1 January 2003:
Telegram from Edward Heath, then British Prime Minister, to Liam Cosgrave, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), seeking further cooperation between security forces in Northern Ireland and those in the Republic of Ireland.]
Tuesday 2 April 1974
Sunningdale; Ulster Workers’ Council Strike; Internment.
Wednesday 2 April 1975
IRA Truce.
Saturday 2 April 1977
Airey Neave, then the Conservative Party spokesperson on Northern Ireland, said that Provisional Sinn Féin (PSF) should be proscribed (declared illegal).
See Aiey Neave
Friday 2 April 1982
Following the invasion of the Falkland Islands by Argentina, the issue of Northern Ireland fell further down the British political agenda.
[ The Falklands War was ended when British Forces retook the territory on 15 June 1982.]
See The Falklands War – The Untold Story
Tuesday 2 April 1996
Michael Howard, then Home Secretary, introduced new emergency legislation to give the police the right to ‘stop and search’ suspected members of paramilitary groups.
Thursday 2 April 1998
A car bomb, estimated at 1,000 pounds, was intercepted by the Garda Síochána (the Irish police) Emergency Response Unit at Dun Laoghaire ferry port close to Dublin.
[It was thought that the bomb might have been destined for the Aintree Grand National horse race in England. It was believed that dissident Republicans were behind the attempted bombing.]
Friday 2 April 1999
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) issued a statement in response to the Hillsborough Declaration.
Monday 2 April 2001
Trevor Lowry, (49)
A Protestant civilian was mistaken for a Catholic and beaten to death by Loyalists in Belfast.
———————————————
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 2nd April between 1973– 2001
—————————————————————————
02 April 1973
David McQueen, (28)
Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: non-specific Loyalist group (LOY)
Found shot at side of the road, near Ballyhalbert, County Down.
—————————————————————————
02 April 1976
Robert Lennox, (60)
Protestant
Status: Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Shot while on his postal round, Gulladuff, near Maghera, County Derry
—————————————————————————
02 April 1977
Hugh Clarke, (30)
Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Republican Action Force (RepAF)
Found shot, Tullymacreeve, near Forkhill, County Armagh.
—————————————————————————
02 April 1980
Carl McParland, (21)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Shot at his sister’s home, Leoville Street, off Springfield Road, Belfast.
—————————————————————————
02 April 1981
Kenneth Acheson, (23)
Protestant
Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Killed when detonated booby trap bomb attached to his car, shortly after leaving Bessbrook Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) base, County Armagh.
—————————————————————————
02 April 1983
Sean McConville, (22)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: non-specific Loyalist group (LOY)
Beaten to death, while walking along Distillery Hill, Lurgan, County Armagh
—————————————————————————
02 April 1987
Laurence Marley, (41)
Catholic
Status: Irish Republican Army (IRA),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Shot at his home, Havana Court, Ardoyne, Belfast.
—————————————————————————
02 April 1992
Danny Cassidy, (40)
Catholic
Status: ex-Irish Republican Army (xIRA),
Killed by: Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF)
Sinn Fein (SF) election worker. Shot while sitting in his car near his home, Coleraine Road, Kilrea, County Derry.
—————————————————————————
02 April 2001
Trevor Lowry, (49)
Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Defence Association (UDA)
Died two days after being badly beaten, Harmin Parade, Glengormley, near Belfast, County Antrim. Assumed to be a Catholic.
—————————————————————————
Belfast Child 