Category Archives: Deaths in the Troubles

Deaths in Northern Ireland Troubles

13th January – Deaths & Events in Northern Ireland Troubles

Deaths in the Troubles, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles

13th January

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Wednesday 13 January 1971

Riots began in the Ballymurphy area of Belfast.

Tuesday 13 January 1976

Two Catholic civilians and two members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) were killed when a bomb exploded prematurely at a shopping arcade in North Street Belfast.

Friday 13 January 1978

The Irish Republican Army (IRA) carried out a bomb attack on the Guildhall in Derry causing serious damage.

[The building had reopened seven months earlier following damage in a fire bomb attack in July 1972.]

Wednesday 13 January 1982

Lord Gowrie, then an Northern Ireland Office (NIO) Minister, said that Direct Rule was “very unBritish” and indicated that he personally preferred a form dual citizenship, with Britain and the Republic of Ireland being responsible for the administration of those who considered themselves to be Irish.

Saturday 13 January 1990

Three men, who were in the process of robbing a betting shop in West Belfast, were shot dead by a British Army undercover unit. Two of the men were in possession of imitation guns. The shootings renewed claims that there was a ‘shoot to kill’ policy among the security forces.

Monday 13 January 1992

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) issued a document that contained a number of proposals on security arrangements.

Monday 13 January 1997

The Irish Republican Army (IRA) carried out a ‘rocket’ attack on a Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) Landrover patrol in Kennedy Way, west Belfast. There were no injuries in the attack.

Patrick Mayhew, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, paid a visit to Derry and stated that he considered the Loyalist ceasefire to be still intact. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and the United Kingdom Unionist Party (UKUP) called for the expulsion of the smaller Loyalist parties, the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) and the Ulster Democratic Party (UDP), from the Stormont talks. Bill Clinton, then President of the United States of America, called for a renewed IRA ceasefire.

Wednesday 13 January 1999

Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, said the government was prepared to implement devolution to the Northern Ireland Assembly on 10 March 1999 if the political parties could agree on the way forward. Sinn Féin (SF) called for a public enquiry into killings carried out by the security forces. Derek Hill, a well known artist, was conferred with honorary Irish citizenship in a ceremony at Aras an Uachtarain, Dublin. Mary McAleese, then President of the Republic of Ireland, said the award was an expression of the deep gratitude and admiration for Derek Hill. Hill was born in Southampton, England, in 1916. (Hill died in 2000.)

Sunday 13 January 2002

There were two separate shooting attacks on the homes of prison officers in County Armagh. Both attacks happened shortly after 10.30pm (2230GMT) one on the Mourne Road in Lurgan and the second on Drumanphy Road in Portadown. No one was injured.

Robin Halward, then Director General of the Northern Ireland Prison Service, said he was appalled by the attacks.

A man (20) was shot in both ankles and elbows in a paramilitary ‘punishment’ attack at approximately 10.00pm (2200GMT) in the Turf Lodge area of Belfast. Loyalists carried out arson attacks on two Catholic schools in Lisburn and Belfast.

In the first attack a fire was started shortly before 10.00pm (2200GMT) in a mobile classroom at St Patrick’s High School on the Ballinderry Road, Lisburn, County Antrim. The classroom was extensively damaged. In the second attack a fire was started at approximately 10.25pm (2225GMT) at St Bride’s Primary School in Derryvolgie Avenue, south Belfast.

The fire damaged a classroom and an adjoining corridor. Nearby walls and four cars were also daubed with Loyalist slogans. A pipe-bomb was thrown across a peace line in north Belfast. There were no injuries in the explosion.

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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.

11 People   lost their lives on the 13th January  between  1972 – 1992

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13 January 1972


 Maynard Crawford, (38)

Protestant
Status: Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Shot while driving his firm’s van along King’s Road, off Doagh Road, Newtownabbey, County Antrim

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13 January 1974
 Christopher Daly,   (43)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA)
Found shot in entry, off Balholm Drive, Ardoyne, Belfast.

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13 January 1976


 Ian Gallagher,  (41)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in premature bomb explosion at shopping arcade, North Street

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13 January 1976


 Mary Dornan,   (30)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in premature bomb explosion at shopping arcade, North Street, Belfast

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13 January 1976


 Rosemary Bleakley,   (19)

Catholic
Status: Irish Republican Army (IRA),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in premature bomb explosion at shopping arcade, North Street, Belfast.

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13 January 1976


 Martin McDonagh,  (23)

Catholic
Status: Irish Republican Army (IRA),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in premature bomb explosion at shopping arcade, North Street, Belfast

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13 January 1980
 John Brown,   (47)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Irish National Liberation Army (INLA)
Died seven months after being shot during armed robbery at his post office, Main Street, Blackwatertown, County Armagh.

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13 January 1990


 Edward Hale,   (25)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot by undercover British Army (BA) members, during attempted robbery at bookmaker’s shop, junction of Whiterock Road and Falls Road, Belfast.

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13 January 1990


 Peter Thompson,   (23)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot by undercover British Army (BA) members, during attempted robbery at bookmaker’s shop, junction of Whiterock Road and Falls Road, Belfast.

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13 January 1990

John McNeill,   (43)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot by undercover British Army (BA) members, during attempted robbery at bookmaker’s shop, junction of Whiterock Road and Falls Road, Belfast

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13 January 1992
 Michael Logue,  (22)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed by booby trap bomb attached to his car, parked outside his girlfriend’s home, Glen Park, Coalisland, County Tyrone.

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12th January – Deaths & Events in Northern Ireland Troubles

Deaths in the Troubles, , , , , ,

Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles

12th January

Monday 12 January 1976

Merlyn Rees, then Secretary of Sate for Northern Ireland, gave a speech to the House of Commons on the Convention Report. He announced that the Constitutional Convention was to be reconvened from 3 February 1976 for a period of four weeks.

Harold Wilson, then British Prime Minister, stated that a United Ireland was not a solution which any British political party would wish to impose on the region.

The trial of members of the Maguire family, known as the ‘Maguire Seven’, began at the Old Bailey in London. They had been arrested on 3 December 1974. They were on trial accused of possession of explosives. (The case was linked to that of the ‘Guildford Four’ and the making the bombs used in the explosions in Guildford on 5 October 1974.)

[The ‘Maguire Seven’ were convicted on 3 March 1976 of possession of explosives (although none were found) and some served 10 years in prison before the convictions were overturned.]

Thursday 12 February 1993

Christopher Harte (24), a member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), was found dead near Castlederg, County Tyrone. He had been shot dead by the IRA who claimed that he had been an informer.

Thursday 12 January 1995

It was announced that British Army patrols of Belfast housing estates, during daylight hours, would end the following weekend.

Friday 12 January 1996

The three members of the International Body on Arms Decommissioning met the Irish Government, and representatives of Fianna Fáil (FF), Sinn Féin (SF), and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) in Dublin.

The Irish Government and the three parties stated their opposition to the idea of an elected assembly to be based at Stormont that had been proposed by David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP).

Monday 12 January 1998

Propositions of Heads of Agreement The multi-party talks resumed at Stormont following a break for the Christmas holidays. The British and Irish governments issued a document, the ‘Propositions of Heads of Agreement, in an attempt to add impetus to the multi-party Stormont talks. The two governments also issued a joint statement on the document. Most parties at the talks welcomed the document but Sinn Féin (SF) said it had reservations about the proposals.

[These reservations deepened over the next few days.]

The document set out a number of proposals: constitutional change only on the basis of consent; changes to be made to British and Irish constitutional law; a new Northern Ireland Assembly; establishment of a North – South Ministerial Council; establishment of a ‘Council of the Isles’; new agreement to replace the Anglo-Irish Agreement; Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland; measures dealing with prisoners, security, policing, and decommissioning of paramilitary weapons.

Alan Gillespie was appointed chairperson of the Industrial Development Board (IDB). In a statement Gillespie warned of the impact the continuing violence was having on the image of Northern Ireland in the global marketplace.

Tuesday 12 January 1999

Seamus Mallon, then Deputy First Minister designate, dismissed criticism against him from John Taylor, then deputy leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), who had said that Mallon was “pretending” to be an honest broker between the UUP and Sinn Féin (SF).

Wednesday 12 January 2000

Adams Meeting With Clinton Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), held a meeting with Bill Clinton, the President of the United States of America (USA), at the White House in Washington, USA. Clinton urged Adams to make progress on decommissioning. David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), threatened to resign if the Irish Republican Army (IRA) failed to meet a February deadline on decommissioning.

Friday 12 January 2001

A pipe-bomb was thrown at a house at Lettercreeve in the Ballee area of Ballymena. The device bounced off a window and landed in the garden. The family in the house at the time escaped injury. There was also a pipe-bomb attack on a public house in Ahoghill, County Antrim. British Army (BA) technical officers were called to deal with a device that had been left on a windowsill of the pub in the Diamond area. The bar was used by both sides of the community and there was some doubt about the motive for the attack.

A 16 year old boy from Kilrea, County Derry, picked up a pipe-bomb that had been left at his family home before realising what it was. His mother said she was baffled as to why her family had been targeted.

Saturday 12 January 2002

Loyalists Kill Catholic Man Daniel McColgan (20), a Catholic civilian, was shot and mortally wounded by Loyalist paramilitaries as he arrived for work at a postal sorting depot at Rathcoole, Newtownabbey, County Antrim, at approximately 4.45am (0445GMT). McColgan was shot several times after he got out of a car outside the postal depot. He was taken to the Mater Hospital where he died a short time later. A car used by the gunmen was found burnt out a short distance from the scene of the killing.

Initially the Red Hand Defenders (RHD), a cover name previously used by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), claimed responsibility for the killing. However the UDA later admitted that it had killed McColgan. McColgan was from Longlands Court, Newtownabbey. He was the father of one year old girl; his partner called for no retaliation for his killing.

Postal workers walked out of work in protest at the killing.

[Later, as a mark of respect the Royal Mail suspended services in the Northern Ireland on Sunday and Monday.]

The police arrested two men in connection with the killing of McColgan.

[The two were released without charge on Monday 14 January 2002. Another two men were arrested on 14 January 2002 but released without charge on 15 January 2002.]

The UDA issued a statement (using the covername RHD) saying that all Catholic postal workers were now considered “legitimate targets”.

[This was in addition to the death threats against all Catholic teachers and all other staff working in Catholics schools in north Belfast issued by the UDA on 11 January 2002.]

Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), condemned the killing of McColgan and called on the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) to take tougher action against Loyalist paramilitaries. He said two-thirds of the recent attacks in north Belfast had been carried out by loyalist groups, but only a small number of arrests had been made.

PSNI officers discovered explosives and weapons during the search of a house in a Nationalist area of north Belfast. The haul included 4 blast bombs, an anti-personnel mine containing high explosive, two detonators, a sub-machine gun, ammunition, and a shotgun. A man was arrested following the search.

Alan McQuillan, then Assistant Chief Constable, said he believed the weapons belonged to the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA).

PSNI officers found a man who had been shot in one leg and who had cuts to his head on the Falls Road, west Belfast, at 3.00am (0300GMT). The man was found outside a public house and a crowd of people ran off as the police arrived. A man was shot in both ankles in a paramilitary ‘punishment’ attack in the Nationalist New Lodge area of north Belfast.

 

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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.

5  People   lost their lives on the 12th January  between  1972 – 1980

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12 January 1972


 Raymond Denham,   (42)

Protestant
Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty reservist. Shot at his workplace, Waterford Street, Lower Falls

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12 January 1973
 Elizabeth McGregor,   (76)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot while walking along Highbury Gardens, Ardoyne, Belfast

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12 January 1978
 Cecil Grills,   (56)

Protestant
Status: Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Shot while driving home from work, Talbot Street, Newry, County Down

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12 January 1980

David Purse,   (44)

Protestant
Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot while on Royal Ulster Constabualry (RUC) patrol, at the main gate of Seaview football ground, Shore Road, Skegoneill, Belfast.

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12 January 1980
 Thomas Montgomery,   (64)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: not known (nk)
Died one day after being injured when crowd threw missiles at his Shankill black taxi, junction of Woodvale Road and Crumlin Road, Belfast.

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11 th January – Deaths & Events in Northern Ireland Troubles

Deaths in the Troubles, , , , ,

 

Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles

11th January

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Saturday 11 January 1969

There was rioting in a number of areas of Northern Ireland particularly in Derry and Newry.

People’s Democracy March

Sunday 11 January 1970 Sinn Féin Split

Sinn Féin (SF) held an Ard Fheis (party conference) in Dublin at which the party split between those who were in favour of ending the policy of abstentionism – of not taking any seats won in the parliaments of Dublin, Belfast, and London – and those where against. A majority of delegates (although not the two-thirds required under the party’s rules to change policy) were in favour of ending the abstentionist policy.

Those opposed to the move, 257 supporters of the ‘Provisional Army Council’, walked out of the meeting thus leaving the organisation and later established offices in Kevin Street, Dublin. This new grouping became know as ‘Provisional Sinn Féin’ (PSF). The majority who remained behind continued to occupy the offices in Gardiner Place, Dublin, and were known as ‘Official Sinn Féin’ (OSF).

[This split mirrored the split that had occurred on 28 December 1969 when the Irish Republican Army (IRA) broke up into the Provisional IRA (PIRA) and Official IRA (OIRA).]

Friday 11 January 1974

Two civilians who worked for the British Army were killed by a bomb attached to their car as they left Ebrington Army base in the Waterside area of Derry.

Tuesday 11 January 1977

 Political Developments; Hunger Strike

Wednesday 11 January 1978

The Fair Employment Agency (FEA) issued a report which indicated that the Catholic community experienced a higher level of unemployment than the Protestant community. In particular it pointed to the fact that Catholic men were two and a half times more likely to be unemployed than Protestant men.

Monday 11 January 1988

Hume Adams Meeting John Hume, then leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), met with Gerry Adams, then leader of Sinn Féin (SF).

[This was the first in a series of discussions between the two men; the last meeting took place on 30 August 1988. Some commentators consider these meetings to mark the beginning of the Irish ‘Peace Process’. The two leaders held another series of meetings beginning on 10 April 1993.]

Tuesday 11 January 1994

The Irish government announced that the broadcasting ban under section 31 of the Broadcasting Act would be lifted in the Republic of Ireland.

[This ban had prevented Sinn Féin (SF) from gaining access to the Irish media. The ban was ended on 19 January 1994.]

Baroness Denton was appointed to the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) to replace the Earl of Arran.

[Denton was the first woman to serve as minister in the NIO.]

Thursday 11 January 1996

The three members of the International Body on Arms Decommissioning met John Major, then British Prime Minister, in London.

Saturday 11 January 1997

The Irish Republican Army (IRA) carried out a mortar-bomb attack on an unmanned Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) station in Fermanagh.

Robert Salters, then Grand Master of the Orange Order, and nine other senior Orangemen went to Harryville, Ballymena to lend support to Catholics whose Chapel was being picketed by Loyalists.

Martin McGartland, who had been an IRA informer, criticised the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) for rejecting his claim for compensation for injuries he sustained as he escaped an IRA execution squad in 1992.

Monday 11 January 1999

Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, stated that the key challenge during 1999 was to show that the Good Friday Agreement was working in all its aspects.

At the Special Criminal Court in Dublin four men went on trial accused of the capital murder of Jerry McCabe who was a Detective in the Garda Síochána (the Irish police). McCabe was shot dead during an aborted post office van robbery at Adare, County Limerick on 7 June 1996.

The accused were Pearse McCauley, Jeremiah Sheehy, Michael O’Neill, and Kevin Walsh, who were all members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

Brian Moore

 

 

There were reports in the press that the number of Catholics applying to join the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) had reached a record high. The Belfast born novelist Brian Moore (77), who wrote 20 novels including ‘The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne’, died at his home in Malibu, California.

Thursday 11 January 2001

A father-of four was injured when a bomb was thrown through a rear window and partially exploded on the floor of his Larne home. His children, three girls and a boy aged between 11 and 21, were upstairs and asleep at the time.

There was a pipe-bomb attack on the constituency office of Alban Maginness, then SDLP Assembly member. The office is on the Antrim Road in Belfast. Four members of a scout group were meeting upstairs in the building near Duncairn Gardens, on an interface between the Protestant and Catholic communities, when the attack happened.

Two men had placed the device inside the front door of the building and it exploded at 9.00pm. .Maginness blamed the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) for the attack.

Friday 11 January 2002

The Red Hand Defenders (RHD), a cover name previously used by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), issued a death threat against all Catholic teachers and all other staff working in Catholics schools in north Belfast. Catholic parents took their children to the Holy Cross Girls’ Primary School in Ardoyne, north Belfast.

There was no Loyalist protest outside the school and there was no serious violence. There were isolated minor scuffles. Following two days of serious violence north Belfast was mainly quiet.

The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) announced that permanent Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras would be installed on the Ardoyne Road, north Belfast. A temporary system was to be put in place while waiting for the permanent installation

 

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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.

4 People   lost their lives on the 11th January  between  1974 – 1993

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11 January 1974
 Cecilia Byrne  (53)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA)
Civilian employed by British Army (BA). Killed by bomb attached to car which exploded shortly after leaving Ebrington British Army (BA) base, Waterside, Derry.

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11 January 1974


 John Dunne   (46)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA)
Civilian employed by British Army (BA). Killed by bomb attached to car which exploded shortly after leaving Ebrington British Army (BA) base, Waterside, Derry

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11 January 1977
 Edward Muller (18)

nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot by sniper while at British Army (BA) Vehicle Check Point (VCP), Oldpark Road, Belfast.

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11 January 1993


 Matthew Boyd   (60)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot while driving his car along Donaghmore Road, Dungannon, County Tyrone.

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10th January – Deaths & Events in Northern Ireland Troubles

Deaths in the Troubles, , , , , , ,

Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles

10th January

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Sunday 10 January 1971

Members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) carried out an early form of ‘punishment attack’ by tarring and feathering four men who were accused of criminal activities in Catholic areas of Belfast.

[‘Punishment beatings’, and ‘punishment shootings’ (were people were shot in the knee or elsewhere on the body with intent to wound but not kill) were to become a continuous feature of the conflict in Northern Ireland and were used by both Republican and Loyalist paramilitary groups.]

Monday 10 January 1972

[Public Records 1972 – Released 1 January 2003:

Note from Sir Burke Trend, then Cabinet Secretary, to Edward Heath, then British Prime Minister, on matters related to political issues, inter-party talks, the security situation, and internment.]

Thursday 10 January 1974

[Public Records 1974 – Released 1 January 2005: Message from Edward Heath, then British Prime Minister, to Liam Cosgrave, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister). In this note Heath criticised the Irish government for its stance in public on the implications of the Sunningdale Agreement.]

Wednesday 10 January 1990

Stevens Inquiry Fire The room being used by the Stevens Inquiry, into allegations of collusion between Loyalist paramilitaries and the security forces, was destroyed by a fire. The room was in a Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) station in Belfast.

[A later RUC investigation concluded that the fire was an accident. Many commentators felt it unlikely that the fire was simply a coincidence. On 17 April 2003 Stevens wrote in the summary report of his third inquiry:

“This incident, in my opinion, has never been adequately investigated and I believe it was a deliberate act of arson.” (paragraph: 3.4).]

Friday 10 January 1992

The Irish Republican Army (IRA) exploded a small bomb, estimated at 5 pounds, that was concealed in a briefcase and left approximately 300 meters from Downing Street in London.

Wednesday 10 February 1993

Albert Reynolds, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), nominated Gordon Wilson to become a member of the Irish Senate (the upper house of the Irish Parliament). [Gordon Wilson had been injured, and his daughter killed, in the Enniskillen bomb on 8 November 1987.]

Monday 10 January 1994

Albert Reynolds, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), said that the Irish government would provide continuing clarification of the Downing Street Declaration.

Tuesday 10 January 1995

Gary McMichael, then leader of the Ulster Democratic Party (UDP), called for a phased release of paramilitary prisoners.

Friday 10 January 1997

There was a series of 20 bomb alerts throughout Belfast leading to major disruption. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) issued a statement in the Andersonstown News warning informers that “action” would be taken against them.

Ken Maginnis, then Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Security Spokesperson, called on the Department of the Environment to remove an IRA memorial to Sean South and Feargal O’Hanlon who had been killed by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) in 1957.

Saturday 10 January 1998

Terence (Terry) Enwright (28), a Catholic civilian who was a cross-community worker, was shot dead by the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) outside a night club in Belfast. Enwright was a highly respected community worker who, it was said, had saved scores of young people from paramilitary ‘punishment’ attacks and had steered many others away from involvement in paramilitary groups. Enwright was also married to a niece of Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF).

David Ervine, then a spokesman for the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP), claimed that the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) was not operating alone and was receiving political direction from “seemingly respectable” politicians.

Sunday 10 January 1999

Billy Hutchinson, then spokesman for the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP), said that David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), was risking the peace process by insisting on prior decommissioning of weapons by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) before Sinn Féin (SF) could take its seats in the Executive.

Monday 10 January 2000

Richard Jameson (46), a member of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), was shot dead outside his home near Portadown, County Armagh. The Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) were responsible for the killing. The killing was part of a feud between the LVF and the UVF.

Thursday 10 January 2002

Further Violence in north Belfast

The rioting on the Ardoyne Road continued into the early hours of the night with petrol-bombs still being thrown at approximately 2.00am (0200GMT).

A Loyalist gang entered a Catholic girls’ school in north Belfast at approximately 11.00am (1100GMT) and attacked and damaged 17 cars. Six men, two of them believed to be armed with a gun and a rifle, entered the grounds of Our Lady of Mercy Girls’ Secondary School. While one man stood guard at the school’s entrance the other members of the gang attacked the cars of teachers. Some parents later took their children home early from the school. Loyalists threw fireworks at the Catholic Mercy Convent Primary School on the Crumlin Road.

A Protestant woman was assaulted as she walked past a Nationalist crowd at the Ardoyne shops. Police intervened and injured one Catholic man in the head with a baton.

Protestant pupils at the Boys’ Model and Girls’ Model Secondary schools were driven home in police Land Rovers when buses were withdrawn because of the on-going violence. Police officers decided it would be unsafe for the pupils to walk past the large crowd of Nationalists gathered at the Ardoyne shops.

There was rioting between Loyalists and Nationalists in the Ardoyne Road during the afternoon. Later in the day and into the evening there was widespread rioting in north Belfast. Nationalists petrol-bombed police in Brompton Park, Ardoyne, and also hijacked and burnt several cars. Police fired 7 plastic bullets at the crowds, and 11 arrests were made.

Two blast bombs exploded among police as they confronted the crowds in the Ardoyne area. Army bomb disposal experts made safe 3 devices which failed to explode. Loyalists attacked security forces on Twaddell Avenue, off Crumlin Road, and injured a British soldier with an acid bomb.

Loyalist and Nationalist rioters also clashed in the Whitewell area, north Belfast. Petrol bombs were thrown at homes on both sides of the peaceline between White City and Serpentine Gardens. Police said that 31 officers and 3 soldiers had been injured in the rioting during the evening.

The Holy Cross Girls’ Primary School in Ardoyne, north Belfast, was closed for the day following the disturbances the previous day. Catholic parents and Protestant residents of Glenbryn estate held separate meetings to discuss the situation. Some other schools in the area closed early following fears about the safety of pupils.

David Trimble (UUP), then First Minister, and Mark Durkan (SDLP), then Deputy First Minister, condemned the disturbances as “disgraceful” and called for restraint. Officials had been asked to arrange an urgent meeting between community activists and local Northern Ireland Assembly members to try to facilitate cross-community dialogue.

Representatives of teachers said they would consider taking strike action in protest at the sectarian attacks on schools in north Belfast. Frank Bunting, then a representative of the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO), said he had asked the Department of Education to sanction strike action over the ”intolerable situation”.

 —————————————————————————

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.

6 People   lost their lives on the 10th  January  between  1974 – 2000

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10 January 1974


 John Crawford,  (53)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Found shot near his workplace, Milltown Row, Falls, Belfast.

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10 January 1975


 John Green,   (27)

Catholic
Status: Irish Republican Army (IRA),

Killed by: British Army (BA)
Found shot at friend’s farmhouse, Tullynageer, near Castleblayney, County Monaghan

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10 January 1976


 Edward McQuaid,   (25)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Shot from passing car while walking along Cliftonville Road, Belfast.

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10 January 1984


 William Fullerton,   (48)

Protestant
Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Shot by sniper while driving his car along Warrenpoint Road, Newry, County Down.

————————————————————

10 January 1998


 Terry Enright,  (28)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF)
Security man. Shot outside Space Nightclub, Talbot Street, Belfast.

————————————————————

10 January 2000

Richard Jameson,   (46)

Protestant
Status: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF),

Killed by: Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF)
Shot outside his home, Derrylettiff Road, near Portadown, County Armagh. Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) / Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) feud.

————————————————————

 

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9th January – Deaths & Events in Northern Ireland Troubles

Deaths in the Troubles, , , ,

Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles

9th January

Thursday 9 January 1969

Terence O’Neill, then Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, travelled to London to meet James Callaghan, then British Home Secretary, to brief him on the growing violence in Northern Ireland.

Tuesday 9 January 1990

Peter Brooke, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, delivered a speech in Bangor, County Down, in which he sought to break the political stalemate by seeking to encourage a fresh round of inter-party talks aimed at restoring devolved power to Northern Ireland. In particular he stressed that sufficient “common ground” existed for progress to be made and urged Unionist politicians to resume contact with the British government. Whilst reluctant to make any commitment to suspend the Anglo-Irish Agreement (AIA) to allow for Unionists to engage in discussions, Brooke did hold out the promise that he would seek to work the AIA in a sensitive manner.

Tuesday 9 January 1996

A debate opened in the House of Commons, Westminster on the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Bill which was drafted to replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the Emergency Provisions (Northern Ireland) Act. The Bill contained a proposal on the videotaping of Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) interviews.

Friday 9 January 1998

Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, went into the Maze Prison to meet Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) prisoners in an attempt to change their decision to end their support for the peace process.

Mowlam’s decision met with severe criticism from Unionist politicians. After the meeting, the prisoners agreed that the Ulster Democratic Party (UDP), the political representatives of the UDA and the UFF, should continue in the talks. Edward Kennedy, then United States (US) Senator, paid a visit to Derry and delivered a speech on the American view of the prospects for peace in Northern Ireland.

Tuesday 9 January 2001

There was a pipe-bomb attack on the home of a Catholic family in Larne. The device was thrown through the front window of the house but only partially exploded. A mother and her son were in the living room at the time but the two escaped uninjured. The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) described the incident as attempted murder. The attack was carried out by Loyalist paramilitaries.

Wednesday 9 January 2002

Violence Outside Holy Cross School

There were confrontations outside the Holy Cross Girls’ Primary School in Ardoyne, north Belfast, during the early afternoon. Disturbances and rioting quickly spread to other surrounding areas and there was serious rioting in Ardoyne during the evening and into the night. Catholic parents and Protestant residents of the Glenbryn estate each claimed that the other side started the trouble. Catholic parents said that they had faced increased verbal abuse since Monday during their walks to and from the Holy Cross school and they were attacked while coming from school in the early afternoon. A Catholic mother claimed she was punched in the face as she walked home from the school with her child.

Some Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers said they arrived at a confrontation between a Protestant woman and a Catholic woman close to the school. The police moved to make an arrest but the person was protected by other residents. There was a report that some Loyalists had driven a car at the school gates in an attempt to enter the school. Police officers said they had to draw their weapons. Some school children had to be taken home through another school while a bus carrying other children was attacked on its way down the Ardoyne Road..

Protestant residents claimed the trouble started when Catholics removed a wreath from a lamppost. Disturbances continued later in the afternoon: Loyalist youths petrol-bombed and destroyed a police vehicle; 4 Catholic youths were taken to hospital when they were hit by pellets from a shotgun at Hesketh Park; a number of Catholic homes were attacked in the upper Crumlin Road; Catholic youths petrol-bombed a car; a Catholic woman was knocked down by a car at the nearby Twaddell Avenue; a 13-year-old Protestant schoolboy was injured when a bus taking him home through the area was attacked, a Catholic man was struck by a police vehicle.

During the evening the rioting became more serious and was mainly centred on the Nationalist end of the Ardoyne. The police fired 8 plastic baton rounds and three Catholics were injured. Three people were arrested. As the trouble further escalated, 200 police officers, backed by 200 soldiers, were drafted on to the streets. At least 14 police officers were injured during the evening.

Up to 500 nationalists and loyalists were involved in the disturbances on the Ardoyne Road, Crumlin Road and Brompton Park areas and 130 petrol-bombs, acid-bombs, and fireworks were thrown.

[A Loyalist blockade of the school had first begun on 19 June 2001 and continued until the end of term on Friday 29 June 2001. The protest resumed after the summer break on Monday 3 September 2001 but was ‘suspended’ on 23 November 2001. The protest at the school lasted for 14 weeks during 2001.]

The Northern Ireland Arms Decommissioning (Amendment) Bill was given a third reading in the House of Commons, London. The Bill was introduced to extend the time allowed for Decommissioning of paramilitary weapons by one year, with possible annual extensions up to a maximum of five years. The Bill was opposed by Unionists and Conservatives who objected to the extra time and they forced a vote which was won by the Labour government by 357 votes to 142.

During the debate David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), warned that if the government did not apply pressure on the Irish Republican Army (IRA) for continued decommissioning then he would. The current legislation only extends the work of the Independent International Decommissioning Commission (IIDC) to 26 February 2002.

  

——————————————————————————

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.

4 People   lost their lives on the 9th  January  between  1977 – 1992

————————————————————

09 January 1977


 Martin Walsh,   (28)

nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed by booby trap bomb left in shop, Gortnacarrow, near Newtownbutler, County Fermanagh.

————————————————————

09 January 1987


 Ivan Crawford,   (49)

Protestant
Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed by remote controlled bomb hidden in litter bin, detonated when Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) foot patrol passed, High Street, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh

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09 January 1990


 Olven Kilpatrick,  (32)

Protestant
Status: Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Shot at his shop, Main Street, Castlederg, County Tyrone.

————————————————————

09 January 1992


 Philip Campbell,   (28)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF)
Shot at his mobile fish and chip van, Airport Road, Moira, County Down.

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8th January – Deaths & Events in Northern Ireland Troubles

Deaths in the Troubles, , , ,

Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles

8th January

—————————

Monday 8 January 1968

Terence O’Neill, then Northern Ireland Prime Minister, travelled to Dublin to meet with Jack Lynch, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), to continue discussions on matters of joint interest to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Tuesday 8 January 1974

Sunningdale; Ulster Workers’ Council Strike.

Sunday 8 January 1978

Jack Lynch, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), called for a British declaration of intent to withdraw from Northern Ireland. The statement was supported by many in the Nationalist community in Northern Ireland.

Friday 8 January 1988

The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) searched three cars near Portadown, County Armagh and found a large number of firearms. The arms were on route to the Ulster Defense Association (UDA).

Peter Robinson was re-elected as deputy leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) at the party’s annual meeting (he had resigned on 2 July 1987 )

Monday 8 February 1993

The leaders of the four main churches (Catholic; Presbyterian; Church of Ireland; and Methodist) travelled to the United States of America (USA) to encourage new business investment in Northern Ireland.

Saturday 8 January 1994

The Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF), a cover name (pseudonym) used by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), carried out a rocket and gun attack on a pub on the Falls Road in Belfast and injured three people.

Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), said in an interview with the Irish News (a Belfast based newspaper), that the ‘Republican struggle’ could go on for another 25 years. He also criticised statements made by Patrick Mayhew, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, since the publication of the Downing Street Declaration (DSD). Mayhew had said that talks between the British government and SF would concern the decommissioning of IRA weapons.

Thursday 8 January 1998

It was announced that in addition to her meeting with Loyalist prisoners Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, could also meet Republican prisoners at the Maze Prison.

Three British Army soldiers were killed in a road accident near Markethill, County Armagh.

Garda Síochána (the Irish police) uncovered an estimated one and a half tonnes of home-made explosives in a disused shop at Howth pier in Dublin. Four men were arrested as part of the operation. One of the men was believed to have links to the Thirty-Two County Sovereignty Committee.

Dissident Republicans believed to be led by a former Irish Republican Army (IRA) Quartermaster General were believed to be responsible for the bomb.

Bernadette Sands McKevitt, the vice-chairperson of the Thirty-Two County Sovereignty Committee and sister of Bobby Sands, criticised the peace process. She said that her brother and other Republicans did not die for cross-border bodies with executive powers.

Friday 8 January 1999

The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) announced that it would close its office at the Castle Court shopping centre in Belfast. Republican supporters had held a number of protests when the office opened.

Tuesday 8 January 2002

A delegation of Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) and councillors held a meeting with Jane Kennedy, then Security Minister, to discuss attacks by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) on Catholic homes in north Belfast

. In particular the SDLP claimed that the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) had not shown “sufficient vigour in the prosecution of those directing these attacks given the fact that UDA is not on ceasefire and its commanders are well known”.

Kennedy undertook to raise the matter with Ronnie Flanagan, then Chief Constable of the PSNI. The SDLP also called for more support in the re-housing of those intimidated from their homes.

 

——————————————————————————

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.

3 People   lost their lives on the 8th  January  between  1972 – 1983

————————————————————

08 January 1972
 Peter Woods,  (29)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: non-specific Loyalist group (LOY)
Shot at his home, Lowwood Park, Skegoneill, Belfast.

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08 January 1982


 Steven Carleton,  (24)

Protestant
Status: Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Shot while working at petrol station, Antrim Road, Belfast.

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08 January 1983
 Thomas Edgar,   (28)

Protestant
Status: Ulster Defence Association (UDA),

Killed by: Ulster Defence Association (UDA)
Found shot in house, Woodvale Road, Belfast. Internal Ulster Defence Association dispute.

————————————————————

 

 

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7th January – Deaths & Events in Northern Ireland Troubles

Deaths in the Troubles, , , ,

Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles

7th January

Monday 7 January 1974

Brian Faulkner, then Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Executive, resigned as leader of Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) after it rejected the Sunningdale Agreement on 4 January 1974.

Tuesday 7 January 1975

Representatives of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) held a meeting with Merlyn Rees, then Secretary of Sate for Northern Ireland. However the meeting broke up over arguments about the contacts between government officials and the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

Wednesday 7 January 1976

British Army Base South Armagh , 1977

In response to demands for a tougher security response, a unit of the Special Air Service (SAS) was moved into the South Armagh area.

 

[This was the first occasion when the deployment of SAS troops was officially acknowledged.]

Monday 7 January 1980

Constitutional Conference / Atkins Talks The talks called by Humphrey Atkins, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, got under way at Stormont. As part of the wider Atkins talks a constitutional conference was arranged at Stormont involving the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), and the Alliance Party (APNI). The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) refused to take part in the conference. Atkins conceded a parallel conference which would allow the SDLP to raise issues, in particular an ‘Irish dimension’, which were not covered by the original terms of reference.

The DUP refused to get involved with the parallel conference.

[The Atkins talks continued until 24 March 1980 but did not succeed in achieving consensus amongst the parties.] [ Political Developments.]

Monday 7 January 1991

Richard Needham, then a Northern Ireland Office (NIO) Minister, criticised Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), for his support of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The criticism followed a recent fire-bomb campaign by the IRA. Needham queried whether the jobs for west Belfast, that were demanded by Sinn Féin (SF), would also be fire-bombed. Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), accused Needham of “theatrical hysterics”.

Friday 7 January 1994

The Irish Republican Army (IRA) carried out a bomb attack on a joint Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and British Army patrol in the Andersonstown area of Belfast.

Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), wrote to John Major, then British Prime Minister, seeking clarification of the Downing Street Declaration (DSD). Patrick Mayhew, then Secretary of State, appeared to rule out clarification of the DSD for SF because he said clarification would lead to negotiations.

[On 20 January 1994 SF got a reply from Major’s office saying there could be no re-negotiation of the DSD.]

The Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights (SACHR) called again for a bill of rights for Northern Ireland.

Tuesday 7 January 1997

Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers travelling in two Landrovers in the Shantallow area of Derry escaped injury when a bomb was thrown at their vehicles. There was disruption in Belfast caused by three bomb alerts.

Wednesday 7 January 1998

Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, announced that she would go into the Maze Prison to meet Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) prisoners in an attempt to change their decision to end their support for the peace process. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) described the decision by Mowlam as “madness”. The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) welcomed the decision.

Thursday 7 January 1999

The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) warned that the failure of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) to decommission its weapons could result in the re-negotiation of the Good Friday Agreement.

Friday 7 January 2000

There was a pipe-bomb attack on the home of a Catholic man at Andraid Close, in the mainly Loyalist Stiles Estate. The blast occurred shortly after 4.00am in the rear garden of the house, causing minor damage. No one was injured. The attack was carried out by Loyalist paramilitaries.

Sunday 7 January 2001

There were pipe-bomb attacks on two families in Ballymena, County Antrim. It is understood that 11 people, including six children, escaped injury in the two attacks which took place within an hour of each other during the evening. In the first incident, a pipe-bomb was thrown through the living room window of a house on Ballymena’s Cushendall Road at 8.30pm. At around 9.20pm a pipe-bomb was thrown at a house in Clonavon Road near Ballymena town centre. Three adults and three children in the house escaped injury. The attacks were carried out by Loyalist paramilitaries.

Monday 7 January 2002

Figures released by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) showed that there had been a 50 per cent increase in armed robberies in one year. There were 927 armed robberies in 2000 / 2001 compared with 682 in 1999 / 2000. Hijackings had almost doubled with 182 in 2000 / 2001 compared with 91 in 1999 / 2000.

 

——————————————————————————

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.

3 People   lost their lives on the 7th  January  between  1972 – 1990

————————————————————

07 January 1972


 Daniel O’Neill,  (20)

Catholic
Status: Irish Republican Army (IRA),

Killed by: British Army (BA)
Died two days after being shot during gun battle, Oranmore Street, Falls, Belfast

————————————————————

07 January 1976
 Michael Dickson,   (17)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Found shot in entry, off Rockview Street, Belfast.

————————————————————

07 January 1990
 Martin Byrne,  (28)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Protestant Action Force (PAF)
Taxi driver. Found shot in his car, Aghacommon, Derrymacash, near Lurgan, County Armagh.

————————————————————

 

 

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6th January – Deaths & Events in Northern Ireland Troubles

Deaths in the Troubles, , , , , , ,

Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles

6th January

———————————

Sunday 6 January 1980

Three members of the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) where killed by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in a land mine attack near Castlewellan, County Down.

[These deaths brought the ‘official’ death toll, as compiled by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), to over 2,000. RUC figures do not count those killed outside of Northern Ireland.]

Thursday 6 January 1994

The Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF), a cover name (pseudonym) used by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), injured a Catholic man (21) in a gun attack in west Belfast.

Monday 6 January 1997

The Irish Republican Army (IRA) carried out a ‘rocket’ attack at the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast injuring a Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officer in the leg.

A man was shot in the leg in a ‘punishment’ attack in West Belfast.

[It was claimed by some people that this shooting was carried out by the Official IRA.]

Tuesday 6 January 1998

A large car bomb was defused in the centre of Banbridge, County Down.

[The bomb, estimated at 500 pounds, was planted by the Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA).]

A Catholic man was shot and injured in the Meadows Tavern bar, Boucher Road, Belfast. It was believed that he had been shot by Direct Action Against Drugs (DAAD) which is considered to be a cover name (pseudonym) for the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

Wednesday 6 January 1999

A man was injured in Magherafelt, County Derry, in a blast-bomb attack carried out by Loyalist paramilitaries.

A man was injured in a Loyalist gun attack in Bangor, County Down. The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) argued over the implementation of the pre-Christmas arrangement on government departments and North-South bodies. The UUP wanted the Northern Ireland Assembly to “take note” of the agreement, whereas the SDLP wanted the two parties to approve and accept it.

The Irish Republican Army (IRA) published a New Year Message in ‘An Phoblacht / Republican News’ in which they said that the Good Friday Agreement had failed to deliver meaningful change and that Unionists were pursuing conditions that had contributed to the breakdown of the 1994 ceasefire.

[Unionists regarded the statement as a threat by the IRA to end its ceasefire.]

Thursday 6 January 2000

The Irish Republican Army (IRA) issued a new year statement in An Phoblact / Republican News. The statement warned that any move on decommissioning would depend on a dramatic reduction in the British military presence in Northern Ireland.

Saturday 6 January 2001

The body of George Legge (37), a former senior member of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), was found dumped in a field at Clontonacally Road in Carryduff, County Antrim. Police said that he had been badly beaten before being stabbed to death.

[It was believed that the UDA was responsible for the killing which was part of an internal UDA dispute. There was media speculation that Legge had been involved in drugs and had fallen out of favour with the UDA. He had been drinking in a public house, the ‘Bunch of Grapes’ in east Belfast, and it is thought that he was first attacked there. There was a malicious fire at the rear of the pub shortly after the discovery of Legge’s body. The Irish Times (a Dublin based newspaper) reported that Legge had been decapitated.]

Sunday 6 January 2002

Loyalist paramilitaries carried out a pipe-bomb attack on the home of a prison officer in Westway Park, Ballygomartin, Belfast, at approximately 10.00pm (2200GMT). The officer’s wife and four year old daughter needed hospital treatment for shrapnel wounds, cuts, and shock. The bomb had been thrown through the living room window of the house. The Red Hand Defenders (RHD) said it was responsible for the attack.

[The RHD is a cover name that has been used in the past by members of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF).] The RHD said the attack was in response to alleged harassment of Loyalist prisoners including Johnny Adair and Gary Smyth in Magheraberry jail, County Antrim.

 

 

——————————————————————————

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.

6 People   lost their lives on the 6th January  between  1980 – 2001

————————————————————

06 January 1980


 Robert Smyth,   (18)

Protestant
Status: Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in land mine attack on Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) mobile patrol, Burren Bridge, near Castlewellan, County Down.

————————————————————

06 January 1980


 James Cochrane,  (21)

Catholic
Status: Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in land mine attack on Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) mobile patrol, Burren Bridge, near Castlewellan, County Down.

————————————————————

06 January 1980
 Richard Wilson,   (21)

Protestant
Status: Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in land mine attack on Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) mobile patrol, Burren Bridge, near Castlewellan, County Down.

————————————————————

06 January 1983


 Eric Brown,   (41)

Protestant
Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot while sitting in stationary Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) civilian-type car, Bridge street, Rostrevor, County Down.

————————————————————

06 January 1983


 Brian Quinn,  (23)

Catholic
Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot while sitting in stationary Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) civilian-type car, Bridge street, Rostrevor, County Down.

————————————————————

06 January 2001


 George Legge,   (37)

Protestant
Status: Ulster Defence Association (UDA),

Killed by: Ulster Defence Association (UDA)
Found beaten and stabbed to death, off Clontonacally Road, near Carryduff, County Down. Internal Ulster Defence Association (UDA) dispute.

————————————————————

 

 

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5th January – Deaths & Events in Northern Ireland Troubles

Deaths in the Troubles, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles

5th January

—————————————-

Sunday 5 January 1969

Terence O’Neill, then Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, issued a statement on the events since 1 January

Monday 5 January 1976

Kingsmills Killings Ten Protestant civilians were killed by the Republican Action Force (RAF), believed to be a covername for some members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), in an attack on their minibus at Kingsmills, near Bessbrook, County Armagh. The men were returning from work when their minibus was stopped by a bogus security checkpoint.

See Kingsmill Massacre

An RUC officer was shot dead by members of the IRA near Castledawson, County Derry.

Friday 5 January 1979

Two members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) were killed in a car in Ardoyne, Belfast, when the bomb they were transporting exploded prematurely.

Monday 5 January 1981

Adam Butler, David Mitchel and John Patten were appointed to positions in the Northern Ireland Office (NIO).

Wednesday 5 January 1983

The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) was declared illegal in the Republic of Ireland.

Thursday 6 January 1983

Two undercover Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers were shot dead by members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in Rostrevor, County Down.

Saturday 5 January 1991

The Irish Republican Army (IRA) planted a series of incendiary devices in premises in the Belfast area. A factory and six shops were destroyed in the attacks.

Sunday 5 January 1992

The Irish Republican Army (IRA) exploded a bomb, estimated at 500 pounds, in High Street in the centre of Belfast. The bomb caused extensive damage to property in the area.

Tuesday 5 January 1993

Incendiary bombs exploded in four stores in Oxford Street in London. [The bombs had been planted by the Irish Republican Army (IRA).]

Wednesday 5 January 1994

At the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) Michael Ancram became the Political Development Minister, and Tim Smith took over the environment and economy briefs from Robert Atkins. The National Committee on American Foreign Policy invited the leaders of the main political parties in Northern Ireland to attend a conference in New York. The invitations included one to Gerry Adams.

[On 29 January 1994 a visa to enter the USA was given to Adams.]

Sunday 5 January 1997

A bomb, estimated at 250 lbs, was left near Cullyhanna, County Armagh. The device was defused by the British Army.

[It was believed to have been planted by the IRA.]

‘Punishment’ beatings were carried out on two men in north Belfast, and there were three ‘punishment’ shootings in Portadown.

John Hume, then leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), wrote an article in the Sunday Independent newspaper which responded to approaches from Sinn Féin (SF) for an electoral pact. Hume stated that the SDLP would only enter such a pact if there was an Irish Republican Army (IRA) ceasefire and if SF dropped its policy of abstention from the Westminster parliament.

[These conditions were rejected by SF.]

Monday 5 January 1998

The leadership of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) in the Maze Prison issued a statement warning that the Loyalist ceasefire was “extremely fragile”. The UDA prisoners also demanded “equal treatment” with Republicans.

Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, held meetings with Unionist and Nationalist politicians at Stormont Castle. The meetings included all the parties to the talks and also the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and the United Kingdom Unionist (UKU) party.

The funeral of Eddie Treanor took place in north Belfast.

Families Against Intimidation and Terror (FAIT) issued figures on the number of ‘punishment attacks’ carried out by paramilitary organisations in Northern Ireland. The figures showed that there had been 72 shooting incidents in 1997 compared to 31 in 1996. Loyalists had been responsible for 48 (21 in 1996) attacks while Republicans had carried out 24 (10 in 1996) attacks. The number of ‘punishment beatings’ was 160 in 1997 only slightly lower than in 1996.

In economic figures that confirmed the continuing economic boom of the ‘celtic tiger’, forecasts from the Department of Finance in the Republic of Ireland indicated that the Republic’s economy would be financially in the black for the first time in 30 years. Official returns showed that receipts in 1997 had risen by £1 billion (punts) more than the Department had estimated.

Tuesday 5 January 1999

Two men were injured in paramilitary ‘punishment’ attacks carried out by Loyalists.

Four of the five Assembly members for the United Kingdom Unionist Party (UKUP), who had left the party on 14 December 1998, announced that they were forming the Northern Ireland Unionist Party (NIUP). The members who formed the NIUP were Patrick Roche, Cedric Wilson, Roger Hutchinson, and Norman Boyd. This left Robert (Bob) McCartney, then leader of the UKUP, as the only Assembly member from that party. McCartney described the defection as “a day of political infamy and fraud”. The split and formation of a new party followed a number of disagreements within the UKUP.

[The NIUP became the sixth Unionist party within the Northern Ireland Assembly.]

Canon Cecil Cooper, then editor of the Church of Ireland Gazette, defended his criticism of Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), for having his partner, Celia Larkin, accompany him on official occasions.

Friday 5 January 2001

Ken Maginnis, then Ulster Unionist Member of Parliament (MP), and a strong ally of David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), announced that he would step down as MP at the next Westminster election.

[There was media speculation about what impact his departure would have on the balance of power between the pro- and anti-Agreement elements within the UUP.]

Saturday 5 January 2002

Garda Síochána (the Irish police) arrested seven suspected dissident Republicans in County Louth, Republic of Ireland, at approximately 9.00pm (2100GMT). The men were arrested following the search of a house in Dundalk during which a number of weapons were discovered. The men, aged between 20 and 50, were being questioned under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act.

[It was believed that two of the men were members of the “real” Irish Republican Army (rIRA). On Tuesday 8 January 2002 six of the men appeared before the Special Criminal Court in Dublin charged with membership of an illegal paramilitary organisation.]

 

  ——————————————————————————

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.

17 People   lost their lives on the 5th  January  between  1972 – 1991

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05 January 1972


 Keith Bryan,  (18)

nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot by sniper while on British Army (BA) foot patrol, Ardmoulin Street, Lower Falls, Belfast.

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05 January 1973


 Trevor Rankin,   (18)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot at Ben Madigan filling station, Shore Road, Belfast. Mistaken for off duty Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) member.

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05 January 1974


 Leo McCullagh,   (44)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: non-specific Loyalist group (LOY)
Shot at his home, Ravenscroft Avenue, Strandtown, Belfast.

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05 January 1976


 Clifford Evans,   (30)

Protestant
Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot by sniper while on Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) mobile patrol, near Castledawson, County Derry.

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See Kingsmill Massacre

05 January 1976


 John McConville,   (20)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Republican Action Force (RepAF)
Shot shortly after his firm’s minibus stopped at bogus vehicle check point while travelling home from work, Kingsmills, near Bessbrook, County Armagh.

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05 January 1976


 Walter Chapman,   (23)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Republican Action Force (RepAF)
Shot shortly after his firm’s minibus stopped at bogus vehicle check point while travelling home from work, Kingsmills, near Bessbrook, County Armagh.

See Kingsmill Massacre

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05 January 1976


 Reginald Chapman, (25)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Republican Action Force (RepAF)
Shot shortly after his firm’s minibus stopped at bogus vehicle check point while travelling home from work, Kingsmills, near Bessbrook, County Armagh.

See Kingsmill Massacre

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05 January 1976

Joseph Lemmon,   (46)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ)

Killed by: Republican Action Force (RepAF)
Shot shortly after his firm’s minibus stopped at bogus vehicle check point while travelling home from work, Kingsmills, near Bessbrook, County Armagh.

See Kingsmill Massacre

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05 January 1976


 James McWhirter,   (58)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Republican Action Force (RepAF)
Shot shortly after his firm’s minibus stopped at bogus vehicle check point while travelling home from work, Kingsmills, near Bessbrook, County Armagh.

See Kingsmill Massacre

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05 January 1976


 Kenneth Worton,   (24)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Republican Action Force (RepAF)
Shot shortly after his firm’s minibus stopped at bogus vehicle check point while travelling home from work, Kingsmills, near Bessbrook, County Armagh.

See Kingsmill Massacre

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05 January 1976


 Robert Chambers,  (19)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Republican Action Force (RepAF)
Shot shortly after his firm’s minibus stopped at bogus vehicle check point while travelling home from work, Kingsmills, near Bessbrook, County Armagh.

See Kingsmill Massacre

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05 January 1976


 John Bryans,   (46)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Republican Action Force (RepAF)
Shot shortly after his firm’s minibus stopped at bogus vehicle check point while travelling home from work, Kingsmills, near Bessbrook, County Armagh

See Kingsmill Massacre

——————————

05 January 1976


 Robert Freeburn,  (50)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Republican Action Force (RepAF)
Shot shortly after his firm’s minibus stopped at bogus vehicle check point while travelling home from work, Kingsmills, near Bessbrook, County Armagh.

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05 January 1976


 Robert Walker,   (46)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Republican Action Force (RepAF)
Shot shortly after his firm’s minibus stopped at bogus vehicle check point while travelling home from work, Kingsmills, near Bessbrook, County Armagh.

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05 January 1979


 Frances Donnelly,   (24)

Catholic
Status: Irish Republican Army (IRA),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in premature bomb explosion, while travelling in car, Northwick Drive, Ardoyne, Belfast.

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05 January 1979


 Lawrence Montgomery,   (24)

Catholic
Status: Irish Republican Army (IRA),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in premature bomb explosion, while travelling in car, Northwick Drive, Ardoyne, Belfast

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05 January 1991


 Jervis Lynch,  (26)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Shot at his home, Acres Road, Magheralin, near Lurgan, County Down.

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4th January – Deaths & Events in Northern Ireland Troubles

Deaths in the Troubles, , , , , , , , , ,

Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles

4th January

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Saturday 4 January 1969

Burntollet Ambush The fourth, and final, day of the People’s Democracy (PD) march took the marchers from Claudy to Derry. Seven miles from its destination, the People’s Democracy (PD) march was ambushed and attacked by a loyalist mob at Burntollet Bridge.

The ambush had been planned in advance and around 200 loyalists, including off-duty members of the ‘B-Specials’, used sticks, iron bars, bottles and stones to attack the marchers, 13 of whom received hospital treatment. The marchers believed that the 80 Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers, who accompanied the march, did little to protect them from the Loyalist crowd.

As the march entered Derry it was again attached at Irish Street, a mainly Protestant area of the city. Finally the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) broke up the rally that was held in the centre of the city as the march arrived. This action, and the subsequent entry of the RUC into the Bogside area of the city, led to serious rioting.

Friday 4 January 1974

The Ulster Unionist Council (UUC, the policy making body of the Ulster Unionist Party; UUP) met and voted, by 427 votes to 374, to reject the ‘Council of Ireland’ as proposed in the Sunningdale Agreement.

[Following this vote Brian Faulkner resigned on 7 January 1974 as leader of the UUP.]

Sunday 4 January 1976

Six Catholic civilians from two families died as a result of two separate gun attacks by Loyalist paramilitaries.

Three members of the same family, John Reavey (24), Brian Reavey (22) and Anthony Reavey (17) were shot at their home in Greyhillan, Whitecross, County Armagh.

   

[Anthony Reavey died on 30 January 1976.] At another family home in Ballydougan, near Gilford, County Down, Barry O’Dowd (24), Declan O’Dowd (19) and Joseph O’Dowd (61), were all shot dead.

Friday 4 January 1980

Alexander Reid (20), a Catholic civilian, was found beaten to death in a derelict garage in Berlin Street, Shankill, Belfast.

Thursday 4 January 1990

The Government established the Northern Ireland Community Relations Council.

Saturday 4 January 1992

The Irish Republican Army (IRA) exploded a bomb, estimated at 800 pounds, in Bedford Street in the centre of Belfast. The bomb caused extensive damage to property in the area.

Monday 4 January 1993

A proposal to introduce proportional power-sharing on Belfast City Council was rejected by the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP).

Tuesday 4 January 1994

The Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF), a cover name (pseudonym) used by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), sent two parcel bombs to Sinn Féin (SF) and An Phoblacht (Republican News) offices in Dublin. Two members of a bomb disposal team were injured when one of the devices exploded.

At a Fair Employment Tribunal a Catholic woman was awarded damages of £25,000 for persistent sectarian harassment at a security firm.

Monday 4 January 1999

There was an attempted armed robbery of £500,000 from a Brinks-Allied van in Dalkey, County Dublin. The raiders almost got away with the money stolen from the van when they rammed it with a truck. The getaway car stalled and was abandoned along with the money as the gang escaped. A man was injured when the raiders shot at him while hijacking his car.

Mary Harney, then Tánaiste (deputy Irish Prime Minister), said that there was no distinction between Sinn Féin (SF) and the Irish Republican Army (IRA), and called on the IRA to decommission its weapons.

Thursday 4 January 2001

A Catholic family were forced to leave their home following a pipe-bomb attack and gun attack. There were no injuries during the attack. A window was broken when a pipe-bomb exploded in the front garden while one bullet lodged in the window frame and a second was found on the living room floor. The attack was carried out by Loyalist paramilitaries

Friday 4 January 2002

A report based on a survey of 4,800 households in 12 neighbouring estates beside ‘peace lines’ in west Belfast has provided evidence that segregation between Catholic and Protestants has increased in the past 10 years.

The report also showed an increase in violence in the areas. 68 per cent of people aged 18 to 25 years said that they had never had a meaningful conversation with anyone from the other community. The report was prepared by Peter Shirlow (Dr), then a lecturer at the University of Ulster, who presented his findings to the Royal Geographical Society and Institute of British Geographers conference in Belfast on Saturday 5 January 2002.

The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) / Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) issued a statement calling for an end to trouble in north Belfast. Nationalist politicians were very sceptical about the impact of the statement but said they were willing to meet with Loyalist paramilitaries.

The Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) issued a statement claiming that attacks on Nationalists was putting an “impossible” strain on the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) ceasefire. The IRSP said it “viewed with increasing concern the escalating attacks on the Nationalist working-class by hate-filled Loyalism” and warned that a “Republican response is inevitable”.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) released figures for the number of paramilitary ‘punishment’ attacks during 2001. Overall there were 331 such attacks in 2001; an increase of over 25 per cent on the 2000 figure. Loyalist paramilitaries were responsible for 121 shootings and 91 beatings while Republicans were responsible for 66 shootings and 53 beatings.

The Irish Times (a Dublin based newspaper) reported that 19 people had been killed in Northern Ireland during 2001 as a result of sectarian or paramilitary activity. Loyalist paramilitaries were responsible for 13 deaths, while Republicans killed 4 people, it was not reported who was responsible for the two other deaths.

  ——————————————————————————

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.

8 People   lost their lives on the 4th January  between  1973– 1980

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04 January 1973
 James Hood,   (48)

Protestant
Status: Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Shot outside his home, Straidarran, near Feeny, County Derry.

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04 January 1976


 John Reavey,  (24)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Shot during gun attack on his home, Greyhillan, Whitecross, County Armagh

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04 January 1976


 Brian Reavey,   (22)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Shot during gun attack on his home, Greyhillan, Whitecross, County Armagh.

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04 January 1976


 Anthony Reavey,   (17)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Shot during gun attack on his home, Greyhillan, Whitecross, County Armagh. He died 30 January 1976

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04 January 1976


 Barry O’Dowd,  (24)

Catholic
Status: Civilian Political Activist (CivPA),

Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) member. Shot during gun attack on his home, Ballydugan, near Gilford, County Down.

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04 January 1976


 Declan O’Dowd,   (19)

Catholic
Status: Civilian Political Activist (CivPA), K

illed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) member. Shot during gun attack on his home, Ballydugan, near Gilford, County Down.

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04 January 1976


 Joseph O’Dowd,   (61)

Catholic
Status: Civilian Political Activist (CivPA)

, Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) member. Shot during gun attack, while in relative’s home, Ballydugan, near Gilford, County Down.

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04 January 1980
 Alexander Reid,   (20)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Ulster Defence Association (UDA)
Found beaten to death in derelict garage, Berlin Street, Shankill, Belfast

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