Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles
1st November
Friday 1 November 1968
November 1973 The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) began what was to be a 43 day ceasefire.
Thursday 1 November 1973
Jamie Flanagan replaced Graham Shillington as the Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). Flanagan was the first Catholic to hold this post.
Tuesday 1 November 1977
Timothy Creasey, then a Lieutenant-General, took over from David House and the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the British Army in Northern Ireland.
Thursday 1 November 1979
The Irish security forces seized a quantity of arms at Dublin docks which were believed to have originated in the United States of America (USA) and to be bound for the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The shipment totalled 156 weapons and included the M-60 machine gun and were worth an estimated £500,000. Jack Lynch, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), stated that he believed that the conflict in Northern Ireland continued to be “as intractable as at any stage in the last ten years”.
Thursday 1 November 1984
The Report of the unofficial Kilbrandon Committee was published. The Committee was established by the British Irish Association and consisted of politicians and academics. The Report was seen as a response to the New Ireland Forum Report. The Kilbrandon Report recommended that Northern Ireland should be governed by a five member Executive and that one of the members should be an Irish government minister.
Saturday 1 November 1986
James Molyneaux, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), and Ian Paisley, then leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), attended an Orange Order rally in Glasgow, Scotland. At the rally the Unionist leaders launched the start of a campaign in Britain against the Anglo-Irish Agreement (AIA).
Sunday 1 November 1987
A ship, the Eksund, was searched off the French coast and was found to be carrying 150 tons of arms bound for the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
[It later emerged that this shipment was one of four consignments of arms which originated in Libya. The other three shipments were believed to have been obtained by the IRA.]
Monday 1 November 1993
John Major, then British Prime Minister, told John Hume, then leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), that the proposals contained in the Hume-Adams Initiative were “not the right way to proceed”. In reply to another member of the House of Commons Major said that to “sit down and talk with Mr Adams and the Provisional IRA … would turn my stomach”. [It was revealed on 28 November 1993 that the British government had a channel of communication with the Republican movement for three years and had been in regular contact since February.]
Tuesday 1 November 1994
Bill Clinton, then President of the United States of America (USA), announced that the US government would increase its contribution to the International Fund for Ireland (IFI) from $20 million to $30 million per year over the next two years. Clinton also announced that he intended to call a conference on trade and investment in Ireland to be held in Philadelphia in the spring of 1995.
Wednesday 1 November 1995
David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), had a meeting with Bill Clinton, then President of the United States of America (USA), in Washington. Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), said that the talks between SF and the British government had failed.
Monday 1 November 1999
Ed Moloney, then Northern editor of the Sunday Tribune (a Dublin based newspaper), was named Journalist of the Year in the annual ESB National Media Awards for “defending the highest journalistic standards”. Moloney had won a long-running legal battle against handing over interview notes to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC).
Wednesday 1 November 2000
Mark Quail (26), a member of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), was shot dead in front of his girlfriend at their flat in Ballyronan Park, Rathcoole, in north Belfast. The shooting was believed to have been carried out by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) in retaliation for the killing on Tuesday of the Loyalist politician Tommy English by the rival UVF. The killing was part of a feud between the UDA and the UVF and brought to seven the number of men killed since August.
Thursday 1 November 2001
Loyalist paramilitaries carried out a ‘punishment’ beating attack on a man in Bangor, County Down, at approximately 10.35pm (2235GMT). The man was seriously injured in the attack. British Army technical officers were called to deal with a “crude explosive device” that had initially been left in a community centre in north Belfast. Children had moved the device to Roseleigh Street before their parents raised the alarm.
[It is believed that Loyalists left the device.]
Pauline Armitage, then Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), announced that she would not be voting for her party leader David Trimble to be re-elected as First Minister on Friday 2 November 2001. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) said that John Reid, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, should call fresh Assembly elections if David Trimble, then leader of the UUP, does not get re-elected as First Minister. David Trimble, then leader of the UUP, together with two UUP colleagues, joined with members of the ‘Loyalist Commission’ to hold a joint meeting with Jane Kennedy, then Security Minister at the Northern Ireland Office (NIO).
[The Loyalist Commission is comprised of representatives of three Loyalist paramilitary groups – the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), and the Red Hand Commando (RHC) – and Protestant church and community representatives from north Belfast. Members of the UUP help set up the new group.]
The meeting was to discuss the situation in Glenbryn, Ardoyne, north Belfast, where Loyalist residents are blockading the Holy Cross Girls’ Primary School.
[To date this year Loyalist paramilitaries have carried out five sectarian murders and over 200 pipe-bomb attacks.]
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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 1st November between 1971 – 2000
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01 November 1971
Stanley Corry, (28)
Protestant Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA) Shot while investigating burglary, Avoca Shopping Centre, Andersonstown, Belfast.
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01 November 1971
William Russell, (31)
Protestant Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA) Shot while investigating burglary, Avoca Shopping Centre, Andersonstown, Belfast.
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01 November 1973 Daniel Carson, (28)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: non-specific Loyalist group (LOY) Shot as he left his workplace, Dayton Street, Shankill, Belfast.
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01 November 1973 Francis McNelis, (65)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) Killed when car bomb exploded outside Avenue Bar, Union Street, Belfast. He was a passer-by at the time of the incident.
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01 November 2000 Mark Quail, (26)
Protestant Status: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF),
Killed by: Ulster Defence Association (UDA) Shot at his home, Ballyronan Park, Rathcoole, Newtownabbey, County Antrim. Ulster Defence Association (UDA) / Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) feud.
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Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles
31st October
Looking through todays deaths and events two things struck me and stood out .
Was how many paramilitary members /associates were killed due to sectarian , internal and local feuds. Life was hard for everyone during the Troubles , but those that perpetrated the slaughter didn’t always get away scot free and many paid the ultimate price for their part in Northern Ireland brutal, bloody conflict.
Karma Always collects its debts
2. Two Children lost their lives and the deaths of children always saddens me and makes me question if there really is a god?
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Sunday 31 October 1971
A man died two days after being mortally wounded by a British soldier
A British soldier died three days after being mortally wounded by members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in Belfast. A man was found shot dead in Belfast.
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) exploded a bomb at the Post Office Tower in London.
[At the time part of the tower was open to members of the public and was a London tourist attraction. The public area was closed following the attack and did not reopen.]
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Tuesday 31 October 1972
Benny’s Bar bombing
Paula Strong, Paula (6)Clare Hughes (4)
Two Catholic children, aged 6 and 4 years, who were playing on the street were killed in a Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) car bomb attack on a bar in Ship Street, Belfast. Two other people were killed in separate incidents in Belfast.
Benny’s Bar bombing was a paramilitary attack on 31 October 1972 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. A unit of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), a loyalist paramilitary group, detonated a no-warning car bomb outside the Irish Catholic-owned Benny’s Bar in the dockland area of Sailortown, killing two small girls who were celebrating Halloween outside. Twelve of the pub’s patrons were also injured.
Since its foundation in September 1971, the UDA had killed over 30 Catholic civilians and attacked a number of Catholic-owned businesses. On 13 September 1972, UDA members opened-fire inside the Catholic-owned Divis Castle Bar on Springfield Road, Belfast. One Catholic civilian, the owner’s son, was killed.[1] On 5 October it detonated a bomb at another Belfast pub, the Capital Bar, killing a Protestant civilian.[2]
On the evening of Tuesday 31 October 1972 in Sailortown (a mixed Protestant and Catholic community beside Belfast Docks), a large group of local children in fancy dress were playing outside their houses near a bonfire in Ship Street to celebrate Halloween. Two small Catholic girls, Paula Strong (6) and Clare Hughes (4),[2] both dressed as witches, were approached by a white-haired man carrying a suitcase. He asked for directions to Benny’s Bar. After one of the girls gave him the directions, he gave her two pence and walked along Garmoyle Street to its junction with Ship Street, where the pub was located.[3] The two girls then went to the pub, knocked on the door and asked for pennies as a form of the traditional “trick-or-treating“.[4]
The explosion
The girls were in the vicinity of the Catholic-owned pub, which was full of patrons, when a maroon-coloured mini containing a 100 pounds (45 kg) bomb exploded outside the building’s Ship Street wall where it had been parked. No warning had been given.[3] Part of the building collapsed onto the customers inside, injuring 12 people. Flying glass and masonry was hurled out into the street, instantly killing Paula Strong and fatally injuring Clare Hughes. A local woman who came upon the bodies of the little girls described what she had seen: “They were just like bloody bundles of rags lying there”.[4]
The explosion took place only 20 yards (18 m) from the children’s bonfire, and the bomb had a very short fuse.[5] Houses and office buildings within a radius of several hundred yards suffered damage. The Strong family, who lived in the adjacent Marine Street felt the effects of the blast; Paula’s brother, Tony said that there was a massive explosion, the entire house shook and pictures fell off the walls.[6] Paula’s father, Gerry Strong, had gone to the pub to help dig out those buried beneath the rubble and found the body of his daughter on the pavement outside.[6] Clare Hughes’s brother Kevin had been playing near the bonfire when the bomb detonated. Their home was in Ship Street, facing the bonfire, and their mother immediately rushed to the scene and brought the gravely-wounded Clare into the house. She died shortly afterwards in hospital.[6]
The attack was the first major bombing in Northern Ireland for two weeks. With a total of 479 deaths—including those of the Bloody Sunday, Donegall Street, Springhill, Bloody Friday and Claudy atrocities—1972 was the bloodiest year of the 30-year ethno-political conflict known as the Troubles.[2]
Aftermath
Memorial plaque at St Joseph’s Church, Sailortown
The funerals of Paula Strong and Clare Hughes were conducted at the Roman Catholic St Joseph’s Chapel in Sailortown; many mourners lined the street and accompanied the coffins as they were carried inside the church.[3] The girls were buried in Milltown Cemetery.
The bombing had been carried out by a unit of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), which was the largest loyalist paramilitary organisation in Northern Ireland and which was legal at the time.[2][7] Benny’s Bar was targeted by the UDA as it was believed to have been an Irish republican drinking den.[5] The three men who had driven the carbomb to the pub pleaded guilty to the murders. It emerged during the trial that one of the bombers had worked with Paula Strong’s father at the docks.[6]
The UDA continued attacking pubs owned or frequented by members of the Irish Catholic and nationalist community. Less than two months after the bombing, on 20 December, the UDA launched a gun attack on another Catholic-owned pub in Derry. That attack killed five Catholic civilians.[8]
Benny’s pub and the houses in Ship Street have since been torn down, leaving a small section of the street near the Garmoyle Street intersection extant. This is now an industrial zone. Ship Street and most of Sailortown was demolished to build the M2 motorway. There is a memorial plaque on an outside wall beneath a stained glass window at St Joseph’s Chapel commemorating Paula Strong and Clare Hughes.
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Wednesday 31 October 1973
Séamus Twomey
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) use a hijacked helicopter to free three of their members from the exercise yard of Mountjoy Prison, Dublin. On of those who escaped was Séamus Twomey, then Chief of Staff of the IRA.
[Twomey was recaptured in December 1977.]
Friday 31 October 1975
Thomas Berry (27), then a member of the Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA), was shot dead by the Provisional IRA (PIRA) outside Sean Martin’s Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) Club in the Short Strand, Belfast.
Seamus McCusker, a senior member of Provisional Sinn Féin (SF), was shot dead by the Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA) on the New Lodge Road, Belfast.
Both these killings were part of the continuing feud between the two wings of the IRA.
Columba McVeigh was abducted and became one of the ‘disappeared‘.
Columba McVeigh
[He is believed to have been killed by the IRA. His body has not been recovered.]
Peter Brooke, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, announced that the talks initiative was ‘on hold’. The Fianna Fáil (FF) and Progressive Democrat (PD) coalition Government in the Republic of Ireland survived a vote of no confidence following the sacking of Brian Lenihan, then deputy leader of FF.
Saturday 31 October 1992
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) shot and killed Samuel Ward (30) who was a member of the ‘Belfast Brigade’ of the Irish People’s Liberation Organisation (IPLO).
The IRA also injured a further eight members of the IPLO.
[Following this action the ‘Belfast Brigade’ announced on 3 November 1992 that it would disband. A similar decision was announced by the Army Council faction of the IPLO based in Dublin on 7 November 1992.]
Tuesday 31 October 1995
Michael Ancram
Michael Ancram, then Political Development Minister at the Northern Ireland Office (NIO), held a three hour meeting with representatives of Sinn Féin (SF).
[Further discussions were to be held until 3 November 1995 when they ended over disagreements on the issue of decommissioning of Irish Republican Army (IRA) weapons.]
Saturday 31 October 1998
Deadline for Formation of Executive
The deadline was missed for the formation of the Executive Committee of the Northern Ireland Assembly, and the North-South Ministerial Body. The main reasons for the failure to implement the Good Friday Agreement were to do with disagreements on the issue of decommissioning. Brain Service (35), a Catholic civilian, was shot dead by Loyalists after he left his brother’s house in north Belfast. Service was a single man from Ardoyne in Belfast.
[The Red Hand Defenders (RHD) later claimed responsibility for the killing. The RHD were a new Loyalist paramilitary grouping comprising dissent Loyalists opposed to the Good Friday Agreement and opposed to the ceasefires of the main Loyalist paramilitary organisations.]
In a joint statement the First, and Deputy First, Ministers pledged that the killing would not derail the peace process.
Sunday 31 October 1999
Michael Oatley
Michael Oatley, a former MI6 officer, wrote an article for the Sunday Times (a London based newspaper) in which he accused politicians in Northern Ireland and Britain of using the issue of the decommissioning of Irish Republican Army (IRA) weapons as an “excuse to avoid the pursuit of peace”
. [While involved in secret talks in Northern Ireland Oatley had been codenamed the ‘mountain climber’. He had been involved in secret talks during the hunger strikes and during the period 1990-1993.]
Tuesday 31 October 2000
Bertie Rice (63), an election worker for the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP), was shot in the chest at his home in Canning Street in north Belfast. He died later in hospital. The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) was blamed for this killing.
Later in the day, Tommy English (40), a former Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) politician, was shot dead at his home in Ballyfore Gardens in Newtownabbey, County Antrim. Loyalist sources said this was in retaliation for Bertie Rice’s death, and blamed the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) for the killing. The killings were part of a feud between the UDA and the UVF.
Wednesday 31 October 2001
Loyalist paramilitaries fired several shots at a Catholic taxi-driver who had gone to a house on the edge of the Loyalist Mourneview Estate, Lurgan, County Armagh. Several bullets struck the car. Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers said they were treating the attack as “attempted murder”.
[The attack may have been carried out by the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF).]
A Catholic woman was injured when Loyalist paramilitaries threw a pipe-bomb at her home in Newington Street, north Belfast. The bomb exploded at the back of the house breaking all the windows at the rear of the three-storey house. The woman was treated for cuts.
Loyalist paramilitaries carried out a ‘punishment’ shooting on two men (both in their 30s) in a field at Ballyreagh Road, Newtownards, County Down. One was shot in both knees and the other was shot in one leg. Both were treated in hospital.
A man (41) is due to appear in court in Belfast charged with ‘riotous behaviour’ following disturbances in the Duncairn Gardens, Belfast, on Tuesday 30 October 2001.
Peter Weir and Pauline Armitage, both Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) then Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) opposed to the Good Friday Agreement, held a meeting with the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD). The two were seeking assurances that the Irish Republican Army (IRA) decommissioning initiative was both substantial and part of a continuing process.
[Both MLAs have stated that at present they do not intend to vote on Friday 2 November 2001 for David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), as First Minister.]
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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.
15 People lost their lives on the 31st October between 1971 – 2000
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31 October 1971
John Copeland, (23)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: British Army (BA)
Died two days after being shot near his home, Strathroy Park, Ardoyne, Belfast.
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31 October 1971 Ian Doherty, (27)
nfNI Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Died three days after being shot while on British Army (BA) mobile patrol, Stockman’s Lane, Belfast.
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31 October 1971 Thomas Kells (19)
Protestant Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: not known (nk)
Found shot by the side of Flowbog Road, Dundrod, near Belfast, County Antrim.
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31 October 1972 James Kerr, (17)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Red Hand Commando (RHC)
Shot at his workplace, garage, Lisburn Road, Belfast.
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31 October 1972 Richard Sinclair, (19)
nfNI Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot by sniper while on British Army (BA) foot patrol, Antrim Road, New Lodge, Belfast.
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31 October 1972
Paula Strong, (6)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Defence Association (UDA)
Killed when car bomb exploded outside Benny’s Bar, corner of Garmoyle Street and Ship Street, Belfast.
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31 October 1972
Clare Hughes, (4)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Defence Association (UDA)
Killed when car bomb exploded outside Benny’s Bar, corner of Garmoyle Street and Ship Street, Belfast.
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Thomas Berry, (27)
Catholic Status: Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot outside Sean Martin’s Gaelic Athletic Association Club, Beechfield Street, Short Strand, Belfast. Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA) / Irish Republican Army (IRA) feud.
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31 October 1975
Seamus McCusker, (40)
Catholic Status: Irish Republican Army (IRA),
Killed by: Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA)
Shot as he walked along New Lodge Road, Belfast. Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA) / Irish Republican Army (IRA) feud.
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31 October 1975
Columba McVeigh, (17)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Abducted in the Donaghmore / Dungannon area of County Tyrone. Presumed killed. Body never recovered. Alleged informer.
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31 October 1984
Harry Muldoon (45)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Shot at his home, Mountainview Drive, off Crumlin Road, Belfast.
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot while inside Sean Martin Gaelic Athletic Association Club, Beechfield Street, Short Strand, Belfast.
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31 October 1998
Brian Service, (35)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Red Hand Defenders (RHD)
Shot while walking along Alliance Avenue, Ardoyne, Belfast.
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31 October 2000
Herbert Rice, (63)
Protestant Status: Civilian Political Activist (CivPA),
Killed by: Ulster Defence Association (UDA)
Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) member. Shot at his home, Canning Street, Tigers Bay, Belfast. Ulster Defence Association (UDA) / Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) feud.
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31 October 2000
Tommy English, (40)
Protestant Status: Ulster Defence Association (UDA),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Shot at his home, Ballyfore Gardens, Ballyduff, Newtownabbey, County Antrim. Ulster Defence Association (UDA) / Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) feud.
From an early age, English was involved in the North Belfast Brigade of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), a loyalist paramilitary group. After his death, the Belfast Telegraph described him as a “UDA commander”,[1] while the BBC described him as a “paramilitary chief”.[2]
Alongside his political activism he remained involved in the paramilitary side of the UDA and played a leading role in orchestrating riots at two interface areas in north Belfast i.e. the Limestone Road – which divides Catholic Newington and Protestant Tigers Bay – and the Whitewell Road.[7] English and his family lived in Tiger’s Bay before moving to Newtownabbey at an unspecified period so as to “give our kids a chance so they could have a decent life” according to his wife Doreen.[8]
English left the UDP in 1998 after making a public statement against the Orange Order at a time when the party was widely supporting them in their attempts to march in Catholic areas.[8] English also claimed that he had been the subject of allegations about misappropriating money in the UDA and stated that, whilst the allegations were not widely believed by the group’s leadership, worries about them had led him to attempt suicide and seek treatment in a psychiatric hospital.[8]
In 1999, he was arrested on suspicion of headbutting and kicking a patron of the Crows Nest bar, having allegedly arrived with three associates armed with baseball bats, breaking glasses along the bar.[6] The case was still outstanding, with English awaiting charges, at the time of his death.[8]
On 31 October 2000, English was fatally shot at his home in Ballyfore Gardens, on the Ballyduff estate in Newtownabbey, by a group of four men. His three children were inside the house at about 18.30 when the men entered through the back door as his wife, Doreen was preparing food for a Halloween party. She called out to her husband and attempted to close the door but they pushed past her, one of the men shouting “Get out of the fucking way, Doreen”. She kept trying to intervene in an effort to protect English, but she received several hard blows, mostly in the head, and her skull was fractured. English was shot several times as he lay face down in the hallway of his home; the last shot struck him in the lower back. He was rushed to Belfast’s Royal Victoria Hospital where he died shortly afterwards.[9]
The murder was blamed on the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), who at the time were involved in a violent dispute with the UDA.[10] At his funeral, his coffin was covered in UDA flags, and it was accompanied by men in paramilitary uniforms.[11] Among the mourners was a member of the UVF who was closely related to English.[8] Sympathy notices placed in the local press at the time included one from Johnny Adair, who described English as a “good and faithful servant”.[8]
English’s murder was said to have been in retaliation for the killing of UVF veteran Bertie Rice earlier that same day.[12] The UDA killed Mark Quail, a 26-year-old UVF member, at his Rathcoole home in retaliation on the following day, with Quail the seventh and final man killed as part of the loyalist feud.[12] David “Candy” Greer, a UDA member killed in the feud three days before English, had been a close friend from English’s days in Tiger’s Bay.[8] English had initially been described in press reports as a relative of UDP colleague and former South East Antrim brigadierJoe English although this was later corrected as the two were not related.[13]
Ten men were put on trial for the murder of English, including UVF North Belfast commander Mark Haddock. However, nine were acquitted of all charges, while the tenth was convicted only of “possessing items intended for terrorism”.[14] Following the acquittals, his widow announced that she would be suing police for allegedly failing to take action against an informant who was involved in a number of UVF murders in north Belfast.[15]
This is simply the story of a boy trying to grow up, survive, thrive, have fun & discover himself against a backdrop of events that might best be described as ‘explosive’, captivating & shocking the world for thirty long years.
Evening all , Im heading home to Belfast tomorrow for the Easter period and hopefully a trip down south to visit my bro and his family in County Meath , depending on a few factors which are out of my control 😜 Belfast will always be my home and although I look forward to visiting … Continue reading Belfast & Meath trip starts tomorrow→
Hi folks, Just a shortish blog post to wish you all a wonderful evening and a fantastic Xmas day. Some of you guys have followed me and my story for years now and during recent tragic soul destroying lows to a few joy filled epic highs you have been there to support , comfort and … Continue reading Merry Christmas to all my friends out there X→
Last chance to order before Xmas delivery cut-off period nxt Wednesday . A personally signed copy of my No.1 Best Selling book : A Belfast Child , which may be worth a few quid if my story is made into a movie – watch this space ! UK Orders Free postage for UK orders only … Continue reading A singed copy of my book for Xmas ?→
And Im happy to bribe you with a free giveaway 🎁 Read on for more detail… Ive doing a soft launch of my online shop : https://deadongifts.co.uk/ which I set up with my sister Mags and I need to drive some traffic to the store and start creating an online presence. The shop will be … Continue reading I need some help folks 😜→
Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles
30th October
Wednesday 30 October 1968
Jack Lynch, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), met with Harold Wilson, then British Prime Minister, in London. The Taoiseach called for the ending of partition as a means to resolve the unrest in Northern Ireland. The Irish Times (a Dublin based newspaper) carried a report of an interview with Lord Brookeborough (former Prime Minister of Northern Ireland).
There were serious riots in the Catholic Ardoyne area of Belfast which lasted for three nights. Chichester-Clark, then Northern Ireland Prime Minister, met with Reginald Maulling, then British Home Secretary, on matters related to reforms and security.
Saturday 30 October 1971
A British soldier was killed in a bomb attack in Belfast.
Monday 30 October 1972
The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) issued a discussion document The Future of Northern Ireland. The paper states Britain’s commitment to the union as long as the majority of people wish to remain part of the United Kingdom (UK).
The paper also introduces the ideas of a power-sharing government in Northern Ireland and an ‘Irish Dimension’. Loyalist paramilitaries carried out a raid on an Royal Ulster Constabulary station in Claudy, County Derry, and stole 4 British Army issue Sterling sub-machine Guns (SMGs) that had been issued to Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) soldiers. #
[There was another theft of UDR weapons on 8 March 1973.] [ Political Developments. ]
Saturday 30 October 1976
Two Catholic civilians were abducted and shot dead by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) at Glenbank Place, Crumlin Road, Belfast. Stephen McCann (20), a Catholic civilian, was abducted and killed at the rear of Glencairn Community Centre, Belfast. Members of he Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) gang known as the ‘Shankill Butchers’ were responsible for the killing. [See: 20 February 1979] McCann had been a founder member of the Witness for Peace movement and author of the song ‘What Price Peace?’
Thursday 30 October 1980 [ Hunger Strike.]
Wednesday 30 October 1985
James Molyneaux, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), and Ian Paisley, then leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), attended a meeting at Downing Street, London, with Margaret Thatcher, then British Prime Minister.
The two Unionists again protested at the continuing Anglo-Irish talks between the two governments. They warned that a consultative role in Northern Ireland affairs for the government in the Republic of Ireland would lead to a Loyalist backlash.
[ PRONI Records – October 1985]
Wednesday 30 October 1991
Desmond Ellis was acquitted of conspiring to cause explosions at a court in London.
[Ellis had been involved in an extradition dispute between the Republic of Ireland and Britain earlier in the year. On the following day the British Home Secretary signed an ‘exclusion order’ which banned Ellis from living in Britain.]
Friday 30 October 1992
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) exploded a bomb, estimated at 250 pounds, at Glengormley Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) station. Thirteen people were injured in the explosion and over 100 houses were damaged. The IRA forced a taxi driver in London to transport a bomb to a location close to Downing Street where it later exploded.
Greysteel Killings The Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF), a cover name (pseudonym) used by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), killed six Catholics civilians and one Protestant civilian in an attack on the ‘Rising Sun’ bar in Greysteel, County Derry. A further 13 people were injured in the attack one of whom later died of his injuries on 14 April 1994. [One of the gunmen was hear to say “trick or treat” before he fired into the crowded bar. This was a reference to the Halloween celebration that was taking place. There was widespread condemnation of the attack. The UFF later claimed that it had attacked the “Nationalist electorate” in revenge for the Shankill Road Bombing on 23 October 1993. The killings brought the total number of deaths during October to 27 making it the worst month for casualties in 17 years.]
Sunday 30 October 1994
There were scuffles on the Ormeau Road, Belfast, between Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers and local residents who were protesting against an Orange Order parade passing through their area. Speaking in Dublin Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), said that there were “clear efforts” by the British government to reduce the momentum of the peace process.
Thursday 30 October 1997
The Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA) said that it was responsible for the attempted bombing of government offices in Derry. The United Nations (UN) called for an judicial inquiry into the killing of Pat Finucane, at the time a solicitor based in Belfast, on 12 February 1989.
Finucane had represented a number of Republicans in high profile cases.
The Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF), a covername used by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), claimed responsibility for the killing. Republicans alleged that the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) had colluded with the UFF in targeting Finucane. The UN also criticised the Law Society for not defending lawyers from threats and harassment from members of the security forces. Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, gave an interview which was published by New Statesman in which she accused civil servants in the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) of undermining the peace process by engaging in a series of leaks to the media and political parties. Jack Straw, then British Home Secretary, announced in the House of Commons that the final 12 exclusion orders would be revoked.
He also announced that new ‘anti-terrorist legislation’ would be introduced on a United Kingdom (UK) wide basis. The Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ), based in Belfast, called on the government to repeal all emergency legislation. There was an election in the Republic of Ireland to elect a new President. [When the counting was completed Mary McAleese was elected as the eight President of Ireland.]
Tuesday 30 October 2001
Brian Cowen, then Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, called on the British government to demilitarise places such as south Armagh and west Tyrone “very quickly”. He was speaking in New York, USA, at a meeting of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy.
A Protestant man was charged at Belfast Magistrates’ Court with ‘riotous behaviour’ in connection with sectarian clashes at Limestone Road, north Belfast, on Sunday 28 October 2001. Kenneth Bloomfield (Sir), former head of the Northern Ireland civil service, said that a commissioner should be appointed to safeguard the interests of victims of ‘the Troubles’.
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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.
16 People lost their lives on the 30th October between 1971 – 2001
————————————————————
30 October 1971 Norman Booth, (22)
nfNI Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in bomb attack on British Army (BA) observation post, junction of Springfield Road and Cupar Street, Belfast.
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30 October 1974
Gordon Catherwood, (44)
Protestant Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot at his home, Upper Hightown Road, near Belfast, County Antrim.
————————————————————
30 October 1974
Michael Meenan, (16)
Catholic Status: Irish Republican Army (IRA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in premature bomb explosion at garage, Strand Road, Derry.
————————————————————
30 October 1975
Eileen Kelly, (6)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot at her home, Beechmount Grove, Falls, Belfast. Father intended target. Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA) / Irish Republican Army (IRA) feud.
————————————————————
30 October 1976 Stephen McCann, (20)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Abducted while walking along Millfield, Belfast. Found stabbed and shot a short time later, near the Community Centre, off Forthriver Road, Glencairn, Belfast.
————————————————————
30 October 1976
Charles Corbett, (22)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Abducted while travelling in newspaper delivery van, Crumlin Road, Belfast. Found shot a short time later, Glenbank Place, off Crumlin Road, Belfast.
————————————————————
30 October 1976
John Maguire, (56)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Abducted while travelling in newspaper delivery van, Crumlin Road, Belfast. Found shot a short time later, Glenbank Place, off Crumlin Road, Belfast.
Steven Mullan, (20)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF)
Shot during gun attack on Rising Sun Bar, Greysteel, County Derry.
————————————————————
30 October 1993
Karen Thompson, (19)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF)
Shot during gun attack on Rising Sun Bar, Greysteel, County Derry.
————————————————————
30 October 1993
James Moore, (81)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF)
Shot during gun attack on Rising Sun Bar, Greysteel, County Derry.
————————————————————
30 October 1993
Joseph McDermott, (60)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF)
Shot during gun attack on Rising Sun Bar, Greysteel, County Derry.
————————————————————
30 October 1993
Moira Duddy, (59)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF)
Shot during gun attack on Rising Sun Bar, Greysteel, County Derry.
————————————————————
30 October 1993 John Moyne, (50)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF)
Shot during gun attack on Rising Sun Bar, Greysteel, County Derry.
————————————————————
30 October 1993
John Burns, (54)
Protestant Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF)
Shot during gun attack on Rising Sun Bar, Greysteel, County Derry.
————————————————————
30 October 1993 Victor Montgomery, (76)
Protestant Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF)
Shot during gun attack on Rising Sun Bar, Greysteel, County Derry. He died 14 April 1994.
————————————————————
30 October 2001 Charles Folliard, (30)
Protestant Status: ex-Ulster Defence Association (xUDA),
Killed by: non-specific Republican group (REP)
Shot outside his girlfriend’s home, Oakland Park, Ballycolman, Strabane, County Tyrone.
This is simply the story of a boy trying to grow up, survive, thrive, have fun & discover himself against a backdrop of events that might best be described as ‘explosive’, captivating & shocking the world for thirty long years.
Evening all , Im heading home to Belfast tomorrow for the Easter period and hopefully a trip down south to visit my bro and his family in County Meath , depending on a few factors which are out of my control 😜 Belfast will always be my home and although I look forward to visiting … Continue reading Belfast & Meath trip starts tomorrow→
Hi folks, Just a shortish blog post to wish you all a wonderful evening and a fantastic Xmas day. Some of you guys have followed me and my story for years now and during recent tragic soul destroying lows to a few joy filled epic highs you have been there to support , comfort and … Continue reading Merry Christmas to all my friends out there X→
Last chance to order before Xmas delivery cut-off period nxt Wednesday . A personally signed copy of my No.1 Best Selling book : A Belfast Child , which may be worth a few quid if my story is made into a movie – watch this space ! UK Orders Free postage for UK orders only … Continue reading A singed copy of my book for Xmas ?→
And Im happy to bribe you with a free giveaway 🎁 Read on for more detail… Ive doing a soft launch of my online shop : https://deadongifts.co.uk/ which I set up with my sister Mags and I need to drive some traffic to the store and start creating an online presence. The shop will be … Continue reading I need some help folks 😜→
Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles
29th October
—————————————
Thursday 29 October 1970
The Electoral Reform Society called for the introduction of Proportional Representation (PR) in elections in Northern Ireland.
Friday 29 October 1971
A Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officer was killed in a bomb attack in Belfast.
Wednesday 29 October 1975
The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) shot and killed Robert Elliman (27), then a member of the Official IRA (OIRA), in McKenna’s Bar in the Markets area of Belfast.
[Between 29 October 1975 and 12 November 1975, 11 people were to died in the continuing feud between the two wings of the IRA. Most of those killed were members of the ‘official’ republican movement.] A Catholic civilian was shot dead by Loyalists in Lurgan, County Armagh.
Thursday 29 October 1981
1981 Hunger Strike
Saturday 31 October 1981
Sinn Féin (SF) held its Ard Fheis (annual conference) in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. Danny Morrison, then editor of An Phoblacht, gave a speech in which he addressed the issue of the party taking part in future elections:
“Who here really believes we can win the war through the ballot box? But will anyone here object if, with a ballot paper in one hand and the Armalite in the other, we take power in Ireland?”
[This statement was subsequently often quoted as: ‘the Armalite in one hand and the Ballot box in the other’.]
Tuesday 29 October 1991
Peter Robinson, then Deputy Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), said that Unionists were being ‘edged into a united Ireland’.
Friday 29 October 1993
John Major, then British Prime Minister, and Albert Reynolds, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), issued a joint statement from a meeting they held in Brussels. The statement contained six points and outlined the governments’ determination that there would be no secret deals with the paramilitary groups. However the statement also made clear that if there were an end to violence then the governments would respond imaginatively. The governments stated that they would not adopt or endorse the proposals contained in the Hume-Adams Initiative.
Tuesday 29 October 1996
Thomas Stewart (32), who had recently been a Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) commander, was shot dead in Ballysillan in north Belfast. The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) stated that the killing was ‘criminal’ rather that ‘political’.
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) celebrated the 25th anniversary of its formation.
Wednesday 29 October 1997
John Hume, then leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), travelled to London for a meeting at Downing Street with Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister. Hume said afterwards that he had a “frank discussion” on the multi-party talks.
Four employees of the Coats Viyella shirt factory in Derry wore Armistice Day poppies to work in advance of the agreed dates for the display of the emblems. They refused to remove the poppies and were sent home.
[Gregory Campbell, then a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) councillor, criticised the company. The workers were reinstated when the agreed date was reached.]
Davy Tweed, then a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) councillor, was fined at Coleraine magistrates court for assaulting a man in a pub in Ballymoney, County Antrim. A Labour Force Survey in the Republic of Ireland showed that the work force stood at 1.3 million which was the highest level in the history of the state.
Friday 29 October 1999
David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), and Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), held a series of meetings at Stormont in an attempt to find a way of establishing the proposed Executive.
Garfield Gilmour was sentenced for the murder, on 12 July 1998, of three Catholic children Richard Quinn (11), Mark Quinn (10), and Jason Quinn (9). Gilmour had been part of a Loyalist gang which petrol bombed the boys’ home in Ballymoney, County Antrim. Gilmour claimed that he had waited in a car and had not thrown the petrol bomb. He had named two other men who he alleged were responsible for throwing the device.
See below for more details on Quinn brothers’ killings
The Appeal Court in Belfast overturned the murder convictions that had been imposed on Paddy McKinney and Billy Gorman in 1980. McKinney and Gorman had been given life sentences for the killing of Thomas McClinton, then a member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), on 2 March 1974. Both McKinney and Gorman claimed that they had been beaten while in police custody. An ESDA test carried out on their confessions and interview notes showed that these had been rewritten by police officers.
David Adams, an Irish Republican Army (IRA) prisoner, began an appeal against the decision of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) not to bring charges against those RUC officers who had assaulted him in Castlereagh Holding Centre .
Adams had received £30,000 compensations for injuries, including a broken leg.
[See: 9 August 1999]
Monday 29 October 2001
Catholic Civilian and Protestant Civilian Shot Dead
Colin Foy (27), a Catholic civilian, was shot dead at Fivemiletown, County Tyrone, shortly after midnight. The man was drinking with his brother in the Four Ways Hotel in the town when he was shot dead.
A Royal Irish Regiment (RIR) soldier went to a Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) police station in the neighbouring village of Clogher immediately following the incident and gave himself up to police. The RUC stated initially that the shooting was not sectarian.
Sinn Féin (SF) said the killing was “blatently sectarian”.
[The RIR soldier was later charged with murder.]
Charles Folliard (30), a Protestant civilian, was shot and fatally injured in Strabane, County Tyrone, at approximately 11.30pm (2330GMT). Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers initially said that they believed that dissident Republican paramilitaries were responsible for the killing and said that: “a sectarian motive is one of the avenues we are looking at.”
The man was shot as he was leaving the home of his 16 year old Catholic girlfriend.
[Folliard had been involved with Loyalist paramilitaries and was jailed for 14 years in 1991 for conspiracy to murder a Catholic colleague at the quarry where he then worked and also for possessing firearms. Folliard was released in 1997. On 8 November 2001 detectives said that they believed that the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) was responsible for the killing.]
[Another man was shot dead shortly after 1.00am (0100GMT) in Craigavon, County Armagh. Two men have been interviewed in connection with this shooting. Currently this shooting is not thought to be related to the conflict.]
Two men planted a small bomb (estimated at 5kg of explosives) on a bus and ordered the driver to take the bus to Woodburn Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) station, Stewartstown Road, west Belfast.
The men claimed to be from the Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA). British Army technical officers were in the process of dealing with the device when it exploded around 8.00pm (2000GMT) resulting in damage to the bus but causing no injuries. British Army technical experts were called to deal with a pipe-bomb at Skerrymore Place, Portrush, County Antrim, just before 8.00am (0800GMT).
The device had been left at the home of a Catholic family. The Army also had to deal with a pipe-bomb at Voltaire Gardens in the Whitewell Road area of north Belfast shortly before 3.30pm (1530GMT).
Loyalist paramilitaries were believed to be responsible for both devices.
There was further rioting in north Belfast. Six blast bombs were thrown at RUC officers and British Army soldiers in the Limestone Road area of north Belfast. A number of RUC officers were injured in the disturbances. A number of cars were hijacked and burnt. Two blast bombs were thrown at Catholics houses in the area. Sinn Féin’s (SF) Ard Chomhairle (ruling executive) held a meeting in Navan to discuss the recent decommissioning move by the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), and Martin McGuinness, then Vice-President of Sinn Féin (SF), were among the group of 40 people who attended the meeting.
The Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition (NIWC) announced that it may table a motion, in the Northern Ireland Assembly on Friday 2 November 2001, to reduce the 30 days notice required for Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) to re-nominate themselves as ‘Unionist’, ‘Nationalist’, or ‘Other’.
[The NIWC plan appears to be to change the community nomination of its two MLAs from ‘Other’ to one ‘Unionist’ and one ‘Nationalist’, and the ‘Unionist’ MLA would vote for David Trimble to be re-elected as First Minister.]
Seamus Heaney, Nobel Laureate, officially opened the Academy for Irish Cultural Heritages at the University of Ulster’s Magee Campus.
————————————————
———————————————————————————
Remembering all innocent victims of the Troubles
Today is the anniversary of the death of the following people killed as a results of the conflict in Northern Ireland
“To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die
– Thomas Campbell
To the innocent on the list – Your memory will live forever
– To the Paramilitaries –
There are many things worth living for, a few things worth dying for, but nothing worth killing for.
9 People lost their lives on the 29th October between 1971 – 1996
————————————————————
29 October 1971
Michael McLarnon, (22)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: British Army (BA)
Died shortly after being shot, while standing at the front door of his home, Etna Drive, Ardoyne, Belfast.
————————————————————
29 October 1971
Alfred Devlin, (42)
Protestant Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in bomb attack on Chichester Road Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) base, off Antrim Road, Belfast.
————————————————————
29 October 1972 Michael Turner, (16)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Shot from passing car while walking along Cliftonville Road, Belfast.
————————————————————
29 October 1973
Patrick Campbell, (34)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Shot at his home, Cline Walk, Banbridge, County Down.
————————————————————
29 October 1975
Robert Elliman, (27)
Catholic Status: Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot while in McKenna’s Bar, Stanfield Street, Markets, Belfast. Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA) / Irish Republican Army (IRA) feud.
————————————————————
29 October 1975
James Griffin, (21)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Shot at his home, Hill Street, Lurgan, County Armagh.
————————————————————
29 October 1979
Fred Irwin, (43)
Protestant Status: Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Shot while driving to his workplace, Oaks Road, Dungannon, County
————————————————————
29 October 1983
David Nocher, (26)
Catholic Status: Civilian Political Activist (CivPA),
Killed by: Protestant Action Force (PAF)
Workers’ Party member. Shot while cleaning shop window, Mill Road, Greencastle, Belfast.
————————————————————
29 October 1996 Thomas Stewart, (32)
Protestant Status: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Shot, near to his home, Benview Avenue, Ballysillan, Belfast. Internal Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) dispute.
The Quinn family, consisting of mother Chrissie and sons Richard, Mark and Jason, lived in the Carnany estate in the predominantly Protestant town of Ballymoney. The family was of a mixed religious background. Mother Chrissie was Roman Catholic who herself was from a mixed background and the boys’ father Jim Dillon was Catholic. After separating from her estranged husband, Chrissie reared the boys as Protestant “to avoid the hassle”.[1] Chrissie lived with her Protestant partner Raymond Craig in Carnany which had only a few Catholic residents and was mostly Protestant, reflecting the religious make-up of Ballymoney itself. The boys, aged 9, 10 and 11, attended a local state school and on the evening before their deaths had been helping to build the estate’s Eleventh Night loyalist bonfire.[1] A fourth brother, Lee, was staying with his grandmother in Rasharkin at the time of the attack.
The entrance to Carnany
The killings took place at the height of the stand-off over the Orange Order march at Drumcree, which created a tense atmosphere in various towns across Northern Ireland. In Ballymoney, the previous year, an off duty Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officer, Gregory Taylor, was beaten to death by a group of loyalist bandsmen.The killing followed a row about the RUC’s position after loyal order marches had been banned from the nearby nationalist village of Dunloy.[2] In the weeks before the fatal attack the children’s mother Chrissie had expressed fear that she wasn’t welcome in the area and that there was a possibility the family home might be attacked by loyalists.[3]The Ballymoney Times a local newspaper in the town, reported a story the week of the deaths, stating that a resident of the Carnany estate called in and was concerned about tension in the area adding something serious might happen “unless Catholic residents were left alone“.[4] Various members of Chrissie’s family had lived in Carnany but due to several incidents only Chrissie and her sons remained.The family had only been living in the home, which was previously occupied by the boys’ aunt, for six days before the attack.
The attack
The attack occurred at around half past four in the morning as the inhabitants of the house slept. A car containing members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a loyalist paramilitary organisation, arrived at the house and threw a petrol bomb through a window at the rear of the house. The petrol bomb was made from a whiskey bottle.[5] The sounds of the boys’ shouting had woken their mother, who found her bedroom full of smoke. Chrissie Quinn, Raymond Craig and a family friend Christina Archibald escaped the resulting fire with minor injuries. Chrissie had thought the boys had escaped the fire as she couldn’t locate them in the dense smoke before she jumped to safety from a first floor window. Two of the brother’s bodies were found in their mother’s bedroom and the other in another bedroom.[6] Chrissie was taken to hospital and released the next day after receiving minor injuries and shock in the attack. It is believed that the attack was a misunderstanding and that the members of the UVF (Ulster Volunteer Force) had not known the Quinn brothers’ were inside the house.
Reaction
The M.P. for the area, Dr. Ian Paisley, visited the site of the attack and described the killings as “diabolical”, “repugnant” and it “stained Protestantism”.[7] However, in an interview with ITN he stated that “The IRA have carried out worse murders than we had in Ballymoney over and over again”.[8]
Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy condemned the killings and stated “The Orange Order must recognize that its refusal to abide by the decision of the Parades Commission led to the murder of the Quinn boys”.[9]
Representatives of other groups from all sides of the constitutional issue in Northern Ireland also condemned the killings.[10]
The then Chelsea F.C. chairman, Ken Bates, offered a £100,000 reward for information leading to a conviction for the attackers.[11]
At the brothers’ Requiem Mass, the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Down and Connor, Dr. Walsh observed that “For all too long the airwaves and the printed page have been saturated with noises – strident, harsh, discordant noises – carrying words of hatred, of incitement, of recrimination, words not found in the vocabulary of Christianity. But the time for words is over. It’s now time for silence, a silence in which we will hear the voice of God.”
The Progressive Unionist Party, which has political links to the UVF, made no comment that the UVF was implicated in the attack.[13]
Conviction of Garfield Gilmour
Garfield Gilmour, a local loyalist, was found guilty of murder for his part in the attack and sentenced to life imprisonment in October 1999. He had driven the car which had transported the UVF unit containing Johnny McKay, brothers Raymond and Ivan Parke[14] to the Quinn home.[10] Gilmour was described at his trial as a hard working, farm machinery salesman who came from a middle-class background who was unwillingly part of the attack which killed the Quinn brothers. The judge described Gilmour as an “accomplished liar”.[15] Gilmour and his girlfriend Christina Lofthouse alleged that an uncle of the Quinn boys, Colm Quinn, had approached their daughter offering her a sweet, knowing it was a small piece of cannabis. Colm Quinn confirmed that the couple had made allegations against him previously that he was a drug dealer. He then had to flee the Carnany estate. However, returning to his old house three months before the fatal attack on his nephews, Quinn claimed he was confronted by Gilmour again and was warned he was “going to be sorted out”.[5]
The Orange Order released a press statement a year after the attack, stating, “According to today’s judgment the murders were a combination of a sectarian attack by the UVF and a personal grudge between Gilmour and the uncle of the three boys,” and voiced the “Order’s absolute commitment to ensuring that justice is done for their family.”[16]
Aftermath
After being released from hospital Chrissie Quinn returned to her mother’s native Rasharkin to live and decided to have the boys buried there. The boys were buried two days later in St Mary’s cemetery in Rasharkin after requiem Mass. Thousands of both Catholics and Protestants attended the funeral.[7]
A number of loyalist bands defied RUC requests not to play music while marching past the boy’s grandmother’s house in the days after the killings.[8]
In April 1999 the former home of the boys in Carnany Park was demolished and replaced with a children’s play park as a memorial.[8]
An uncle of the boys, Frankie Quinn, appeared in court in 2007 accused of stabbing Garfield Gilmour in Ballymoney. Quinn was successful in an application for bail.[17]
This is simply the story of a boy trying to grow up, survive, thrive, have fun & discover himself against a backdrop of events that might best be described as ‘explosive’, captivating & shocking the world for thirty long years.
Evening all , Im heading home to Belfast tomorrow for the Easter period and hopefully a trip down south to visit my bro and his family in County Meath , depending on a few factors which are out of my control 😜 Belfast will always be my home and although I look forward to visiting … Continue reading Belfast & Meath trip starts tomorrow→
Hi folks, Just a shortish blog post to wish you all a wonderful evening and a fantastic Xmas day. Some of you guys have followed me and my story for years now and during recent tragic soul destroying lows to a few joy filled epic highs you have been there to support , comfort and … Continue reading Merry Christmas to all my friends out there X→
Last chance to order before Xmas delivery cut-off period nxt Wednesday . A personally signed copy of my No.1 Best Selling book : A Belfast Child , which may be worth a few quid if my story is made into a movie – watch this space ! UK Orders Free postage for UK orders only … Continue reading A singed copy of my book for Xmas ?→
And Im happy to bribe you with a free giveaway 🎁 Read on for more detail… Ive doing a soft launch of my online shop : https://deadongifts.co.uk/ which I set up with my sister Mags and I need to drive some traffic to the store and start creating an online presence. The shop will be … Continue reading I need some help folks 😜→
Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles
28th October
Thursday 28 October 1971
A man was shot and mortally wounded, as he stood at the front door of his house, by a British soldier.
Monday 28 October 1974
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) killed two British soldiers in a bomb attack outside Ballykinlar British Army base, County Down.
[ NAI Records – October 1974. ]
Thursday 28 October 1976
Máire Drumm, then Vice-President of Sinn Féin (SF), was shot dead by Loyalist paramilitaries while she was a patient in the Mater Hospital, Crumlin Road, Belfast. An off duty member of the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) was shot dead by the IRA near Pomeroy, County Tyrone.
See: Máire Drumm
Sunday 28 October 1979
A British Army (BA) soldier and a Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officer died as a result of an Irish Republican Army (IRA) gun attack on a joint BA and RUC mobile patrol at Springfield Road, Belfast.
Tuesday 28 October 1980
Margaret Thatcher, then British Prime Minister, said that the British government would not make any concessions to those on hunger strike.
Friday 28 October 1983
George Terry, a former Sussex Chief Constable, published a report on the scandal at the Kincora boys’ home in Belfast. Terry said that he had found no evidence that civil servants, members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), or military intelligence, were involved in homosexual activities at the boys’ home nor had anyone tried to suppress information about the events.
[In spite of a number of investigations into the events surrounding Kincora many people in Northern Ireland remained convinced that some of the allegations were true.]
[ PRONI Records – October 1983.]
Thursday 28 October 1993
Two brothers, both Catholic civilians, were shot dead at their home near Lurgan by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF).
Friday 28 October 1994
Albert Reynolds, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), opened the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation in Dublin. The British ambassador to Ireland refused to attend the event because Sinn Féin (SF) representatives were present. The Catholic Reaction Force (CRF) announced a ceasefire. [The CRF was considered to be a cover name (pseudonym) used by the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA).]
Monday 28 October 1996
The Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) published a report, The Misrule of Law {external_link}, on the action of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) during the marching season. The report was critical of many aspects of the policing of the Drumcree standoff and its aftermath, particularly the use of plastic bullets. Patrick Mayhew, the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, met wit representatives of the Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) and the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) to discuss the issue of prisoners.
Wednesday 28 October 1998
It became apparent that Donegal Celtic, a Catholic soccer team based in west Belfast, would be playing an Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) team in a local cup competition. Sinn Féin (SF) called on Donegal Celtic to pull out of the match. [Following pressure on the team it reluctantly agreed to drop out of the competition.]
Thursday 28 October 1999
David Trimble and Gerry Adams continued discussions at Castle Buildings, Stormont, seeking a way out of the decommissioning logjam. They had been trying to put together a package of confidence building steps between their two parties to ensure the success of the Mitchell Review.
Saturday 28 October 2000
David Greer (21), a member of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), was shot dead in Mountcollyer Street in north Belfast following a brawl between members of rival Loyalist paramilitary groups. The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) was responsible for the killing. The killing was part of a feud between the UDA and the UVF.
There was another meeting of the Ulster Unionist Council (UUC), the policy-making body of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). At the meeting Jeffrey Donaldson, then Lagan Valley MP, put forward a motion calling on David Trimble, then leader of the UUP, to leave the Executive if the Irish Republican Army (IRA) failed to decommission. Trimble proposed a different motion that would commit him to preventing Sinn Féin (SF) ministers from taking part in the meetings of the cross-border bodies established under the Good Friday Agreement, until the IRA had fully engaged with the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD). Trimble won the motion by 445 votes to 374. Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), attacked Trimble for the latest moves.
Sunday 28 October 2001
There was serious rioting in the Limestone Road area of Belfast. Six blast bombs were thrown at Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers, 23 of whom were injured. British Army technical experts were called to deal with an unexploded device in nearby North Queen Street. A number of cars were also hijacked and burnt in the same area. There were also two blast bomb attacks in other areas of north Belfast.
One person was treated for shock when a blast bomb exploded at a house at Seaview drive, off the Shore Road. The South Armagh Farmers and Residents Group (SAFRG) together with Sinn Féin (SF) organised a protest at a British Army observation tower at Glassdrummond, near Crossmaglen, County Armagh. Police in riot gear were called to prevent the demonstrators from cutting their way through security fences. Six RUC officers were injured during the disturbances. The protesters called for ‘demilitarisation’ of the south Armagh area.
[An Irishman died in clashes between Colombian troops and the country’s second-largest guerrilla group. The man was believed to be wearing rebel clothing. The Colombian army did not know whether the man was a member of the left-wing National Liberation Army, or ELN, or a guerrilla kidnap victim.]
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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.
16 People lost their lives on the 28th October between 1972 – 2000
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28 October 1972
Thomas McKay, (29)
nfNI Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA) Shot by sniper while on British Army (BA) mobile patrol, Bishop Street, Derry.
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28 October 1973 Stephen Hall, (27)
nfNI Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA) Shot by sniper while on British Army (BA) foot patrol, Market Square, Crossmaglen, County Armagh.
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28 October 1973
John Doherty, (31)
nfNIRI Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA) Originally from County Donegal. Off duty. Shot while visiting his mother’s home, near Lifford, County Donegal
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28 October 1974
Michael Swanick, (20)
nfNI Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA) Killed in van bomb attack outside Ballykinlar British Army (BA) base, County Down.
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28 October 1974
Alan Coughlan, (22)
nfNI Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA) Killed in van bomb attack outside Ballykinlar British Army (BA) base, County Down
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28 October 1976 Stanley Adams, (29)
Protestant Status: Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA) Off duty. Shot while delivering mail, Altmore, near Pomeroy, County Tyrone.
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28 October 1976
Maire Drumm, (56)
Catholic Status: Civilian Political Activist (CivPA),
Killed by: non-specific Loyalist group (LOY) Vice-President of Sinn Fein (SF). Shot while patient in Mater Hospital, Crumlin Road, Belfast.
See: Máire Drumm: Life & death
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28 October 1979 David Bellamy, (31)
nfNI Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA) Shot during gun attack on British Army (BA) / Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) mobile patrol leaving Springfield Road Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) base, Belfast
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28 October 1979
Gerry Davidson, (26)
Protestant Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA) Shot during gun attack on Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) mobile patrol leaving Springfield Road British Army (BA) / Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) base, Belfast. He died 19 November 1979.
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28 October 1981
Edward Brogan, (28)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) Found shot at rubbish dump, Shantallow, Derry. Alleged informer.
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28 October 1983
John Hallawell, (35)
Protestant Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA) Shot shortly after leaving house, Sheelin Park, Ballymagroarty, Derry.
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28 October 1987
Patrick Deery, (31)
Catholic Status: Irish Republican Army (IRA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA) Killed in premature bomb explosion while travelling in car, Cromore Gardens, Creggan, Derry.
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28 October 1987
Edward McSheffrey, (29)
Catholic Status: Irish Republican Army (IRA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA) Killed in premature bomb explosion while travelling in car, Cromore Gardens, Creggan, Derry.
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28 October 1993
Gerard Cairns, (22)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) Shot at his home, The Slopes, Bleary, near Lurgan, County Down.
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28 October 1993
Rory Cairns, (18)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) Shot at his home, The Slopes, Bleary, near Lurgan, County Down.
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28 October 2000
David Greer, (21)
Protestant Status: Ulster Defence Association (UDA),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) Shot while walking along Mountcollyer Street, Tigers Bay, Belfast. Ulster Defence Association (UDA) / Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) feud.
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This is simply the story of a boy trying to grow up, survive, thrive, have fun & discover himself against a backdrop of events that might best be described as ‘explosive’, captivating & shocking the world for thirty long years.
Evening all , Im heading home to Belfast tomorrow for the Easter period and hopefully a trip down south to visit my bro and his family in County Meath , depending on a few factors which are out of my control 😜 Belfast will always be my home and although I look forward to visiting … Continue reading Belfast & Meath trip starts tomorrow→
Hi folks, Just a shortish blog post to wish you all a wonderful evening and a fantastic Xmas day. Some of you guys have followed me and my story for years now and during recent tragic soul destroying lows to a few joy filled epic highs you have been there to support , comfort and … Continue reading Merry Christmas to all my friends out there X→
Last chance to order before Xmas delivery cut-off period nxt Wednesday . A personally signed copy of my No.1 Best Selling book : A Belfast Child , which may be worth a few quid if my story is made into a movie – watch this space ! UK Orders Free postage for UK orders only … Continue reading A singed copy of my book for Xmas ?→
And Im happy to bribe you with a free giveaway 🎁 Read on for more detail… Ive doing a soft launch of my online shop : https://deadongifts.co.uk/ which I set up with my sister Mags and I need to drive some traffic to the store and start creating an online presence. The shop will be … Continue reading I need some help folks 😜→
Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles
27th October
Wednesday 27 October 1971
David Tilbury (29) and Angus Stevens (18), both members of the British Army (BA), were killed by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) during an attack on their observation post in Rosemount, Derry.
Ronald Dodds (34), a Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officer, was shot dead by the IRA near Toome, County Antrim. David Powell (22), a member of the British Army, was killed by a landmine planted by the IRA at Kinawley, County Fermanagh.
A man was found shot dead in Dublin in an apparent internal Saor Eire dispute.
Gerard Newe, was appointed as Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Department at Stormont. He was the first Catholic to serve in any Northern Ireland government since 1920 and was appointed by Brian Faulkner, then Northern Ireland Prime Minister. Newe was appointed to try to improve community relations.
Monday 27 October 1980
Hunger Strike Began Seven Republican prisoners began a hunger-strike to protest at the ending of special category status. One of their key demands was that they should be allowed to wear their own clothes rather than prison uniforms. The Republican prisoners viewed themselves as ‘prisoners of war’ and were refusing to be treated, as they saw it, as ordinary criminals.
[The tactic of the hunger strike has a special place in Republican history and it was to have a profound affect on Nationalists in Northern Ireland. This particular strike was to be called off on 18 December 1980. However, it also marked an escalation of the campaign which was to see a larger more serious hunger strike take place in 1981.]
Wednesday 27 October 1982
Three Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers where killed when the Irish Republican Army (IRA) detonated a land mine as the RUC patrol passed near Oxford Island, near Lurgan, County Armagh
Thursday 27 October 1988
Tom King
Three people from the Republic of Ireland were found guilty of conspiracy to murder Tom King, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Friday 27 October 1989
It was revealed that the religious balance of the Northern Ireland Office was 78 per cent Protestant.
Saturday 27 October 1990
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) conference was held in Newcastle, County Down. James Molyneaux, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), attacked Articles 2 and 3 of the Irish Constitution.
Wednesday 27 October 1993
Dick Spring, then Tánaiste (deputy Irish Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs), speaking in the Dáil outlined proposals for sustainable peace that involved six “democratic principles”. Peace rallies were held at a number of venues in the Republic of Ireland including Dublin and Galway.
Thursday 27 October 1994
The European Parliament proposed that the European Union should provide £40 million to the International Fund for Ireland (IFI).
Friday 27 October 1995
Ian Paisley,
Ian Paisley, then leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), together with Peter Robinson, then deputy leader of the DUP, held a meeting at the White House, Washington, with Al Gore, then United States Vice-President, and Anthony Lake, then United States National Security Adviser.
Sunday 27 October 1996
An article in The Observer (a London based newspaper) on the financing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), claimed that the IRA was obtaining funds by smuggling tobacco products and producing pirate versions of video tapes
Monday 27 October 1997
The Parades Commissions published three booklets which were intended to act as a guide to the issue in Northern Ireland: Procedural Rules, Guidelines, and Code of Conduct.
Alistair Graham, then Chairman of the Parades Commission, announced that details of decisions taken by the Commission on contentious parades would be made public five days in advance.
[The various Loyal Orders all criticised the powers of the Commission and said that they would have nothing to do with it.] Roy Magee, who had helped broker the Loyalist ceasefire in 1994, offered to mediate in the feud between the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF).
The News Letter, a Northern Ireland paper with a mainly unionist readership, published the results of a telephone poll on the multi-party talks at Stormont. Of the 13,000 readers who took part 47 per cent said that Ian Paisley, then leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), had adopted the right strategy whereas only 24 per cent supported David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). [The UUP criticised the unscientific nature of the poll.]
Wednesday 27 October 1999
Ed Moloney, Northern editor of the Sunday Tribune (a Dublin based newspaper), won his legal battle against a judge’s decision ordering him to hand over his interview notes with loyalist paramilitary William Stobie. Stobie had been charged with murdering Pat Finucane, a Belfast solicitor killed on 12 February 1989. Costs, estimated at £160,000, were awarded to the newspaper. Bomb disposal officers defused a bomb left at the home of Liam Shannon, then a prominent Republican, in Belfast. Loyalist paramilitaries had planted the device.
Saturday 27 October 2001
The 110-member Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) policy-making executive met to hear a recommendation from David Trimble, then leader of the UUP, that their ministers should retake their posts in the Northern Ireland Executive. The executive endorsed Trimble’s plan and called on the UUP MLAs to support his re-election as First Minister.
[However, two UUP MLAs, Peter Weir and Pauline Armitage, have said that at the moment they could not vote for Trimble. The vote is likely to take place on Friday 2 November 2001.] There were further disturbances during the evening in the Glenbryn area, off the Ardoyne Road, 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.
9 People lost their lives on the 27th October between 1971 – 1982
————————————————————–
27 October 1971 David Tilbury, (29) nfNI Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in bomb attack on British Army (BA) observation post at the rear of Rosemount Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) / British Army (BA) base, Derry.
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27 October 1971
Angus Stevens, (18) nfNI Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in bomb attack on British Army (BA) observation post at the rear of Rosemount Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) / British Army (BA) base, Derry.
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27 October 1971 Peter Graham, (26) nfNIRI Status: Saor Eire (SE),
Killed by: Saor Eire (SE)
From Dublin. Found shot at his flat, St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin. Internal Saor Eire dispute.
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27 October 1971
Ronald Dodd, (34)
Protestant Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot by sniper when RUC mobile patrol arrived at scene of fire in a house, Gallagh, near Toome, County Antrim.
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27 October 1971 David Powell, (22) nfNI Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in land mine attack on British Army (BA) Armoured Personnel Carrier, Kinawley, County Fermanagh.
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27 October 1974
Anthony Duffy, (18)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Found shot in farmyard, off Mullantine Road, near Portadown, County Armagh.
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27 October 1982
Sean Quinn, (37)
Catholic Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in land mine attack on armoured Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) patrol car, Oxford Island, near Lurgan, County Armagh.
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27 October 1982
Alan McCloy, (34)
Protestant Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in land mine attack on armoured Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) patrol car, Oxford Island, near Lurgan, County Armagh.
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27 October 1982
Paul Hamilton, (26)
Protestant Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in land mine attack on armoured Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) patrol car, Oxford Island, near Lurgan, County Armagh.
————————————————————–
–
This is simply the story of a boy trying to grow up, survive, thrive, have fun & discover himself against a backdrop of events that might best be described as ‘explosive’, captivating & shocking the world for thirty long years.
Evening all , Im heading home to Belfast tomorrow for the Easter period and hopefully a trip down south to visit my bro and his family in County Meath , depending on a few factors which are out of my control 😜 Belfast will always be my home and although I look forward to visiting … Continue reading Belfast & Meath trip starts tomorrow→
Hi folks, Just a shortish blog post to wish you all a wonderful evening and a fantastic Xmas day. Some of you guys have followed me and my story for years now and during recent tragic soul destroying lows to a few joy filled epic highs you have been there to support , comfort and … Continue reading Merry Christmas to all my friends out there X→
Last chance to order before Xmas delivery cut-off period nxt Wednesday . A personally signed copy of my No.1 Best Selling book : A Belfast Child , which may be worth a few quid if my story is made into a movie – watch this space ! UK Orders Free postage for UK orders only … Continue reading A singed copy of my book for Xmas ?→
And Im happy to bribe you with a free giveaway 🎁 Read on for more detail… Ive doing a soft launch of my online shop : https://deadongifts.co.uk/ which I set up with my sister Mags and I need to drive some traffic to the store and start creating an online presence. The shop will be … Continue reading I need some help folks 😜→
On 26 October 1981, police received warnings that bombs on a busy shopping street in central London would explode within thirty minutes. A booby-trapped improvised explosive device (IED), planted by the IRA, was discovered in the basement toilet of a Wimpy restaurant on Oxford Street. While attempting to defuse the bomb, Howorth was killed instantly when it detonated.[2]
Howorth was survived by his wife Ann (died 25 November 2003), his son Steven and his daughter Susan. In 1983, he was posthumously awarded the George Medal for gallantry.
In 1985, IRA volunteers Paul Kavanagh and Thomas Quigley, both from Belfast, were convicted of his murder (along with other attacks including the Chelsea Barracks nail bomb in September 1981) and each handed five life sentences with a minimum tariff of thirty-five years. They were released in 1999 under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement
A member of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and his six-month old daughter were killed in an Irish Republican Army (IRA) attack in Germany.
Tuesday 26 October 1993
Gerry Adams carrying the coffin of IRA bomber Thomas Begley in 1993
Two Catholic civilians were shot dead and five others injured, in a Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF), a cover name (pseudonym) used by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), gun attack at Kennedy Way in west Belfast.
At the funeral service of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) member killed in the Shankill Road Bombing on 23 October 1993, Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), helped carry the coffin.
The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) announced that the oath of allegiance to the Queen made by Queen’s Councils (QCs) in Northern Ireland would be repealed. Unionists criticised the decision.
Sunday 26 October 1997
A Protestant parish hall in Millfield, Belfast, was damaged in an arson attack. The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) rerouted a planned parade by Ballynafeign Orange Lodge through the Nationalist lower Ormeau Road area of Belfast.
Monday 26 October 1998
Hew Pike (Sir),
Hew Pike (Sir), then a Lieutenant-General in the British Army, became the commanding officer of the army in Northern Ireland. Ronnie Flanagan, then Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), announced that Whiterock army base in west Belfast would close. Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), said that there was no chance of the North-South Ministerial Council being established before the 31 October 1998 deadline.
David Trimble, then First Minister designate, said that the 31 October was not an absolute deadline. Martin McGuinness, the Vice-President of Sinn Féin (SF), accused Unionists of trying to rewrite the Good Friday Agreement. In a book of memoirs Conor Cruise O’Brien said that Unionists may one day have to negotiate entry into a United Ireland.
[Following the revelation of the book’s content O’Brien felt obliged to resigned from the United Kingdom Unionist Party (UKUP).]
Tuesday 26 October 1999
Two men e arrested near Dungannon, County Tyrone, after the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) discovered explosives in their van. Army technical experts then carried out a controlled explosion on the vehicle. The men are thought to be involved with dissident Loyalists; the van contained a pipe-bomb and two hand grenades.
Clifford Peebles
One of the men arrested was Clifford Peebles, then a preacher based in Woodvale in north Belfast.
[The men appeared in Cookstown courthouse on 29 October 1999.]
Thursday 26 October 2000 A pipe-b
A pipe-bomb was discovered underneath an Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officer’s car close to the courthouse in Antrim. A fuse had been lit but had burned out without detonating the pipe-bomb. Loyalist paramilitaries were blamed for the attack on the officer who was a witness in a Northern Ireland arms trial.
Friday 26 October 2001
A British Army soldier (18) was seriously injured when Loyalist paramilitaries threw a pipe-bomb at a group of soldiers in the Ardoyne Road, north Belfast, at 9.00pm (2100BST).
The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) claimed that the soldiers had been lured into an ambush and that the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) was responsible for the attack. Several RUC officers were also injured in the attack. Loyalist paramilitaries carried out a pipe-bomb attack on the home of a Catholic family in the Waterside area of Derry. The attack happened shortly after midnight (0015BST) and there was extensive damage to the house but no injuries to the six occupants. The dwelling was home to a Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) councillor.
[The RUC said that it was the most powerful pipe-bomb ever to have been used and it contained four inch nails. The incident was part of an extensive series of on-going attacks across Northern Ireland on Nationalist political representatives and Catholic families.]
A Catholic boy (14) was attacked and beaten up by a gang of Loyalist youths in Galgorm Road, Ballymena, County Antrim
. [The boy is believed to be Kieran O’Loan the son of Nuala O’Loan, then Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman, and it is thought he was singled out for attack.]
Two people were arrested during the the Loyalist protest outside the Holy Cross Girls’ Primary School in Ardoyne, north Belfast. Loyalists had tried to block the road and prevent parents from gaining access to the school.
—————————————————————————————–
———————————————————————————
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 26th October between 1971 – 1993
————————————————————–
26 October 1971
Robert McFarland, (26)
Protestant Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA) Found shot in Altcar Street, Short Strand, Belfast.
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26 October 1976
Joseph Wilson, (55)
Protestant Status: Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA) Off duty. Shot at his workplace, supermarket, Eglish Street, Armagh.
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26 October 1981
Kenneth Howorth, (49) nfNIB Status: British Police (BP),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA) Killed while attempting to defuse bomb in a cafe, Oxford Street, London.
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26 October 1983
Gerard Barkley, (27)
Catholic Status: Irish National Liberation Army (INLA),
Killed by: Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) Found shot near Redhills, County Cavan. Alleged informer.
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA) Killed by booby trap bomb attached to his car at his workplace, postal sorting office, Tomb Street, off Corporation Street, Belfast.
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26 October 1988
Huge McCrone, (20)
Protestant Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA) Off duty. Shot by sniper while driving his car shortly after leaving Kinawley Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) base, County Fermanagh.
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26 October 1989 Maheshkumar Islania, (34) nfNIE Status: Royal Air Force (RAF),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA) Off duty. Shot during gun attack on his car while at petrol filling station, Wildenrath, West Germany.
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26 October 1989 Niurati Islania, (0) nfNIE Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA) Shot during gun attack on her Royal Air Force (RAF) member father’s car while at petrol filling station, Wildenrath, West Germany.
————————————————————–
26 October 1990
Thomas Casey, (57)
Catholic Status: Civilian Political Activist (CivPA),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) Sinn Fein (SF) member. Shot outside neighbour’s home, Kildress, near Cookstown, County Tyrone.
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26 October 1993 James Cameron, (54)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) Shot at his workplace, Council Depot, Kennedy Way, Andersonstown, Belfast.
————————————————————–
26 October 1993
Mark Rodgers, (28)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) Shot at his workplace, Council Depot, Kennedy Way, Andersonstown, Belfast.
————————————————————–
This is simply the story of a boy trying to grow up, survive, thrive, have fun & discover himself against a backdrop of events that might best be described as ‘explosive’, captivating & shocking the world for thirty long years.
Evening all , Im heading home to Belfast tomorrow for the Easter period and hopefully a trip down south to visit my bro and his family in County Meath , depending on a few factors which are out of my control 😜 Belfast will always be my home and although I look forward to visiting … Continue reading Belfast & Meath trip starts tomorrow→
Hi folks, Just a shortish blog post to wish you all a wonderful evening and a fantastic Xmas day. Some of you guys have followed me and my story for years now and during recent tragic soul destroying lows to a few joy filled epic highs you have been there to support , comfort and … Continue reading Merry Christmas to all my friends out there X→
Last chance to order before Xmas delivery cut-off period nxt Wednesday . A personally signed copy of my No.1 Best Selling book : A Belfast Child , which may be worth a few quid if my story is made into a movie – watch this space ! UK Orders Free postage for UK orders only … Continue reading A singed copy of my book for Xmas ?→
And Im happy to bribe you with a free giveaway 🎁 Read on for more detail… Ive doing a soft launch of my online shop : https://deadongifts.co.uk/ which I set up with my sister Mags and I need to drive some traffic to the store and start creating an online presence. The shop will be … Continue reading I need some help folks 😜→
That was the codename given to Alfredo “Freddie” Scappaticci by his spy handlers at the top secret Force Research Unit (FRU).
As chief of the IRA’s Nutting Squad, who shot victims through the head, he is thought to have killed at least 40 people over 25 years.
Yet at the same time Stakeknife — who always taped his victims screaming for mercy as he tortured them — was pocketing £80,000 a year from the Brits for information that led to the deaths and imprisonment of dozens of IRA members.
Families of some of his victims claim Stakeknife was allowed to get away with murder because he was the “jewel in the crown” of informants.
Britain has always said it did not deal with the IRA during the Troubles, but a new probe could blow that assertion out of the water
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Gen. John Wilsey confirms: Stakeknife is Freddie Scappaticci
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This week Northern Ireland’s director of public prosecutions, Barra McGrory, ordered an inquiry into Stakeknife. He announced he had asked PSNI Chief Constable George Hamilton to look into the case.
PSNI Chief Constable George Hamilton
It comes as three investigations into alleged police and Army collusion in around 24 murders have been collectively examined by Northern Ireland’s Police Ombudsman.
A major Stakeknife investigation promises justice at last for the relatives of his victims, who will finally hear just how much he and British military intelligence were involved in Northern Ireland’s “dirty war”.
Shauna Moreland,
People like Shauna Moreland, 31, whose mother Caroline was tortured then executed by Stakeknife and his Nutting Squad in 1994, two months before the IRA ceasefire.
The bloodied body of the 34-year-old mother of three was found dumped on wasteland in Co Fermanagh. She had been held and tortured for 15 days for telling police about the location of a single rifle.
In one of Stakeknife’s sick recordings, released after her death, Caroline is heard pleading for her life.
Victim … Caroline Moreland
Remembering the last day she saw her mother, Shauna recalls: “It was just a normal day. She was in the kitchen ironing. She was going off for the day on a bus run somewhere.
“I was going over to my granny’s. It was just the normal getting stuff together, giving her a kiss and a hug and saying ‘I love you, goodbye’.”
She adds: “I was ten at the time she was killed. She was missing for 15 days and I don’t have memories of all that time, it was a hard time.
“She is on my mind always, it is every day. And I have a memory of the day I found out she was dead.”
Shauna believes her mother, like many of Stakeknife’s victims, was “sacrificed” by the British military to protect their agent.
When Stakeknife, now 68, was finally unmasked in 2003, he was allowed to flee Northern Ireland to a safe house abroad amid allegations that the British secret services were protecting him.
Martin Ingram, the former FRU member who first outed Stakeknife, said the double agent was allowed to kill because he was too valuable an agent to British military intelligence.
It is alleged that even when they had prior knowledge of his actions they did not stop him. And his victims are said to have included other military intelligence agents.
Martin says: “He was an agent who killed his own people. Simple as that.”
Shortly after he was outed as Stakeknife, Scappaticci — or “Scap” to his IRA pals — undertook a High Court action in the UK asking the British Government to publicly deny he was an agent. They refused, saying to do so would put other agents in danger.
They have consistently refused to comment on Stakeknife but it was revealed in court documents during another case that Scappaticci was being given security by the British Government at that time.
Since then there have been constant calls for Stakeknife to be prosecuted for the crimes he allegedly committed.
Shauna Moreland says: “Someone, somewhere is sitting in an office and deciding what I can and cannot know about my mother’s murder. That’s hard, really hard.” Earlier this year she confronted former IRA commander and Northern Ireland’s Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, demanding something was done about Stakeknife.
Shauna said McGuinness assured her he was “looking into it” but she has heard nothing since.
Though pleased with this week’s announcement that Stakeknife WILL finally be investigated, she adds: “Justice is going to take a while, it’s not going to happen overnight.
“But I am hopeful we will get there in some way. There will be some sort of closure to this, I have to believe that . . . My hope is that one day the public might be told exactly what happened and wh
Why someone turned a blind eye, despite knowing the identity of those involved in her mother’s murder, before and after it took place.
Martin Ingram
Talking about why he unmasked Stakeknife, Martin Ingram says: “Certain activities of the FRU sickened me.I believe genuine secrets deserve to be protected, acquiescence in murder does not.”
Martin had not handled Stakeknife but was aware of his existence and what the FRU was doing with him.
He outed him to a journalist in 2000 after picking up Killing Range, a book by IRA member Eamon Collins in which Stakeknife was said to have joked about the killing of an informer. It horrified Martin because he knew Stakeknife had been the FRU’s top grass.
When he tried to whistleblow in the Press he was prosecuted by the British Government, his house burgled and important documents stolen. It was three years later that Stakeknife’s identity was finally revealed in the newspapers.
When Stakeknife was outed Scappaticci was, according to sources, ordered by the IRA to “go on the attack and brazen it out”.
He spoke to reporters on his doorstep. He pointed to the brickdust stains on his shorts and said, matter-of-factly: “Listen, I’ve been building blocks all day. Does it look like I’ve been getting £80,000 a year?”
He also said he was suffering “depression and stress” as a result of the allegations, and told Irish paper the Sunday Business Post: “My life’s been turned upside down.
“I’m not a religious person but I’ve been in touch with the priests. It’s for spiritual help.”
Scappaticci later said: “According to the Press I am guilty of 40 murders. But I am telling you this now, after this has settled I want to meet the families of the people that they said I murdered.
“And when I do I will stand in front of them and say, ‘I didn’t do it. I had no part in it’. And I will look them straight in the eye when I do it.”
But within weeks he had gone into hiding. His whereabouts remain unknown. Among those who would like to look him in the eye is the brother of Robin Hill, who was executed by the Nutting Squad in 1992.
Robin was kidnapped and held for a week before he was shot dead and dumped in a back alley in the Beechmount area of West Belfast.
Speaking of Stakeknife, Randolph Hill, 54, said, yesterday: “If I knew where he was, I would call at his door. It is good that the police are looking into all of this but there is a lot to get through to get to the bottom of it.
“The only thing that would satisfy me is an international investigation, an outside police force, outside the UK or Ireland, looking at it.”
SHORT, stocky and swarthy, Freddie “Stakeknife” Scappaticci is an unlikely looking secret agent.
His Italian grandfather was an ice-cream seller who migrated to Ireland in the 1920s and Freddie grew up in a small, red-bricked terraced house in West Belfast.
In his youth he was a talented footballer who tried out for Nottingham Forest.
A builder by trade, Freddie joined the IRA in 1970 and was interned twice — once with current Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams.
A committed republican, he quickly rose through the ranks to become chief of the Nutting Squad, but after falling out with a fellow IRA man he was given a brutal punishment beating.
He approached British military intelligence in around 1976 and was handed over to the FRU, which gave him his codename.
Such was the quality of Stakeknife’s information that soon a whole department, known as the Rat Hole, was set up to handle him. One of his biggest “successes” as far as the FRU was concerned was the “Death on the Rock” SAS ambush of three IRA members, believed to be planning a bomb attack in Gibraltar in 1988.
Stakeknife’s tip led to the three, who included a woman, being killed before they could carry out the murderous plot.
Such coups are said to be why even when Stakeknife warned the FRU he had been asked to target a suspect informer — even requesting the person be moved to the UK — the killing was allowed to go ahead.
Some of the victims are said to have included people the FRU knew were British agents, sometimes working for the Royal Ulster Constabulary.
The FRU is said to have gone to extreme lengths to protect its “golden egg”.
In one case it is said to have set up an innocent 66-year old pensioner to be assassinated instead of Stakeknife.
Having got wind of a plot by the Ulster Freedom Fighters to assassinate the top agent it handed over a fake dossier suggesting the target was actually another Italian — retired taxi driver Francisco Notorantonio, who died in a hail of bullets.
Stakeknife had his own dedicated handlers and agents and it was suggested that he was important enough that MI5 set up an office dedicated solely to him. Rumours suggested that he was being paid at least £80,000 a year and had a bank account in Gibraltar.[3]
Serious allegations have emerged to the effect that the British government allowed up to forty people to be killed via the IRA’s Internal Security Unit or “Nutting Squad” to protect his cover.[4] In 1987 Sam McCrory, an Ulster Defence Association/”Ulster Freedom Fighters” member, killed the 66-year-old Francisco Notarantonio at his home in Ballymurphy in West Belfast.[5] The UDA/UFF had discovered that a senior IRA member was working for the FRU.[clarification needed] It has been alleged that FRU agent Brian Nelson gave Notarantonio’s name to the UDA/UFF to protect the identity of the real spy.
On 11 May 2003, several newspapers named Freddie Scappaticci as Stakeknife. Scappaticci denied the claims and launched an unsuccessful legal action to have the British government state he was not their agent.[6] He later left Northern Ireland and was rumoured to be living in Cassino, Italy. There were also reported sightings in Tenerife.[7]
A report in a February 2007 edition of the Belfast News Letter reported that a cassette recording allegedly of Scappaticci talking about the number of murders he was involved in via the “Nutting Squad”, as well as his work as an Army agent, had been lodged with the PSNI in 2004 and subsequently passed to the Stevens Inquiry in 2005.[8]
The former British Intelligence agent who worked in the FRU known as “Martin Ingram” has written a book titled Stakeknife since the original allegations came to light in which it says Scappaticci was the agent in question.
In October 2015 is was announced that Scappaticci was to be investigated by the Police Service of Northern Ireland over at least 24 murders.[9]
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Force Research Unit
Republican mural explaining collusion between Force Research Unit operatives and the Ulster Defence Regiment
The FRU used double agents to infiltrate Irish republican and Ulster loyalist paramilitary groups.[2] Its existence was revealed in the 1990s by the Stevens Inquiries. The inquiries found that—in its efforts to defeat the Provisional IRA—the FRU used these agents to help loyalists to kill people, including civilians. This has been confirmed by some former members of the unit.[3] The unit also mounted undercover surveillance operations.
Training
Because this unit was an Intelligence Corps-sponsored unit, all FRU personnel were trained at a “Top Secret” intelligence facility in Templer Barracks, Ashford, known as the Specialised Intelligence Wing (SIW)[citation needed] (often wrongly called the Special Intelligence Wing[citation needed]). The Specialised Intelligence Wing was part of the School of Service Intelligence within Templer Barracks and was commanded by an Intelligence Corps Lieutenant-Colonel. The Senior Instructor was always an Intelligence Corps officer but Directing Staff (DS) were drawn from a variety of British Army units, including Special Forces. The unit was simply referred to as “The Manor” by soldiers because the unit was based in Repton Manor, a grade 2 listed building. Repton Manor also contained the Photographic Section run by Royal Air Force personnel. There were additional pre-fabricated buildings at the rear of the manor house used by SIW’s L Branch who had the responsibility of re-settling and protecting former high-value Irish informers and agents throughout the United Kingdom and abroad. Much FRU training took place nearby at the Cinque Ports Ranges in Hythe and Lydd (Northern Ireland Training and Advisory Team) and at Overhill Camp, Cheriton, Folkestone (an Intelligence Corps sub-unit). The barn and stables behind Repton Manor were used to keep surveillance-adapted cars and vans which were used by soldiers for surveillance tasks.[citation needed]
In the mid 1980s, the FRU recruited Brian Nelson as a double agent inside the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). The UDA was a legal Ulster loyalist paramilitary group that had been involved in hundreds of attacks on Catholic and nationalist civilians, as well as a handful on republican paramilitaries. The FRU helped Nelson become the UDA’s chief intelligence officer.[4] In 1988, weapons were shipped to loyalists from South Africa under Nelson’s supervision.[4] Through Nelson, the FRU helped the UDA to target people for assassination. FRU commanders say their plan was to make the UDA “more professional” by helping it to kill republican activists and prevent it from killing uninvolved Catholic civilians.[2] They say if someone was under threat, agents like Nelson were to inform the FRU, who were then to alert the police.[2]Gordon Kerr, who ran the FRU from 1987 to 1991, claimed Nelson and the FRU saved over 200 lives in this way.[2][5] However, the Stevens Inquiries found evidence that only two lives were saved and said many loyalist attacks could have been prevented but were allowed to go ahead.[5] The Stevens team believes that Nelson was responsible for at least 30 murders and many other attacks, and that many of the victims were uninvolved civilians.[5] One of the most prominent victims was solicitor Pat Finucane. Although Nelson was imprisoned in 1992, FRU intelligence continued to help the UDA and other loyalist groups.[6][7] From 1992 to 1994, loyalists were responsible for more deaths than republicans for the first time since the 1960s.[8]
Allegations exist that the FRU sought restriction orders in advance of a number of loyalist paramilitary attacks in order to facilitate easy access to and escape from their target. A restriction order is a de-confliction agreement to restrict patrolling or surveillance in an area over a specified period. This de-confliction activity was carried out at a weekly Tasking and Co-ordination Group which included representatives of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, MI5 and the British Army. It is claimed the FRU asked for restriction orders to be placed on areas where they knew loyalist paramilitaries were going to attack.[9]
Alleged infiltration of republican paramilitary groups
FRU are also alleged to have handled agents within republican paramilitary groups. A number of agents are suspected to have been handled by the FRU including IRA units who planted bombs and assassinated.[citation needed] Attacks are said to have taken place involving FRU-controlled agents highly placed within the IRA. The main agent to have been uncovered so far was codenamed “Stakeknife“. There is a debate as to whether this agent is IRA member Freddie Scappaticci or another, as yet unidentified, IRA member.[10]
“Stakeknife” is thought to have been a member of the IRA’s Internal Security Unit – a unit responsible for counter-intelligence, interrogation and court martial of informers within the IRA. It is believed that “Stakeknife” was used by the FRU to influence the outcome of investigations conducted by the IRA’s Internal Security Unit into the activities of IRA volunteers.
It is alleged that in 1997 the UDA came into possession of details relating to the identity of the FRU-controlled IRA volunteer codenamed “Stakeknife”. It is further alleged that the UDA, unaware of this IRA volunteer’s value to the FRU, planned to assassinate him. It is alleged that after the FRU discovered “Stakeknife” was in danger from UDA assassination they used Brian Nelson to persuade the UDA to assassinate Francisco Notarantonio instead, a Belfast pensioner who had been interned as an Irish republican in the 1940s.[11] The killing of Notarantonio was claimed by the UFF at the time.[12] Following the killing of Notarantonio, unaware of the involvement of the FRU, the IRA assassinated two UDA leaders in reprisal attacks. It has been alleged that the FRU secretly passed details of the two UDA leaders to the IRA via “Stakeknife” in an effort to distract attention from “Stakeknife” as a possible informer
1969 was a year of rising tension, violence and change for the people of Northern Ireland. Rioting in Derry’s Bogside led to the deployment of British troops and a shortlived, uneasy truce. The British army soon found itself engaged in an undercover war against the Provisional IRA, which was to last for more than twenty years.
In this enthralling and controversial book, Martin Dillon, author of the bestselling The Shankill Butchers, examines the roles played by the Provisional IRA, the State forces, the Irish Government and the British Army during this troubled period. He unravels the mystery of war in which informers, agents and double agents operate, revealing disturbing facts about the way in which the terrorists and the Intelligence Agencies target, undermine and penetrate each other’s ranks.
The Dirty War is investigative reporting at its very best, containing startling disclosures and throwing new light on previously inexplicable events.
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Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles
25th October
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Monday 25 October 1971
A man died two days after being shot during an Irish Republican Army (IRA) attack on the British Army (BA) in Belfast.
Thursday 25 October 1979
Humphrey Atkins, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, announced that he was going to invite the four main parties (Ulster Unionist Party, UUP; Democratic Unionist Party, DUP; Social Democratic and Labour Party, SDLP; and Alliance Party, APNI) to a conference held at Stormont to discuss potential political settlements. The UUP rejected the invitation and called on the government to introduce a system of two-tier local government. [At the time of the Atkins initiative there was little support for another round of talks and some commentators believed the initiative was a response to try to ease growing American pressure for action.]
Saturday 25 October 1981
By this date most Republican prisoners had ended their ‘blanket protest’.
Thursday 25 October 1984
Nineteen Republican prisoners appeared in court on charges related to the killing of a Prison Officer.
[The men had been part of the group of 38 who escaped from the Maze Prison on 25 September 1983.]
Friday 25 October 1991
The Fair Employment Commission (FEC) announced that a Belfast company had been disqualified from receiving government contracts because it did not comply with the fair employment legislation. The company had failed to provide details of the religious composition of its staff.
Monday 25 October 1993
The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) shot and killed Sean Fox (72), a Catholic pensioner, at his home in Harmin Park, Glengormley, near Belfast.
[After the killing the UVF rang a Belfast newsroom to claim responsibility and also stated that its members had spent over an hour interrogating Fox before killing him.]
A Catholic civilian died two days after being shot in Belfast. Thousands of (Protestant) workers from Harland and Wolff shipbuilders and the Shorts factory took time off work to walk to the scene of the Shankill Road Bombing.
Wednesday 25 October 1995
Mary Robinson, then President of the Republic of Ireland, travelled to London for a first public engagement with the Queen. The meeting was to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of Queen’s University, Belfast, University College, Cork, and University College, Galway. Evidence was heard in a Northern Ireland court, for the first time, in the trial of a man charged with attempted murder of the Republic of Ireland.
Friday 25 October 1996
Patrick Mayhew, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, stated that there would be no concessions for Loyalist prisoners as a “reward” for the continuing ceasefire.
Saturday 25 October 1997
Glen Greer (28), a Protestant man, died in a car-bomb attack in Bangor, County Down. His killing was thought to have been part of a Loyalist feud. Greer was a father of three children and his partner was expecting a fourth child.
[The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) blamed the breakdown in the Combined Loyalist Military Command (CLMC) ceasefire for this bombing and other violence between the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF).]
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) held their annual conference in Newcastle, County Down. There was some criticism of the fact that the UUP was participating in the multi-party talks. David Trimble, then leader of the UUP, said that the party would not accept “any Trojan horse that would be a vehicle that will trundle us into a United Ireland”.
Monday 25 October 1999
A cache of weapons believed to belong to the dissident republican group the “real” Irish Republican Army (rIRA) was uncovered near Stamullen in County Meath, close to the spot where an underground firing range was discovered on 20 October 1999. Garda Síochána (the Irish police) said the new cache contained a type of rocket launcher – an RPG 18 – never before seen in arms finds on either side of the Border. Peter Mandelson, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, held a meeting with Ronnie Flanagan, then Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). Mandelson said the that the proposed Patten reforms would strengthen the police.
Wednesday 25 October 2000
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) announced that it would permit a further inspection of some of its arms dumps. The IRA also stated that its representative would hold more talks with General John de Chastelain, then head of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD).
Thursday 25 October 2001
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) announced that it was appointing two of its Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) as Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive. The DUP used the opportunity to rotate the two positions amongst its senior members. Peter Robinson, then deputy leader of the DUP, was appointed as Regional Development Minister, and Nigel Dodds, then DUP MLA, as Social Development Minister.
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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.
8 People lost their lives on the 25th October between 1971 – 1997
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25 October 1971 Robert Lindsay, (47)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Died two days after being shot during sniper attack on British Army (BA) mobile patrol, junction of Springfield Road and Falls Road, Belfast.
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25 October 1978 William Smyth, (54)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: non-specific Loyalist group (LOY)
Shot near to his home, at the junction of Oldpark Road and Ballynure Street, Belfast.
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25 October 1982
Peter Corrigan, (47)
Catholic Status: Civilian Political Activist (CivPA),
Killed by: Protestant Action Force (PAF)
Sinn Fein (SF) member. Shot from passing car while walking along Loughgall Road, Armagh.
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25 October 1990
John Skey, (28)
Protestant Status: Ulster Defence Association (UDA),
Killed by: Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF)
Found shot behind row of shops, Finwood Park, Taughmonagh, Belfast. Alleged informer.
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25 October 1991
Sean Anderson, (32)
Catholic Status: ex-Irish Republican Army (xIRA)
, Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Former Republican prisoner. Shot while driving his car in the laneway of his home, Loughbracken Road, Pomeroy, County Tyrone.
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25 October 1993
Martin Moran, (22)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: non-specific Loyalist group (LOY)
Take away delivery driver. Died two days after being shot when lured to bogus call, Vernon Court, off Donegall Pass, Belfast.
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25 October 1993 Sean Fox, (72)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Found shot at his home, Harmin Park, Glengormley, near Belfast, County Antrim.
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25 October 1997 Glenn Greer, (28)
Protestant Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Killed by booby trap bomb, attached to his car, which exploded while driving along, Drumhirk Drive, Kilcooley, Bangor, County Down.
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This is simply the story of a boy trying to grow up, survive, thrive, have fun & discover himself against a backdrop of events that might best be described as ‘explosive’, captivating & shocking the world for thirty long years.
Evening all , Im heading home to Belfast tomorrow for the Easter period and hopefully a trip down south to visit my bro and his family in County Meath , depending on a few factors which are out of my control 😜 Belfast will always be my home and although I look forward to visiting … Continue reading Belfast & Meath trip starts tomorrow→
Hi folks, Just a shortish blog post to wish you all a wonderful evening and a fantastic Xmas day. Some of you guys have followed me and my story for years now and during recent tragic soul destroying lows to a few joy filled epic highs you have been there to support , comfort and … Continue reading Merry Christmas to all my friends out there X→
Last chance to order before Xmas delivery cut-off period nxt Wednesday . A personally signed copy of my No.1 Best Selling book : A Belfast Child , which may be worth a few quid if my story is made into a movie – watch this space ! UK Orders Free postage for UK orders only … Continue reading A singed copy of my book for Xmas ?→
And Im happy to bribe you with a free giveaway 🎁 Read on for more detail… Ive doing a soft launch of my online shop : https://deadongifts.co.uk/ which I set up with my sister Mags and I need to drive some traffic to the store and start creating an online presence. The shop will be … Continue reading I need some help folks 😜→
Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles
24th October
Sunday 24 October 1971 A member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) was shot dead by undercover Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers during a bomb attack in Belfast.
Ruairi O’Brady
Ruairi O’Brady, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), addressed a SF Ard Fheis in Dublin and said that the North of Ireland must be made ungovernable as first step in achieving a united Ireland.
Tuesday 24 October 1972
Michael Naan & Andrew Murray
Two Catholic men were found dead at a farm at Aughinahinch, near Newtownbbutler, County Fermanagh. The incident was referred to as ‘the pitchfork killings’ and was initially thought to have been carried out by Loyalists. However it was later discovered that British soldiers had carried out the killings.
Newspaper Report on the murders
Thursday 24 October 1974
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) carried out a bomb attack on a cottage in the grounds of Harrow School in north-west London. No one was injured in the explosion. The time bomb, estimated to have contained 5lbs of explosives, exploded shortly before midnight just outside the cottage which had until just before this date been occupied by the head of the school’s Combined Cadet Force.
At 11.30pm a telephone warning about the bomb had been given to the Press Association.
Sunday 24 October 1976
Oakfield Street, 1970’s
Two British soldiers died as a result of a gun attack at Oakfield Street, Ardoyne, Belfast. The attack was carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
Monday 24 October 1977
Michael Neill (16), a Catholic boy, was shot dead by the British Army on Cliftonville Road, Belfast. He had been in the vicinity of an attempted bus-hijacking.
Sunday 24 October 1982
Joseph Donegan (48), a Catholic civilian, was abducted, tortured, and beaten to death by members of a Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) gang in an attack that bore the hallmarks of the ‘Shankill Butchers’.
[Lenny Murphy, who had been leader of the ‘Shankill Butchers’, was one of the gang who abducted and killed Donegan (Dillon, 1990).]
Lenny Murphy
Friday 24 October 1986 The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) announced that legislation would be introduced to allow public houses in Northern Ireland to open on Sundays.
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) launched three bomb attacks at British Army check points. The attacks became know as ‘proxy bombs’ or ‘human bombs’ because three Catholic men, whom the IRA claimed had worked for the security forces, were tied into cars which had been loaded with explosives and ordered to drive to the check points. At the Coshquin checkpoint near Derry five soldiers and the man who was forced to drive the car were all killed.
In a second attack, at Killeen near Newry, a soldier was killed. The third bomb, that had been driven to Omagh, County Tyrone, failed to detonate. The attacks resulted in widespread outrage.
The Protestant Action Force (PAF) shot and killed a Catholic taxi driver, Francis Hughes, near Moy, County Tyrone.
Monday 24 October 1994
British Army (BA) soldiers stopped patrolling in Derry.
[Troops had been patrolling the city since August 1969.]
Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers in Belfast began to patrol without bullet-proof (‘flak’) jackets. A six member delegation of Loyalist representatives addressed the National Committee on American Foreign Policy in Washington. The delegation was led by Gary McMichael, then leader of the Ulster Democratic Party (UDP), and David Ervine, then leader of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP).
Saturday 24 October 1998
David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), delivered a speech to the Annual Conference of the UUP. Trimble repeated his view that Sinn Féin (SF) members could not become part of an Executive before decommissioning by the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
Wednesday 24 October 2001
Two men were arrested when RUC officers stopped a car near Moira, County Down, and discovered a sub-machine gun. The car was on the Moira interchange at the M1 motorway.
[The two men were believed to be members of a dissident Republican paramilitary group. The incident happened at approximately 4.00pm (1600BST).]
There were disturbances on the Crumlin Road, north Belfast. Loyalists blocked the main road at approximately 4.30pm (1630BST) thus preventing Catholic school children from getting home. Nationalists tried to get up the Crumlin Road to escort their children home and the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) moved between the two groups. Bricks and bottles were thrown by both groups.
Flax Street – Crumlin Road
[The Crumlin Road is the ‘alternative’ route that Loyalists want Catholic children and their parents to use when going to and from the Holy Cross Girls’ Primary School on the nearby Ardoyne Road.]
A man (40) was shot in the leg at 8.00pm (2000BST) in the Kilcooley Estate, Bangor, County Down.
[The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) were investigating the motive for the shooting.]
There were a number of statements in the House of Commons. Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, welcomed the decommissioning by the Irish Republican Army (IRA). David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), said that he had reappointed the three UUP Ministers to the Northern Ireland Executive “without prejudice” to the decision to be taken by the UUP executive on Saturday 27 October 2001. However, Trimble asked Blair,
“what sanctions will the government apply to them [those who had not decommissioning by February 2002] so as to avoid others having to apply sanctions?”.
[Trimble was thus explicitly setting a new deadline in the peace process.]
John Reid, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, announced that work had begun on the dismantling of two British Army observation towers in south Armagh. One on Sturgan mountain and one on Camlough mountain. He also announced that work would begin on Thursday 25 October 2001 on demolishing a sangar at Newtownhamilton police station in south Armagh, and also on demolishing the British Royal Irish Regiment (British Army) base in Magherafelt, County Derry. Reid also pledged to introduce a progressive programme of security normalisation as the paramilitary threat lessened.
[The demolition work is expected to take a year to complete. There was no word on the other watch towers (12?) in south Armagh. It is envisaged that there would be further cuts in the number of British Army troops based in Northern Ireland. It is also likely that the British government will make further movement on police-reform legislation, review criminal justice, and honour human rights and equality measures. Some of the security (and other) measures were ones outlined in the British and Irish governments’ Implementation Plan published on 1 August 2001.]
Tony Blair with Martti Ahtisaari (c) and Cyril Ramaphosa (r)
Cyril Ramaphosa and Martti Ahtisarri, the two independent arms inspectors, announced that they had resigned their positions. They said that they were no longer required given that the IICD and the IRA were dealing with the weapons issue. [The arms inspectors had been appointed on 14 May 2000.] The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) called on Loyalist paramilitaries to begin the process of decommissioning their weapons.
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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.
18 People lost their lives on the 24th October between 1971 – 1990
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24 October 1971
Martin Forsythe, (19)
Catholic Status: Irish Republican Army (IRA),
Killed by: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC)
Shot by undercover RUC during bomb attack on Celebrity Club, Donegall Place, Belfast.
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24 October 1972 Robert Mason, (19) nfNI Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot by sniper while on British Army (BA) foot patrol, Naples Street, off Grosvenor Road, Belfast.
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24 October 1972 John Morrell, (32) nfNI Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Died ten days after being injured when detonated booby trap bomb while searching house, Drumarg, Armagh.
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24 October 1976 Anthony Abbott, (19) nfNI Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot by snipers while checking abandoned car, Oakfield Street, Ardoyne, Belfast.
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24 October 1976 Maurice Murphy, (26) nfNI Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot by snipers while checking abandoned car, Oakfield Street, Ardoyne, Belfast. He died 23 November 1976.
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24 October 1977
Michael Neill, (16)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot while in the vicinity of an attempted hijacking of bus, junction of Cliftonville Road and Oldpark Road, Belfast.
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24 October 1979
Walter Moore, (50)
Protestant Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot outside his home, Lyndhurst Parade, off Ballygomartin Road, Belfast.
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24 October 1982
Joseph Donegan, (48)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Kiddlled by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Abducted while walking along Falls Road, Belfast. Found beaten to death, in entry, off Brookmount Street, Shankill, Belfast, on 25 October 1982.
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Shot while driving car at his farm, Carricklongfield, near Aughnacloy, County Tyrone.
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24 October 1986 Kenneth Johnston, (25)
Protestant Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot while sitting in his firm’s stationary car, Magherafelt, County Derry. His firm contractor to British Army (BA) / Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC).
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24 October 1990
Francis Hughes, (61)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Protestant Action Force (PAF)
Taxi driver. Found shot in his burnt out car Derryane Road, near Moy, County Tyrone.
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24 October 1990 Stephen Burrows, (30) nfNI Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in van bomb attack on permanent British Army (BA) Vehicle Check Point (VCP), Buncrana Road, Coshquinn, near Derry.
24 October 1990 Stephen Beacham, (20) nfNI Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in van bomb attack on permanent British Army (BA) Vehicle Check Point (VCP), Buncrana Road, Coshquinn, near Derry.
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24 October 1990
Paul Worrall, (23) nfNI Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in van bomb attack on permanent British Army (BA) Vehicle Check Point (VCP), Buncrana Road, Coshquinn, near Derry.
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24 October 1990 Vincent Scott, (21) nfNI Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in van bomb attack on permanent British Army (BA) Vehicle Check Point (VCP), Buncrana Road, Coshquinn, near Derry.
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24 October 1990 David Sweeney, (19) nfNI Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in van bomb attack on permanent British Army (BA) Vehicle Check Point (VCP), Buncrana Road, Coshquinn, near Derry.
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24 October 1990
Patrick Gillespie, (42)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ),
#Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in van bomb attack on permanent British Army (BA) Vehicle Check Point (VCP), Buncrana Road, Coshquinn, near Derry. A civilian employed by British Army (BA), he was forced to drive the van bomb to the Vehicle Check Point (VCP).
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24 October 1990
Cyril Smith, (21)
Catholic Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
From Northern Ireland. Killed in van bomb attack on permanent British Army (BA) Vehicle Check Point (VCP), Dublin Road, Killeen, County Armagh.
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This is simply the story of a boy trying to grow up, survive, thrive, have fun & discover himself against a backdrop of events that might best be described as ‘explosive’, captivating & shocking the world for thirty long years.
Evening all , Im heading home to Belfast tomorrow for the Easter period and hopefully a trip down south to visit my bro and his family in County Meath , depending on a few factors which are out of my control 😜 Belfast will always be my home and although I look forward to visiting … Continue reading Belfast & Meath trip starts tomorrow→
Hi folks, Just a shortish blog post to wish you all a wonderful evening and a fantastic Xmas day. Some of you guys have followed me and my story for years now and during recent tragic soul destroying lows to a few joy filled epic highs you have been there to support , comfort and … Continue reading Merry Christmas to all my friends out there X→
Last chance to order before Xmas delivery cut-off period nxt Wednesday . A personally signed copy of my No.1 Best Selling book : A Belfast Child , which may be worth a few quid if my story is made into a movie – watch this space ! UK Orders Free postage for UK orders only … Continue reading A singed copy of my book for Xmas ?→
And Im happy to bribe you with a free giveaway 🎁 Read on for more detail… Ive doing a soft launch of my online shop : https://deadongifts.co.uk/ which I set up with my sister Mags and I need to drive some traffic to the store and start creating an online presence. The shop will be … Continue reading I need some help folks 😜→
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1969 was a year of rising tension, violence and change for the people of Northern Ireland. Rioting in Derry’s Bogside led to the deployment of British troops and a shortlived, uneasy truce. The British army soon found itself engaged in an undercover war against the Provisional IRA, which was to last for more than twenty years.
belfastchildis.com 