Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles
22nd May
Saturday 22 May 1971
Robert Bankier
A British soldier was killed by members of the Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA) in Belfast.
Monday 22 May 1972
Over 400 women in Derry attacked the offices of Official Sinn Féin (OSF) in Derry following the shooting of William Best by the Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA) on 21 May 1972.
Wednesday 22 May 1974
Day 8 of the UWC strike
In an attempt to resolve the strike the Northern Ireland Executive agreed to postpone certain sections of the Sunningdale Agreement until 1977 and to reduce the size of the ‘Council of Ireland’
. These proposals were rejected by leaders of the Ulster Workers’ Council (UWC) and other Loyalist leaders. The British government repeated their stance on not negotiating with the UWC. John Hume, then Minister of Commerce, worked on a ‘fuel oil plan’.
Saturday 22 May 1976
Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) Ceasefire
The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) announced the beginning of a three-month ceasefire.
[This ceasefire was, however, broken on a number of occasions the first of which was on 5 June 1976 when five civilians were shot dead.]
Friday 22 May 1981
Henry Duffy (45), a Catholic civilian, was shot dead by a plastic bullet fired by the British Army as he walked through the Bogside area of Derry.
Carol Anne Kelly (12), a Catholic girl, died three days after being shot by a plastic bullet by the British Army as she walked along Cherry Park in the Twinbrook area of Belfast.
Kieran Doherty, an Irish Republican Army (IRA) prisoner in the Maze Prison, joined the hunger strike.
Thursday 22 May 1986
Andrew French ( BA) David McBride & William Smyth (RUC)
Two Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers and one British soldier were killed by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) near Crossmaglen, County Armagh.
The three men had been part of a joint RUC / British Army (BA) foot patrol when the IRA detonated a remote controlled bomb hidden in a ditch.
Tuesday 22 May 1990
Peter Brooke, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, held a long meeting with Unionist leaders in London. James Molyneaux, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), and Ian Paisley, then leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), announced that they were ‘well satisfied with the results’. The Bank of Ireland published a report which estimated that the cost of ‘the Troubles’ to the British and Irish Governments was £410 million.
Wednesday 22 May 1991
In the political talks (later known as the Brooke / Mayhew talks) the venue for Strand Two (the North-South Stage) of the main talks was agreed by the parties.
Saturday 22 May 1993
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) exploded a bomb, estimated at 1,000 pounds, in Portadown, County Armagh. Six people were injured in the explosion.
[Later estimates put the cost of the damage at £8 million.]
Friday 22 May 1998 Referendum on The Agreement
There was a huge turnout throughout the island of Ireland as people in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland voted on the Good Friday Agreement (in the Republic there was a further vote on the Ratification of the Amsterdam Treaty).
This was the first all-Ireland poll since the general election of 1918. It was clear from the number of people going to polling stations across Northern Ireland that there had been a high turnout (the figure was 81.10%).
[When all the votes were counted the results were as follows: Northern Ireland – Yes 71.12%, No 28.88% (turnout 81.10%); Republic of Ireland – Yes 94.39%, No 5.61% (turnout 56.26%); Ireland overall – Yes 85.46%, No 14.54%. While it was not possible to break down the Northern Ireland figures by community an exit poll for the Sunday Times (a British newspaper) found that, of those questioned, the Agreement was supported by 96 per cent of Catholics and 55 per cent of Protestants. In the Republic of Ireland, the Amsterdam Treaty was ratified, with the results as follows: Yes 62%, No 38%.]
Saturday 22 May 1999
Loyalists carried out a petrol-bomb attack on the home of a Catholic family in west 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.
11 People lost their lives on the 22nd May between 1971 – 1987
——————————————
22 May 1971
Robert Bankier (25)
nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA)
Shot by sniper as he left British Army (BA) Armoured Personnel Carrier, Cromac Square, Markets, Belfast.
——————————————
22 May 1972
William Hughes (54)
Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot while sitting in parked car, Moortown, near Coagh, County Tyrone. Mistaken for civilian-type Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) vehicle.
——————————————
22 May 1973
Thomas Friel (21)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: British Army (BA)
Died five days after being hit by rubber bullet during street disturbances, Creggan Heights, Creggan, Derry.
——————————————
22 May 1975
Gerard D’Eath (30)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Killed by booby trap bomb hidden in flask at his workplace, building site, Hightown Road, Glengormley, near Belfast, County Antrim.
——————————————
22 May 1976
John McCambridge (21)
Protestant
Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Shot outside his home, Corrainy, near Dungannon, County Tyrone.
——————————————
22 May 1981
Henry Duffy (45)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot by plastic bullet while walking along street, Bogside, Derry
——————————————
22 May 1981
Carol Ann Kelly (12)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: British Army (BA)
Died three days after being shot by plastic bullet while walking along Cherry Park, Twinbrook, Belfast.
——————————————
22 May 1986
Andrew French (35)
nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed by remote controlled bomb, hidden in ditch, detonated when joint British Army (BA) / Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) foot patrol passed, Milltown Bridge, near Crossmaglen, County Armagh.
——————————————
22 May 1986
David McBride (27)
Protestant
Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed by remote controlled bomb, hidden in ditch, detonated when joint British Army (BA) / Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) foot patrol passed, Milltown Bridge, near Crossmaglen, County Armagh
——————————————
22 May 1986
William Smyth (25)
Catholic
Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed by remote controlled bomb, hidden in ditch, detonated when joint British Army (BA) / Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) foot patrol passed, Milltown Bridge, near Crossmaglen, County Armagh.
——————————————
22 May 1987
Charles Watson (35)
Protestant
Status: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot at his home, Downpatrick Road, Clough, County Down.
——————————————
Belfast Child 