Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles
17th May
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Wednesday 17 May 1972
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) opened fire on workers leaving the Mackies engineering works in West Belfast.
[Although the factory was sited in a Catholic area it had an almost entirely Protestant workforce.]
Thursday 17 May 1973
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) carried out a booby-trap bomb attack on five members of the British Army who were off duty at the time. The attack occurred in Omagh, County Tyrone.
See Palace Barracks for more details
[Four soldiers were killed on the day and the fifth soldier died on 3 June 1973.]
Loyalists killed two Catholic civilians in Belfast.
The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) shot dead a man in County Fermanagh.
Friday 17 May 1974
Dublin and Monaghan Bombings 33 People Killed
Day 3 of the UWC strike
33 civilians and an unborn child were killed in the Republic of Ireland as a result of a series of explosions when four car bombs were planted by Loyalist paramilitaries in Dublin and Monaghan.
Approximately 258 people were also injured in the explosions. The death toll from the bombings was the largest in any single day of the conflict. No one was ever arrested or convicted of causing the explosions.
[On 15 July 1993 the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) claimed sole responsibility for carrying out the bomb attacks.]
In Dublin three car bombs exploded, almost simultaneously at approximately 5.30pm, in Parnell Street, Talbot Street, and South Leinster Street. 23 men, women and children died in these explosions and 3 others died as a result of injuries over the following few days. Another car bomb exploded at approximately 7.00pm in North Road, Monaghan, killing 5 people initially with another 2 dying in the following weeks.
The first of the three Dublin bombs went off at approximately 5.28pm in Parnell Street. Eleven people died as a result of this explosion.
The second of the Dublin bombs went off at approximately 5.30pm in Parnell Street. Fourteen people died in this explosion. The third bomb went off at approximately 5.32pm in South Leinster Street. Two people were killed in this explosion.
News of car bombs in Dublin and Monaghan raised tensions in Northern Ireland. Sammy Smyth, then press officer of both the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and the Ulster Workers’ Council (UWC) Strike Committee, said,
“I am very happy about the bombings in Dublin. There is a war with the Free State and now we are laughing at them.”
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
In Northern Ireland reductions in the supply of electricity continued to have serious consequences for industry, commerce, and the domestic sector. In addition to problems in maintaining petrol distribution, a lack of electricity also meant that pumps did not operate for substantial periods of each day. Postal delivery services came to a halt following intimidation of Royal Mail employees.
There were continuing problems in farming and in the distribution of food supplies. Special arrangements were made by the Northern Ireland Executive to ensure that payments of welfare benefits would be delivered to claimants.
William Craig, then leader of (Ulster) Vanguard, criticised Merlyn Rees, then Secretary of Sate for Northern Ireland, for not negotiating with the Ulster Workers’ Council (UWC).
[Public Records 1974 – Released 1 January 2005: Letter from F.E.R. Butler, then in the Ministry of Defence, discussing the ‘Provision of Electric Power to Belfast’.]
Monday 17 May 1976
James Gallagher (20) was shot dead, as he travelled, as a passenger on a bus, past Fort George British Army base, Strand Road, Derry.
The soldier who shot him was on sentry duty in the base and as he handed over his rifle is reported to have said, “I’m cracking, I’m cracking”. Two other passengers on the bus, a man and a woman, were injured in the incident.
[Later Gallagher was listed on a Republican roll of honour as an Irish Republican Army (IRA) member.]
Two Protestant civilians were shot dead by Republican paramilitaries at a factory in Dungannon Street, Moy, County Tyrone.
Friday 17 May 1984
Jim Campbell, then Northern Editor of the Sunday World, was shot and seriously injured by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) at his home in north Belfast.
See Martin Ohagan
Wednesday 17 May 1989
Local Government Elections
Local government elections were held across Northern Ireland.
[The percentage share of the vote was: Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) 31.4%; Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) 17.8%; Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) 21.2%; Sinn Féin (SF) 11.3%; Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI) 6.8%; Workers Party (WP) 2.1%; Others 9.4%; Turnout 56.0%. (See detailed results.)]
Thursday 17 May 1990
Summary of Stevens Report Published
A summary of the report of the Stevens Inquiry was published. The main finding of the report was that there had been evidence of collusion between members of the security forces and Loyalist paramilitaries.
However it was the view of the inquiry that any collusion was “restricted to a small number of members of the security forces and is neither widespread nor institutionalised”.
There was a Westminster by-election in the constituency of Upper Bann. David Trimble, of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), won the by-election with a majority of almost 14,000 votes. The Conservative Party candidate, Colette Jones, lost her deposit.
Sunday 17 May 1992
British soldiers of the King’s Own Scottish Borderers becamed involved in a fist-fight with local people in Coalisland, County Tyrone. Soon after members of the Parachute Regiment arrived and fired on a crowd of people standing outside a public house in the town, and shot and wounded three civilians and injured a further four others.
[This incident followed an earlier one on 12 May 1992. It was later reported that the commander of the army’s Third Brigade was transferred. Patrols by the Parachute Regiment were also ended before the official end of the regiment’s tour of duty.]
Monday 17 May 1993
The Combined Loyalist Military Command (CLMC) stated that it would look at the results of the local government elections on 19 May 1993 to see if there was any evidence of “pan-Nationalist candidates” co-operating with each other.
Tuesday 17 May 1994
Two Catholics Killed by UVF
Eamon Fox (42) and Gary Convie (24), both Catholic civilians, were shot dead by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) at a building site on North Queen Street, in the Tiger Bay area of Belfast.
A review of the working of the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act recommended that police interviews should be taped.
Wednesday 17 May 1995
Unemployment in Northern Ireland in April 1995 was recorded as 88,700 (11.8 per cent) the lowest it had been since December 1981
Saturday 17 May 1997
Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), held a meeting with officials representing the Irish government at an undisclosed venue in Dublin. John Bruton, the Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), said afterwards that the meeting was to establish if the Irish Republican Army (IRA) was prepared to call a new ceasefire.
Sunday 17 May 1999
Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, said there was no “plan B” if the Agreement was rejected in the referendum. Blair and Bill Clinton, then President of the United States of America (USA), issued a joint statement urging people to recognise the opportunities offered by the Agreement and to vote ‘Yes’.
Monday 17 May 1999
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) issued a blunt warning that it would not change its position on decommissioning before, during or after next month’s European election. David Trimble, then First Minister designate, challenged Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, to state whether, in the British government’s view, devolution could proceed without the start of “actual decommissioning”.
In the Republic of Ireland 42 candidates were nominated for the European election on 11 June 1999. Fianna Fáil (FF) put forward eight candidates, Fine Gael seven, Labour five, Sinn Féin four, Natural Law Party four, and the Green Party three. For the first time there was no PD candidate.
Thursday 17 May 2001
Sean MacStiofain (73), former Chief of Staff of the (Provisional) Irish Republican Army (IRA), died in a hospital in the Republic of Ireland after a long illness. He became Chief of Staff of the Provisionals after they split from the Official IRA in 1970.
[MacStiofain had been born John Stephenson in London.]
Death
In 1993, Mac Stíofáin suffered a stroke. On 18 May 2001, he died in Our Lady’s Hospital, Navan, County Meath, after a long illness at the age of 73. He is buried in St Mary’s Cemetery, Navan.
Despite his controversial career in the IRA, many of his former comrades (and rivals) paid tribute to him after his death. Ruairí Ó Brádaigh, who attended the funeral, issued a glowing tribute, referring to Mac Stíofáin as an “outstanding IRA leader during a crucial period in Irish history” and as the “man for the job” as first Provisional IRA Chief of Staff. Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness also attended. In her oration, Ita Ní Chionnaigh of Conradh na Gaeilge, whose flag draped the coffin, lambasted Mac Stíofáin’s “character assassination” by the “gutter press” and praised him as a man who had been “interested in the rights of men and women and people anywhere in the world who were oppressed, including Irish speakers in Ireland, who are also oppressed.
See here for more details on Sean MacStiofain
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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.
50 People lost their lives on the 17th between 1972 – 1990
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17 May 1972
Bernard Moane (46)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Defence Association (UDA)
Found shot by Knockagh War Memorial, near Greenisland, County Antrim.
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17 May 1972
Ronald Hurst (25)
nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot while working on perimeter fencing outside Crossmaglen Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) / British Army (BA) base, County Armagh.
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17 May 1973
Michael Leonard (22)
nfNI
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC)
From County Donegal. Shot while driving his car, being pursued by Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) vehicle, Letter, near Pettigoe, County Fermanagh.
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17 May 1973
Eileen Mackin (14)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: non-specific Loyalist group (LOY)
Shot by sniper while walking along Springhill Avenue, Ballymurphy, Belfast.
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17 May 1973
Thomas Ward (34)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Shot during bomb and gun attack on Jubilee Arms, Lavinia Street, off Ormeau Road, Belfast.
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17 May 1973
Arthur Place (29)
nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Killed by booby trap bomb while getting into car, outside Knock-na-Moe Castle Hotel, Omagh, County Tyrone.
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17 May 1973
Derek Reed (28)
nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Killed by booby trap bomb while getting into car, outside Knock-na-Moe Castle Hotel, Omagh, County Tyrone.
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17 May 1973
Sheridan Young (26)
nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Killed by booby trap bomb while getting into car, outside Knock-na-Moe Castle Hotel, Omagh, County Tyrone. .
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17 May 1973
Barry Cox (28)
nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Killed by booby trap bomb while getting into car, outside Knock-na-Moe Castle Hotel, Omagh, County Tyrone.
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17 May 1973
Frederick Drake (25)
nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Injured by booby trap bomb while getting into car, outside Knock-na-Moe Castle Hotel, Omagh, County Tyrone. He died 3 June 1973
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Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
17 May 1974
33 People lost their lives
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
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17 May 1974
Marie Butler, (21)
nfNIRI
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Killed when car bomb exploded Parnell Street, Dublin.
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
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17 May 1974
John Dargle, (80)
nfNIRI
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Killed when car bomb exploded Parnell Street, Dublin.
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
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17 May 1974
Patrick Fay, (47)
nfNIRI
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Killed when car bomb exploded Parnell Street, Dublin.
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
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17 May 1974
Elizabeth Fitzgerald, (59)
nfNIRI
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Injured when car bomb exploded Parnell Street, Dublin. She died 19 May 1974
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
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17 May 1974
Antonio Magliocco, (37)
nfNIRI
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Italian national. Killed when car bomb exploded Parnell Street,
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
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17 May 1974
John O’Brien, (24)
nfNIRI
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Killed when car bomb exploded Parnell Street, Dublin.
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
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17 May 1974
Anna O’Brien (22)
nfNIRI
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Killed when car bomb exploded Parnell Street, Dublin.
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
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17 May 1974
Jacqueline O’Brien, (1)
nfNIRI
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Killed when car bomb exploded Parnell Street, Dublin
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
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17 May 1974
Anne Marie O’Brien, (0)
nfNIRI
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Killed when car bomb exploded Parnell Street, Dublin.
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
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17 May 1974
Edward O’Neill, (39)
nfNIRI
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Killed when car bomb exploded Parnell Street, Dublin.
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
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17 May 1974
Breda Turner, (21)
nfNIRI
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Killed when car bomb exploded Parnell Street
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
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17 May 1974
Anne Byrne, (35)
nfNIRI
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Killed when car bomb exploded Talbot Street, Dublin.
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
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17 May 1974
Simone Chetrit, (30)
nfNIRI
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
French national. Killed when car bomb exploded Talbot Street, Dublin.
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
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17 May 1974
Colette Doherty, (21)
nfNIRI
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Killed when car bomb exploded Talbot Street, Dublin
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
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17 May 1974
Breda Grace, (35)
nfNIRI
Status: Civilian (Civ)
, Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Killed when car bomb exploded Talbot Street, Dublin.
Dublin and Monagh Bombings
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17 May 1974
Anna Marren, (20)
nfNIRI
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Killed when car bomb exploded Talbot Street, Dublin.
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
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17 May 1974
May McKenna, (55)
nfNIRI
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Killed when car bomb exploded Talbot Street, Dublin.
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
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17 May 1974
Dorothy Morris, (57)
nfNIRI
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Killed when car bomb exploded Talbot Street, Dublin.
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
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17 May 1974
Marie Phelan, (20)
nfNIRI
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Killed when car bomb exploded Talbot Street, Dublin.
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
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17 May 1974
Siobhan Roice, (19)
nfNIRI
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Killed when car bomb exploded Talbot Street, Dublin.
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
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17 May 1974
Maureen Shields, (46)
nfNIRI
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Killed when car bomb exploded Talbot Street, Dublin.
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
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17 May 1974
John Walshe, (27)
nfNIRI
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Killed when car bomb exploded Talbot Street, Dublin.
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
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17 May 1974
Josephine Bradley, (21)
nfNIRI
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Injured when car bomb exploded Talbot Street, Dublin. She died 20 May 1974
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
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17 May 1974
Concepta Dempsey, (65)
nfNIRI
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Injured when car bomb exploded Talbot Street, Dublin. She died 11 June 1974.
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
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17 May 1974
Anna Massey, (21)
nfNIRI
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Killed when car bomb exploded South Leinster Street, Dublin
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
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17 May 1974
Christine O’Loughlin, (51)
nfNIRI
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Killed when car bomb exploded South Leinster Street, Dublin.
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
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17 May 1974
Patrick Askin, (44)
nfNIRI
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Killed when car bomb exploded Church Square, Monaghan, County Monaghan
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
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17 May 1974
Thomas Campbell, (52)
nfNIRI
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Killed when car bomb exploded Church Square, Monaghan, County Monaghan
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
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17 May 1974
John Travers, (28)
nfNIRI
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Killed when car bomb exploded Church Square, Monaghan, County Monaghan
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
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17 May 1974
Peggy White, (45)
nfNIRI
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Killed when car bomb exploded Church Square, Monaghan, County Monaghan.
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
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17 May 1974
George Williamson, (72)
nfNIRI
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Killed when car bomb exploded Church Square, Monaghan, County Monaghan
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
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17 May 1974
Archie Harper, (73)
nfNIRI
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Injured when car bomb exploded Church Square, Monaghan, County Monaghan. He died 21 May 1974.
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
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17 May 1974
Thomas Croarkin, (36)
nfNIRI
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Injured when car bomb exploded Church Square, Monaghan, County Monaghan. He died 24 July 1974.
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
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17 May 1976
Robert Dobson (35)
Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: non-specific Republican group (REP)
Shot, together with his brother, at their business premises, Dungannon Street, Moy, County Tyrone.
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17 May 1976
Thomas Dobson (38)
Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: non-specific Republican group (REP)
Shot, together with his brother, at their business premises, Dungannon Street, Moy, County Tyrone.
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17 May 1976
James Gallagher (20)
Catholic
Status: Irish Republican Army (IRA),
Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot while travelling on bus which was passing Fort George British Army (BA) base, Strand Road, Derry.
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17 May 1986
David Wilson (39)
Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot while driving his firm’s van, Donaghmore, County Tyrone.
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17 May 1991
Douglas Carruthers (41)
Protestant
Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Killed by booby trap bomb attached to his car while driving near to his home, Mullybritt, Lisbellaw, County Fermanagh.
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17 May 1994
Eamon Fox (42)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Shot, while sitting in stationary car, at his workplace, building site, North Queen Street, Tigers Bay, Belfast.
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17 May 1994
Gary Convie (24)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Shot, while sitting in stationary car, at his workplace, building site, North Queen Street, Tigers Bay, Belfast
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