15th June – Deaths & Events in Northern Ireland Troubles

Deaths in the Troubles, Major events in The Troubles, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

 

Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles

15th June

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Sunday 15 June 1969

The Campaign for Social Justice published a second edition of ‘Northern Ireland The Plain Truth’, [PDF; ], which set out the allegations of discrimination against Catholics by Unionists in the region.

Thursday 15 June 1972

Representatives of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) met William Whitelaw, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, in London and presented the Irish Republican Army (IRA) conditions for a meeting. Whitelaw accepted the proposals.

[The IRA made an announcement about the proposed ceasefire on Thursday 22 June 1972.]

Monday 15 June 1981

Sinn Féin (SF) issued a statement to say that a Republican prisoner would join the hunger strike every week.

[This was seen as a stepping-up of the hunger strike. Paddy Quinn, then an Irish Republican Army (IRA) prisoner joined the strike.]

Tuesday 15 June 1982

The Falkland Islands were recaptured by British forces.

[This brought an end to the Falkands War.]

Friday 15 June 1984

A member of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) and a Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officer were killed in an exchange of gunfire after the RUC surrounded a house in Lenadoon Avenue, Belfast.

Monday 15 June 1987

Tom King was reappointed as Secretary for State for Northern Ireland. Nicholas Scott, formerly the Minister for State at the Northern Ireland Office, was replaced by John Stanley.

Sunday 15 June 1988

Lisburn Killings

PicMonkey Collage with text x 3

An Irish Republican Army (IRA) bomb in Lisburn killed six off-duty British Army soldiers.

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See IRA Lisburn “Fun Run” bombing

A member of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) was killed by the IRA in Belfast.

Thursday 15 June 1989

European Elections

Elections to the European Parliament were conducted in Northern Ireland. [The percentage share of the vote was: Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) 29.95%; Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) 25.5%; Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) 21.5%; Sinn Féin (SF) 9.2%; Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI) 5.2%; Ecology Party (EP) 1.2%; Workers Party (WP) 1.1%; Others 1.6%; Turnout 48.3%. (See detailed results.)] Elections took place in the Republic of Ireland to the Dáil. Although Fianna Fáil (FF) gained that largest number of seats the party it did not win sufficient support to form a government.

[FF formed a government with the Progressive Democrat (PD) party on 12 July 1989.]

Friday 15 June 1990

Peter Brooke, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, met with representatives of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP). It was announced that talks would begin after the summer holidays.

Saturday 15 June 1991

(Sir) Ninian Stephen, then an Australian High Court judge and a former Governor-General of Australia, was named as the independent chairman for the strand of the forthcoming talks (later known as the Brooke / Mayhew talks) involving relationships between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Tuesday 15 June 1993

The Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights (SACHR) argued for changes to the way in which the House of Commons dealt with legislation on Northern Ireland matters.

[Following the introduction of Direct Rule the region was governed under a Temporary Provisions Act, and Northern Ireland legislation was introduce by way of ‘Orders in Council’. The main criticism of this procedure was that the legislation could not be amended in the House of Commons.]

Wednesday 15 June 1994

Albert Reynolds, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), sent a letter containing ‘clarification’ of the Downing Street Declaration to Gary McMichael, then leader of the Ulster Democratic Party (UDP).

The letter stated: “We do not seek to impose constitutional change by stealth or coercion, whether it be a united Ireland, or joint sovereignty or joint authority. What we seek is a new accommodation between the two traditions on this island …” (Belfast Telegraph, 24 June 1994).

Thursday 15 June 1995

There was a Westminster by-election in the constituency of North Down. The by-election was called following the death on 20 March 1995 of the sitting Member of Parliament James Kilfedder. The election was won by Robert McCartney, of the United Kingdom Unionist Party (UKUP).

[The turnout at 39 per cent was the lowest in the history of Northern Ireland for a parliamentary by-election.]

Saturday 15 June 1996

Manchester Bombing

The Irish Republican Army (IRA) exploded a bomb in Manchester, which destroyed a large part of the city centre and injured 200 people.

The bomb was estimated to have contained one-and-a-half tonnes of home-made explosives. Although a warning of one hour and twenty minutes was received by a local television station injuries were still caused by the sheer scale of the explosion.

In response to the Manchester bomb the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) announced that it was putting its members ‘on alert’.

Niall Donovan (28), a Catholic man, was stabbed to death near Dungannon, County Tyrone.

Tuesday 15 June 1999

In a keynote speech at Stranmillis College in Belfast Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, said the governments would “have to look for another way forward” if the devolution deadline were missed.

Blair also invited Portadown Orangemen and representatives of the Garvaghy Road Residents’ Coalition (GRRC) to new talks at Stormont in a further attempt to resolve the dispute surrounding the Drumcree parade planned for 4 July 1999.

Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), said the Irish and British governments would “set aside” the Good Friday Agreement and seek alternative means of political progress if a breakthrough was not made by 30 June 1999. Ahern told the Dáil the decommissioning issue had now been “debated to death”.

  

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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 15th June between 1974 – 1975

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15 June 1973
 Michael Wilson  (18)

Protestant
Status: Ulster Defence Association (UDA),

Killed by: Ulster Defence Association (UDA)
Shot at the home of his relative, Ulster Defence Association leader Tommy Herron, Ravenswood Park, Braniel, Belfast. Internal Ulster Defence Association dispute.

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15 June 1974


 Patrick Cunningham   (26)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot by British Army (BA) foot patrol while in disused graveyard near his home, Benburb, County Tyrone

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15 June 1982


 Hugh Cummings  (39)

Protestant
Status: Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR), Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Shot near his workplace while walking along Lower Main Street, Strabane, County Tyrone

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15 June 1984


 Michael Todd   (22)

Protestant
Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),

Killed by: Irish National Liberation Army (INLA)
Shot during gun battle after Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) members surrounded house, Lenadoon Avenue, Belfast.

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15 June 1984


 Paul McCann   (20)

Catholic
Status: Irish National Liberation Army (INLA),

Killed by: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC)
Shot during gun battle after Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) members surrounded house, Lenadoon Avenue, Belfast

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15 June 1985


 Willis Agnew   (53)

Protestant
Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Shot while sitting in stationary car outside friend’s home, Gortin Road, Kilrea, County Derry.

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15 June 1987
 Nathaniel Cush   (47)

Protestant
Status: ex-Ulster Defence Regiment (xUDR),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed by booby trap bomb attached to his car outside his workplace, Tomb Street, off Corporation Street, Belfast.

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15 June 1988
 Robert Seymour   (33)

Protestant
Status: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot at his shop, Woodstock Road, Belfast.

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15 June 1988


 Derek Green  (20)

nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Killed by booby trap bomb attached to British Army (BA) minibus, Market Square, Lisburn, County Antrim.

See IRA Lisburn “Fun Run” bombing

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15 June 1988

Michael Winkler   (31)

nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Killed by booby trap bomb attached to British Army (BA) minibus, Market Square, Lisburn, County Antrim.

See IRA Lisburn “Fun Run” bombing

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15 June 1988


 Mark Clavey   (24)

nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Killed by booby trap bomb attached to British Army (BA) minibus, Market Square, Lisburn, County Antrim.

See IRA Lisburn “Fun Run” bombing

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15 June 1988


 Graham Lambie   (22)

nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Killed by booby trap bomb attached to British Army (BA) minibus, Market Square, Lisburn, County Antrim.

See IRA Lisburn “Fun Run” bombing

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15 June 1988


 William Paterson   (22)

nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Killed by booby trap bomb attached to British Army (BA) minibus, Market Square, Lisburn, County Antrim.

See IRA Lisburn “Fun Run” bombing

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15 June 1988


 Ian Metcalfe  (36)

nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Killed by booby trap bomb attached to British Army (BA) minibus, Market Square, Lisburn, County Antrim.

See IRA Lisburn “Fun Run” bombing

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15 June 1989
 Adam Gilbert  (21)

nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),

Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot in error, by other British Army (BA) member, firing at stolen car, while on BA foot patrol, junction of New Lodge Road and Antrim Road, Belfast.

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14th June – Deaths & Events in Northern Ireland Troubles

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Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles

14th June

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Wednesday 14 June 1972

John Hume and Paddy Devlin, both members of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), held a meeting with representatives of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in Derry.

At that meeting the IRA representatives outlined their conditions for talks with the British Government. The conditions were that: there should be no restriction on who represented the IRA; there should be an independent witness at the meeting; the meeting should not be held at Stormont; and ‘political status’ should be granted to republican prisoners.

Thursday 14 June 1973

James Callaghan, then shadow Foreign Secretary, speaking in the House of Commons, said that Britain might reconsider its position with regard to Northern Ireland if the Assembly was ‘sabotaged’.

Monday 14 June 1976

Merlyn Rees, then Secretary of Sate for Northern Ireland, gave details in the House of Commons of a committee which had been set up to see how the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) could be more effective in enforcing law and order in Northern Ireland.

[This was an additional step in the policy of ‘criminalisation’.]

Thursday 14 June 1984

European Parliament Election

The election to the European Parliament took place in Northern Ireland with the whole region treated as a single constituency under a system of proportional representation.

[When the count was completed, Ian Paisley, then leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), John Taylor, of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), and John Hume, then leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), were elected as MEPs. A total of eight candidates had contested the election]

Friday 14 June 1985

The Irish Republican Army (IRA) exploded a large bomb, estimated at 1,000 pounds, in the centre of Belfast.

Thursday 14 June 1990

The Home Office in London announced that there were irregularities in the forensic evidence that led to the convictions of the Maguire family.

Wednesday 14 June 1995

The Irish Times (a Dublin based newspaper) carried a report of an interview with Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF).

Adams was reported as saying that the decommissioning of Irish Republican Army (IRA) weapons as a precondition to SF entry into political talks was never mentioned by the British government before the IRA’s ceasefire on 31 August 1994. He went on to say that if such a precondition had been raised,

“… it is possible [that] there would have been no IRA cessation on September 1 last year.”

Friday 14 June 1996

The Northern Ireland Forum met for the first time in Belfast. Sinn Féin was excluded because of the absence of an Irish Republican Army (IRA) ceasefire.

There are objections by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and the United Kingdom Unionists (UKU) to the appointment of John Gorman, a Catholic Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) delegate, to the chair of the Forum.

Sunday 14 June 1998

A Protestant family living in a stately home on the outskirts of Derry suffered a third petrol bomb attack. It was believed that Nationalist living in a nearby housing estate were responsible for the attacks.

Monday 14 June 1999

sandy row

Two men escaped injury when shots were fired at then in Sandy Row, south Belfast.

The Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) later stated that “it is more that likely that UVF personnel carried this [attack] out”.

[The shooting was believed to be connected to the killing on 11 June 1997 of Robert ‘Basher’ Bates.]

Robert Basher Bates

See Robert ” Basher” Bates

Counting was completed and the result of the European election was announced. The Methodist Church called for direct talks between the Orange Order and the Garvaghy Road Residents’ Coalition (GRRC).

 

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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.

3 People lost their lives on the 14th   June between 1974 – 1975

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14 June 1974
 Peter Meaghan  (37)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF)
Shot from passing car while walking along Divis Street, Belfast.

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14 June 1975


 Margaret O’Neill  (56)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Ulster Defence Association (UDA)
Shot from passing car during gun attack on pedestrians, New Lodge Road, Belfast

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14 June 1975
 Joseph Branagh  (35)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: non-specific Republican group (REP)
Security man. Shot outside Garden Bar, Meadow Street, Tiger’s Bay, Belfast.

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David Copeland – “London Nail Bomber”

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David Copeland

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David Copeland London Nail Bomber

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David Copeland (born 15 May 1976) is a British Neo-Nazi militant who became known as the “London Nail Bomber” after a 13-day bombing campaign in April 1999 aimed at London’s black, South Asian and gay communities that resulted in three people killed and more than a hundred injured. Widely labelled a terrorist.

Copeland was a former member of two far-right political groups, the British National Party and then the National Socialist Movement.

Copeland with ex-BNP party leader John Tyndall resized

David Copeland with ex-BNP party leader John Tyndall

 

Over three successive weekends between 17 and 30 April 1999, Copeland placed homemade nail bombs, each containing up to 1,500 four-inch nails, in holdalls that he left in public spaces around London.

bomb going off

The first bomb was placed outside the Iceland supermarket in Electric Avenue, Brixton, an area of south London with a large black population.

The second was in Brick Lane in the East End of London, which has a large Bangladeshi community.

Victim Collage

The third was inside the Admiral Duncan pub in Soho‘s Old Compton Street, the heart of London’s gay community. The bombs killed three people, including a pregnant woman, and injured 140, four of whom lost limbs.

Copeland was diagnosed by five psychiatrists as having paranoid schizophrenia, while one diagnosed a personality disorder not serious enough to avoid a charge of murder. His plea of guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility was not accepted by the prosecution or jury.

He was convicted of murder on 30 June 2000, and given six concurrent life sentences.

In 2007 the High Court ruled that he must serve at least 50 years.

He appealed the ruling, which the Court of Appeal upheld in 2011

David Copeland
David Copeland.jpg

Photograph of Copeland taken after his arrest in April 1999
Born (1976-05-15) 15 May 1976 (age 40)
Isleworth, London
Nationality British
Other names London Nail Bomber
Occupation Engineer’s assistant
Known for Planting three bombs in public spaces in London in April 1999, killing three and injuring 140
Criminal charge Three counts of murder, three counts of planting bombs.
Criminal penalty Six life sentences, minimum term 50 years

 

Early life

Copeland was born in Isleworth, in the London Borough of Hounslow. His father was an engineer and his mother was a housewife. He lived for most of his childhood with his parents and two brothers in Yateley, Hampshire, attending Yateley School, where he obtained seven GCSEs before leaving in 1992.

British journalist Nick Ryan writes that, as a teenager, Copeland feared he was homosexual; when his parents sang along to the Flintstones theme on television—”we’ll have a gay old time”—he reportedly believed they were sending him a message.

As an older teenager, he began listening to heavy metal bands and earned himself the nickname “Mr. Angry.” Ryan writes that the staff at his school have no recollection of him during this period. It was as if he had become invisible.

After his arrest in 1999, he told psychiatrists that he had started having sadistic dreams when he was about 12, including dreams or fantasies that he had been reincarnated as an SS officer with access to women as slaves.

He left school to a series of failed jobs, reportedly blaming immigrants for the difficult job market. He became involved in petty crime, drinking, and drug abuse. His father was eventually able to get him a job as an engineer’s assistant on the London Underground.

BNP and NSM

Turnerdiariescover.jpg

He joined the far-right British National Party in May 1997, at the age of 21. He acted as a steward at a BNP meeting, in the course of which he came into contact with the BNP leadership and was photographed standing next to John Tyndall, then leader. It was during this period that Copeland read The Turner Diaries, and first learned how to make bombs using fireworks with alarm clocks as timers, after downloading a so-called terrorists’ handbook from the Web.

He left the BNP in 1998, regarding it as not hardline enough because it was not willing to engage in paramilitary action, and joined the smaller National Socialist Movement, becoming its regional leader for Hampshire just weeks before the start of his bombing campaign. It was around this time that he visited his family doctor and was prescribed anti-depressants after telling the doctor he felt he was losing his mind.

Terrorist attacks

1999 London nail bombings
Copelandnail.jpg

X-rays show a nail from one of Copeland’s bombs embedded in a baby’s brain.
Location Brixton, Brick Lane and Soho areas of London
Date April 17, 1999 (1999-04-17)-
April 30, 1999 (1999-04-30)
Target Black British, British Bengali and Gay populations
Attack type
 White supremacist terrorism, bombings, murder
Weapons nail bombs
Deaths 3
Non-fatal injuries
 162
Assailants David Copeland
Motive attempt at starting a race war in England

Copeland’s first attack, on Saturday, 17 April 1999, was in Electric Avenue, Brixton. He made his bomb using explosives from fireworks, taping it inside a sports bag before priming it and leaving it at Brixton Market.

The Brixton Market traders became suspicious, and one of them moved the bag to a less crowded area. Two further moves of the bomb occurred by unconvinced traders, including the bomb being removed from the bag, which is when it ended up at the Iceland supermarket.

It detonated just as the police arrived, at 5:25 in the evening. Forty-eight people were injured, many of them seriously because of the four-inch nails Copeland had packed around the bomb.

Copelandnail.jpg

One 23-month-old toddler had a nail driven through his skull into his brain (see right).

His second bomb, on the following Saturday, 24 April, was aimed at Brick Lane, the centre of the Bengali area in the east end of London. There is a famous street market on Sundays, but Copeland mistakenly tried to plant the bomb on Saturday when the street was less busy.

Unwilling to change the timer on the bomb, he left it instead in a black Reebok bag on Hanbury Street. There it was picked up by a man, who brought it to the police station on Brick Lane, which was shut. He had placed it in the boot of his car which was parked outside number 42 Brick Lane, where it exploded.

Thirteen people were injured, but there were no fatalities.

Andrea Dykes, four months pregnant, was killed and her husband Julian seriously injured.

 

The third and final bomb was planted and detonated on the evening of Friday, 30 April at the Admiral Duncan pub in Old Compton Street, the centre of London’s gay village when the pub and street outside were very crowded because the evening was the start of a Bank Holiday weekend.

admiral duncan old compton street

Andrea Dykes, 27, four months pregnant with her first child, died along with her friends and hosts for the evening, Nick Moore, 31, and John Light, 32, who was to be the baby’s godfather. Andrea’s husband, Julian, was seriously injured.

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The four friends from Essex had met up in the Admiral Duncan to celebrate Andrea’s pregnancy, when the bomb exploded after being taped inside a sports bag and left near the bar. A total of seventy-nine people were injured, many of them seriously.

Four of the survivors had to have limbs amputated.

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Arrest and conviction

 

wanted poster cropped

The Metropolitan Police Anti-Terrorist Branch identified Copeland from CCTV footage of Brixton. The image was given wide publicity on 29 April which caused Copeland to bring forward his bombing of the Admiral Duncan to Friday evening.

CCTV footage copeland cropped 2

Paul Mifsud, a work colleague of Copeland, recognised him from the footage and alerted the police about anhour and 20 minutes before the pub bombing. Copeland was arrested that night once the police obtained his address, a rented room in Sunnybank Road, Cove, Hampshire.

CCTV footage copeland cropped

He admitted carrying out the three bombings as soon as he opened the door to the police, telling them, “Yeah, they were all down to me. I did them on my own.” He showed them his room, where two Nazi flags were hanging on a wall, along with a collection of photographs and newspaper stories about bombs.

His mental state was assessed at Broadmoor Hospital. There was no dispute that he was mentally ill, but the extent of it and whether he was unable to take responsibility for his actions became a matter of contention.

Five psychiatrists said he was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, but prosecutors did not accept a plea of guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. A sixth psychiatrist said Copeland had a personality disorder but it did not diminish his responsibility.

The jury convicted him of three murders and three offences of planting bombs, and he was sentenced to six life sentences on 30 June 2000. The trial judge spoke of his doubt that it would ever be safe to release him.

On 2 March 2007, the High Court decided that he should remain in prison for at least 50 years, ruling out his release until 2049 at the earliest, when he would be 73.

Copeland appealed and on 28 June 2011, the Court of Appeal upheld the ruling.

Motivation

Copeland's bedroom was draped in Nazi flags.png

Copeland’s bedroom was draped in Nazi flags

Copeland maintained he had worked alone and had not discussed his plans with anyone. During police interviews, he admitted holding neo-Nazi views, and talked of his desire to spread fear and trigger a race war. He told police,

“My main intent was to spread fear, resentment and hatred throughout this country; it was to cause a racial war.”

He said,

“If you’ve read The Turner Diaries, you know the year 2000 there’ll be the uprising and all that, racial violence on the streets. My aim was political. It was to cause a racial war in this country. There’d be a backlash from the ethnic minorities, then all the white people will go out and vote BNP.”

 

After his arrest, Copeland wrote to BBC correspondent Graeme McLagan, denying that he had schizophrenia, and telling McLagan that the “Zog,” or Zionist Occupation Government, was pumping him full of drugs in order to sweep him under the carpet. He wrote,

“I bomb the blacks, Pakis, degenerates. I would have bombed the Jews as well if I’d got a chance.”

 

Ryan writes that Copeland’s first idea had been to bomb the Notting Hill Carnival, after seeing images of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics bombing. When asked by police why he had targeted ethnic minorities, he replied,

“Because I don’t like them, I want them out of this country, I believe in the master race.”

While on remand Copeland also wrote to crime writer Bernard O’Mahoney, who posed as a woman called Patsy Scanlon in the hope of duping Copeland into confessing. According to The Independent, the letters helped secure a conviction by giving prosecutors evidence about Copeland’s state of mind.

Further conviction

In June 2014, Copeland attacked a fellow inmate at HM Prison Belmarsh with a shiv – an improvised weapon made from razor blades attached to a toothbrush handle. In October 2015, he pleaded guilty to wounding with intent and was sentenced to a further three years in prison, of which he will serve 18 months

13th June – Deaths & Events in Northern Ireland Troubles

Deaths in the Troubles, , , ,

Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles

13th  June

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Sunday 13 June 1971

In defiance of a government ban, members of the Orange Order attempted to march through the mainly Catholic town of Dungiven, County Londonderry.

There was a riot between the marchers and members of the British Army (BA) and the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC).

Tuesday 13 June 1972

The Irish Republican Army (IRA) invited William Whitelaw, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, to meet them in ‘Free Derry’.

Whitelaw rejected the offer and reaffirmed in a statement the British government’s policy not to “let part of the United Kingdom … default from the rule of law”.

[The offer gave the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) the opportunity to try to arrange talks between the IRA and the British government. These moves took place over the following days.]

Tuesday 13 June 1978

Amnesty International Report

In a report Amnesty International claimed that people held at Castlereagh Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) detention centre on the outskirts of Belfast had been ill-treated. Kenneth Newman, then Chief Constable of the RUC, rejected the claims.

[Later on Roy Mason, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, promised an inquiry into the allegations.]

Saturday 13 June 1981

A booby trap bomb was planted on a car being used by Lord Gardiner during a visit to Belfast. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) attack failed when the bomb fell of the car and failed to explode.

Monday 13 June 1983

At the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) Lord Gowrie, and John Patten are replaced by the Earl of Mansfield and Chris Patten.

Friday 13 June 1986

The Loyalist Workers’ Committee ’86 issued a warning to delegates travelling from the Republic of Ireland to the ICTU conference in Belfast to ‘stay at home’

Monday 13 June 1988

Representatives of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and Sinn Féin (SF) met for further talks in Belfast.

Tuesday 13 June 1989

Brian Mawhinney, then Minister for Education, announced reforms which would allow financial support for integrated education.

Wednesday 13 June 1990

Terence O’Neill, Lord of the Maine and a former Northern Ireland Prime Minister, died in Hampshire, England.

Friday 13 June 1997

Martin Gavin (21), a Catholic civilian and a member of the travelling community, was viciously attacked by five Loyalists and left for dead.

Gavin was approached by the men who called him a “Fenian bastard” and then savagely beat him, fracturing his skull, before cutting his throat, his head and his hand. Gavin required 50 stitches in his neck and head.

[This sectarian attack was similar in its manner to those that had been carried out by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) ‘Shankill Butchers’ gang during the 1970s. The attack came a few days after the killing, on Wednesday 11 June 1997, of Robert (‘Basher’) Bates who had been a leading member of the ‘Shankill Butchers’.]

Robert Basher Bates

See Robert “Basher” Bates – Shankill Butcher

The Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA) alleged that two of its members had been “abducted and interrogated” by the (provisional) IRA

Sunday 13 June 1999

Paul “Bull” Downey (37)

was shot dead in Newry, County Down. [It was alleged in the media that Downey was a major drugs dealer and there was also speculation that he had been killed by Republican paramilitaries. Unionists blamed the Irish Republican Army (IRA) for the killing.]

 

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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.

3 People lost their lives on the 13th  June between 1975 – 1999

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13 June 1975


 Michelle O’Connor  (3)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: non-specific Loyalist group (LOY)
Killed by booby trap bomb attached to her father’s car, outside their home, Ava Crescent, Ballynafeigh, Belfast.

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13 June 1980
 Michael Wright  (25)

Protestant
Status: Ulster Defence Association (UDA),

Killed by: Ulster Defence Association (UDA)
Killed in premature bomb explosion at community centre, Highfield Drive, Highfield, Belfast.

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13 June 1999
 Paul Downey  (37)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: non-specific Republican group (REP)
Found shot by the side of Carrowmannan Road, near Belleek, County Armagh.

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Northern Ireland Fans Singing Euro 2016

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Come on the GAWA

Northern Ireland Fans Singing Euro 2016

Green and White Army

The Green and White Army are fans that follow the Northern Ireland national football team, noted for their passionate support.

Green and White Army

The support at Windsor Park, the home of the Northern Ireland national football team, is sometimes referred to as the team’s “12th man”.

After Northern Ireland beat England 1-0 at Windsor Park on 7 September 2005, the manager Lawrie Sanchez said:

“The fans were also magnificent and we played with an extra man – they raised the team, they believed in the team and the team gave it back in bundles.”

Despite the backing they give to their own team, the Green and White Army are also renowned for their friendliness. When the Green and White Army visited Poland during the 2006 World Cup Qualifiers, more than 1,000 of them spent time enjoying themselves in the city square in Warsaw. After the match,

“Polish supporters united to clap the Green and White army as they left the ground.”

The Amalgamation of Official Northern Ireland Supporters clubs acts as the recognised voice of the Green and White Army and co-ordinates many activities on their behalf. The Amalgamation of Official Northern Ireland Supporters Clubs promotes and encourages camaraderie between fans, has been at the centre of creating a carnival atmosphere on match days (most notably through the creation of a recognised singing section for member clubs at Windsor Park) and has been instrumental in raising the profile of the Green and White Army in Northern Ireland and across Europe.

In addition, it regularly articulates the views of fans to the Irish Football Association and liaises with other fans groups such as the and FSF. The group was formed in 1999, initially to co-ordinate the activities of the various independent supporters clubs which existed at the time, but has now evolved into a much larger organisation which represents over 60 clubs with over 2,000 members.

The Green and White Army received recognition for its work in promoting “football for all” in Northern Ireland by being awarded the internationally recognised Brussels International Supporters Award.

The award was presented to representatives of the Northern Ireland supporters on 6 September 2006, the same day Northern Ireland played against Spain and won 3-2

Coleraine Bombing 12th June 1973 – The forgotten massacre of the Troubles

Deaths in the Troubles, Major events in The Troubles, , , , , ,

1973 Coleraine bombings

On 12 June 1973

Colrain bomb blast 12th june 1973.jpg

On 12 June 1973 the Provisional IRA detonated two carbombs in Coleraine, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The first bomb exploded at 3:00 pm on Railway Road, killing six people and injuring 33; several lost limbs and were left crippled for life. A second bomb exploded five minutes later at Hanover Place. This did not cause any injuries, although it added to the panic and confusion in the area. The IRA had sent a warning for the second bomb but said it had mistakenly given the wrong location for the first.

As the six victims had all been Protestant, the bombings brought about a violent backlash from loyalist paramilitaries, who swiftly retaliated by unleashing a series of sectarian killings of Catholics that culminated in the double killing of Senator Paddy Wilson and Irene Andrews on 26 June.

Victims

Colrain bomb victims June 12th 1973 Collage with text resized 450

——————————

12 June 1973

Francis Campbell  (70)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in car bomb explosion, Railway Road, Coleraine, County Derry. Inadequate warning given.

——————————

12 June 1973


 Dinah Campbell  (72)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in car bomb explosion, Railway Road, Coleraine, County Derry. Inadequate warning given.

——————————

12 June 1973


 Elizabeth Craigmile  (76)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in car bomb explosion, Railway Road, Coleraine, County Derry. Inadequate warning given.

——————————

12 June 1973


 Nan Davis   (60)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in car bomb explosion, Railway Road, Coleraine, County Derry. Inadequate warning given.

——————————

12 June 1973


 Robert Scott   (72)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in car bomb explosion, Railway Road, Coleraine, County Derry. Inadequate warning given.

——————————

12 June 1973


 Elizabeth Palmer  (60)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in car bomb explosion, Railway Road, Coleraine, County Derry. Inadequate warning given.

——————————

 

Sinn Féin councillor Sean McGlinchey, brother of former INLA Chief of Staff Dominic McGlinchey, was convicted of planting the bomb and spent 18 years in prison. He was elected mayor of Limavady Borough Council in 2011.

In his book Years of Darkness: The Troubles Remembered, academic Gordon Gillespie described the attacks as “a forgotten massacre” of the Troubles

 

The bombings

On 12 June 1973, two cars stolen from south County Londonderry were packed with explosives and driven by an Active Service Unit (ASU) of the South Derry Provisional IRA to the mainly-Protestant town of Coleraine. The carbombs were parked on Railway Road and Hanover Place. Two warnings made to the Telephone Exchange at 2.30 p.m. named the location for the Hanover Place device and for another bomb on Society Street, which later “proved to be a hoax”.

At about 3.00 p.m. a Ford Cortina containing a 100–150 pound (45–68 kg) bomb exploded outside a wine shop on Railway Road, killing six pensioners (four women and two men) and injuring 33 people, a number of them schoolchildren.

The six pensioners—Elizabeth Craigmile (76), Robert Scott (72), Dinah Campbell (72), Francis Campbell (70), Nan Davis (60), and Elizabeth Palmer (60)—were all Protestant. Elizabeth Craigmile, the Campbells and their daughter Hilary had been on a day outing and were returning home to Belfast when the bomb had gone off; they were beside the carbomb at the moment of detonation. Some of the dead had been blown to bits and Hilary Campbell lost a limb.

Several of the wounded were maimed and left crippled for life.

The bomb left a deep crater in the road and the wine shop was engulfed in flames; it also caused considerable damage to vehicles and other buildings in the vicinity. Railway Road was a scene of carnage and devastation with the mangled wreckage of the Ford Cortina resting in the middle of the street, the bodies of the dead and injured lying in pools of blood amongst the fallen masonry and roof slates, and shards of glass from blown-out windows blanketing the ground. Rescue workers who arrived at the scene spoke of “utter confusion” with many people “wandering around in a state of severe shock”.

Five minutues later, the second bomb went off in the forecourt of Stuart’s Garage in Hanover Place. Although this explosion caused no injuries, it added to the panic and confusion yielded by the first bomb.

David Gilmour, a former councillor who works as a researcher for Unionist politician George Robinson, was caught up in the bombing. Gilmour, aged ten at the time, escaped injury along with his mother. Both had been sitting a car parked directly across from the Ford Cortina containing the bomb. At the precise moment the bomb detonated another car had passed between the two cars, shielding Gilmour and his mother from the full force of the blast, although their car was badly damaged.

He recalled that when the bomb exploded everything had gone black, “deeper and darker than black – the blackness only punctuated by pinpricks of orange”. He later found that these orange pinpricks were most likely metal fragments from the exploded car or embers from the fertiliser that had been used to make the bomb. In the immediate aftermath of the blast, there had been several seconds of “deathly silence” before “all hell broke loose”, with hysterical people rushing from the scene and others going to tend the wounded who were screaming in agony.

The Provisional IRA claimed responsibility for the bombings but said they had mistakenly given the wrong location for the carbomb on Railway Road when they sent their telephoned warning to the security forces.

Gordon Gillespie alleged that no warning was given for the first bomb, adding “this led to speculation that the bombers intention was to draw people towards the bomb in Railway Road and inflict as many casualties as possible”.

Gillespie also suggested that the death toll would have likely been much higher had the bomb gone off 15 minutes later when girls from a nearby high school would have been leaving the school and walking along the street.

The IRA member who planted the bomb, Sean McGlinchey, said that he had been forced to abandon the car on Railway Road. He explained that he arrived in Coleraine to find that the town had a new one-way traffic system, of which his superiors had not informed him. The bomb was primed, on a short fuse and he was “in the wrong place at the wrong time in the one-way system”.

Mayor of Coleraine David Harding and Chief Executive of Coleraine Council Roger Wilson lay a wreath to mark 40 years after a car bomb in Railway Road killed six people and injured 33 in Coleraine

Mayor of Coleraine David Harding and Chief Executive of Coleraine Council Roger Wilson lay a wreath to mark 40 years after a car bomb in Railway Road killed six people and injured 33 in Coleraine
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Loyalist reaction

As all the victims had been Protestant, there was a violent backlash from loyalist paramilitaries. In May or June 1973, Ulster Defence Association (UDA) leaders decided that the organization should use the covername “Ulster Freedom Fighters” (UFF) when it wished to claim responsibility for its attacks.

This was spurred by fears that the government would outlaw the UDA. The “UFF’s” first attacks were in response to the Coleraine bombings.

It sought retaliation against the Catholic community, which they believed supported the IRA. Four days after the bombing, the new leadership convened in Belfast and ordered its units to avenge the six Protestant pensioners by killing a Catholic. Jim Light was one of the UDA/UFF members who was instructed to execute the killing. He later told British journalist Peter Taylor that he had felt sick upon hearing about the pensioners killed in the Coleraine bombing:

“They’d probably spent all their lives doing their day’s work and were on an outing enjoying themselves. They were coming home and were blown to bits”.

Light and other UDA/UFF members went to Irish nationalist Andersonstown in west Belfast where they could be certain of finding a Catholic victim. They chose 17-year-old Daniel Rouse, who was kidnapped from the street where he had been walking and driven away to a field. Rouse was then shot through the head at point-blank range by Light. He had no IRA or Irish republican connections.

The next day, the body of 25-year-old Catholic man Joseph Kelly was found at Corr’s Corner, near the Belfast-Larne Road. He had been shot. The UFF claimed the killing in a telephone call to a Belfast newspaper office using the words: “We have assassinated an IRA man on the way to Larne. We gave him two in the head and one in the back. He is dead”. They did not directly refer to the Coleraine bombings, but rather claimed it was in retaliation for the killing of Michael Wilson, brother-in-law of UDA leader Tommy Herron. The UDA/UFF held the IRA responsible for Wilson’s killing.

On 18 June the UFF claimed responsibility for throwing a bomb from a car at the “Meeting of the Waters”, a nationalist pub on Manor Street, North Belfast. One man was seriously injured in the attack. The UFF said it attacked the pub because it was a “known haunt of Catholics and republicans”.

On 26 June, the UFF perpetrated a double killing that shocked Northern Ireland with its savagery.

Catholic Senator Paddy Wilson and his Protestant friend Irene Andrews were repeatedly stabbed to death in a frenzied attack. Their mutilated bodies were found by the security forces at a quarry off the Hightown Road near Cavehill following a telephone call by the UFF using its codename “Captain Black”. UFF founder and leader John White was later convicted of the murders.

Convictions

On 6 July 1973, a 22-year-old woman and 19-year-old man, both charged with the murder of the six pensioners, were assaulted and abused by an angry crowd of 150 people outside Coleraine courthouse. Eggs were hurled at them as they left the building following their second court appearance.

In January 1974, the woman was acquitted of the charges against her. However, her boyfriend received an eight-year prison sentence for his part in the attacks and the leader of the bomb team, 18-year-old Sean McGlinchey, was convicted of planting the Railway Road bomb.

He was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment inside the Maze Prison for the six murders. McGlinchey is the younger brother of former INLA Chief of Staff Dominic McGlinchey. Upon his release from the Maze he became a Sinn Féin councillor and in 2011 was elected mayor of Limavady. He has repeatedly said that he deeply regretted the bombing in Coleraine, stating

“What happened is my responsibility, those were my actions. If I had known innocent people would be killed I would never have done it. I regret the deaths and I have apologised”.[13]

Shortly after becoming mayor he met Jean Jefferson, whose aunt was killed and her father horribly disfigured in the bombing. She said of McGlinchey.

“I was very impressed with somebody, who at 18 had made the wrong choice, the wrong decision, maybe to some extent been used and abused, and who is now spending his life putting back into the community more than what he ever got out of it”.

In his book Years of Darkness: The Troubles Remembered, academic and writer Gordon Gillespie described the Coleraine bombings as “a forgotten massacre” of the Troubles

—————————————————

Published 26/09/2015

Sean McGlinchey bomb victim fury: Man injured in massacre hits out at Sinn Fein councillor’s ‘proud ex-IRA’ boast.

A survivor of the 1973 car bombing of Coleraine in which six people died has slammed a Sinn Fein politician’s declaration of pride in his bloody IRA past.

Sean McGlinchey, a Causeway Coast and Glens councillor and a former mayor of Limavady, this week told a council meeting that he was “a proud ex-IRA man”.

He later defended his remarks, but said he regretted he had made them in Coleraine, which he now admits was “insensitive”.

Mr McGlinchey, then 18, was given six life sentences for the bombing in which six pensioners were murdered. He served 18 years and was released in 1992.

The row flared during a debate on the refugee crisis in Europe.

Mr McGlinchey told councillors: “I’m proud of the men and women who were in the IRA with me – but that doesn’t mean to say I am proud of everything the IRA did.”

Last night David Gilmour, who was 10 when he was injured in the bombing, slammed Mr McGlinchey’s unrepentant attitude.

He told the Belfast Telegraph: “I am not surprised by Mr McGlinchey.

“Despite what he said when he was elected mayor of Limavady about reaching out the hand of friendship to unionists and wanting to co-operate, the mask has slipped.

“I want to say that I do not hate Sean McGlinchey. Hatred brought us to where we were in 1973.

“He and I will disagree on virtually everything – but I do not want it thought that I hate Mr McGlinchey.”

Mr Gilmour, now a researcher for DUP MLA George Robinson, added: “I think it is a disgrace that he, as an elected representative, comes into a town where he cold-bloodedly slaughtered six pensioners and makes comments like he did this week.

“That has caused a great deal of hurt and offence, not just to people like me who were hurt in the bombing, or who lost relatives, but to the ordinary men and women of the town, who are disgusted.

“His remarks drag all those memories back to the forefront of our minds. You think you have moved on, moved past that event.

“You hope that people are maybe working towards a more peaceful future.

“And then a comment like that just goes to show that Mr McGlinchey obviously doesn’t share the outlook for a peaceful Northern Ireland that I do.”

Mr McGlinchey – brother of slain INLA leader Dominic McGlinchey – told this newspaper he feared that the political crisis at Stormont was risking a return to the kind of society that had led him to join the IRA.

“I’ve worked to get people away from paramilitarism. I don’t want anyone else to become what I was in the 1970s. I wish there had never been an IRA,” he said.

“But if we don’t make politics work in the Assembly, we could be going back to the terrible days of the 1970s.

“I don’t want that to happen. But what’s happening now is taking us back to the type of politics that created the Sean McGlinchey of the 1970s.

“This was a unionist state – and we can’t go back to that.”

12th June – Deaths & Events in Northern Ireland Troubles

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

Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles

12th  June

Tuesday 12 June 1973

Railway Road bomb 1973.jpeg

Six Protestant civilians, aged between 60 and 76, were killed when a car-bomb exploded in Railway Road, Coleraine.

Colrain bomb victims June 12th 1973 Collage with text resized 250

The attack was carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) who had given an inadequate warning of the bomb. A Catholic civilian was shot dead by the British Army in Belfast.

See Coleraine Bombing 12th June 1973

Thursday 12 June 1975

 

Two members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) were killed when a bomb they were transporting by car exploded prematurely in Great Patrick Street, Belfast.

Thursday 12 June 1980

The Irish Republican Army (IRA) carried out a car bomb attack on Markethill, County Armagh, which seriously damaged property in the centre of the town.

Friday 12 June 1981

The British government published proposals to change the Representation of the People Act making it impossible for prisoners to stand as candidates for election to parliament.

 See 1981 Hunger Strike

Thursday 12 June 1986

Security forces in France arrested five people following a major arms find.

Wednesday 12 June 1991

David Dinkins, then Mayor of New York, United States of America (USA), signed a law which would stop companies in the State of New York from doing business with Northern Ireland firms that did not comply with the MacBride principles.

Friday 12 June 1992

Strand One of Talks Deadlocked

The parties involved in the political talks (later known as the Brooke / Mayhew talks) agreed to begin work on Strand Two and Strand Three of the process even though discussions on Strand One were at a standstill.

Monday 12 June 1995

Anti-terrorism legislation was renewed for another year at Westminster.

During the debate Patrick Mayhew, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, announced that an independent review into emergency legislation would be established.

Thursday 12 June 1997

The main two morning newspapers in Northern Ireland, the Newsletter which is mainly read by unionists and the Irish News which is mainly read by nationalists, joined together to publish a joint editorial on their front pages. The editorial called for an agreement on the Drumcree parade scheduled for Sunday 6 July 1997.

The suggestion by the two papers was that the Garvaghy Road residents would allow the 1997 parade to proceed while the Orange Order would agree to reroute the 1998 parade away from the Garvaghy Road.

[This proposal was eventually rejected.]

A public meeting of the Parades Commission in Portadown, County Armagh, was disrupted by hecklers

Saturday 12 June 1999

In the Republic of Ireland Sinn Féin made significant gains in the local elections. The party increased its vote from 2.1 per cent in the 1991 local elections to 3.5 per cent and trebled the level of its representation to 21 seats.

 

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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.

13 People lost their lives on the 12th June between 1972 – 1988

——————————————

12 June 1972
 Alan Giles  (24)

nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot during gun battle, Ardoyne, Belfast.

——————————————

12 June 1973


 Francis Campbell   (70)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in car bomb explosion, Railway Road, Coleraine, County Derry. Inadequate warning given

See Coleraine Bombing 12th June 1973

——————————————

12 June 1973


 Dinah Campbell   (72)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in car bomb explosion, Railway Road, Coleraine, County Derry. Inadequate warning given.

See Coleraine Bombing 12th June 1973

——————————————

12 June 1973


 Elizabeth Craigmile  (76)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in car bomb explosion, Railway Road, Coleraine, County Derry. Inadequate warning given.

See Coleraine Bombing 12th June 1973

——————————————

12 June 1973


 Nan Davis  (60)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in car bomb explosion, Railway Road, Coleraine, County Derry. Inadequate warning given.

See Coleraine Bombing 12th June 1973

——————————————

12 June 1973


 Robert Scott   (72)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in car bomb explosion, Railway Road, Coleraine, County Derry. Inadequate warning given

See Coleraine Bombing 12th June 1973

——————————————

12 June 1973


 Elizabeth Palmer   (60)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in car bomb explosion, Railway Road, Coleraine, County Derry. Inadequate warning given.

See Coleraine Bombing 12th June 1973

——————————————

12 June 1973
 Anthony Mitchell  (38)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot while walking past Springfield Road British Army (BA) / Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) base, Belfast.

——————————————

12 June 1975
 James McGregor   (28)

Protestant
Status: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF),

Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Killed in premature bomb explosion, while travelling in car, Great Patrick Street, Belfast.

——————————————

12 June 1975
 Thomas Chapman  (28)

Protestant
Status: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF),

Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Killed in premature bomb explosion, while travelling in car, Great Patrick Street, Belfast.

——————————————

12 June 1976


 Liam Prince   (26)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot while travelling in his car at British Army (BA) Vehicle Check Point (VCP), near Forkhill, County Armagh.

——————————————

12 June 1987


 Joseph McIlwaine  (20)

Protestant
Status: Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Shot at his workplace, Aberdelgy Golf Club, Lambeg, near Lisburn, County Antrim

——————————————

12 June 1988


 William Totten   (46)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: non-specific Loyalist group (LOY)
Shot outside his friend’s home, Cavehill Road, Belfast.

—————————————— 

French Football Hooliganism

Blog,

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Euro 2016 England fans fight in Marseille clashes

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Football Hooligans Brest and Guingamp in 2013 France

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Football hooliganism in France is often rooted in social conflict, including racial tension. In the 1990s, fans of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) fought with supporters from Belgium, England, Germany, Italy and Scotland.

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French football hooligans wreak havoc in Dutch town ahead of Europa match

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There is a long-standing north/south rivalry between PSG (representing Paris and by extension northern France) and Olympique de Marseille (representing the South of France) which has encouraged authorities to be extremely mobilised during games between the two teams.

Violent fights and post-game riots including car burning, and shop windows smashing have been a regular fixture of PSG-OM games. In 2000, the bitter rivalry turned particularly violent.

——————————-

Galatasaray Hooligans vs Psg – FİGHT

——————————-

On 24 May 2001, fifty people were injured when fighting broke out at a match between PSG and Turkish club Galatasaray at the Parc des Princes stadium.

PSG were initially given a record $571,000 fine, but it was reduced on appeal to $114,000. Galatasaray was initially fined $114,000 by UEFA, but it too was eventually reduced to $28,500.

In May 2001, six PSG fans from the Supporters Club, were arrested and charged with assault, carrying weapons, throwing items on the pitch and racism. The six were alleged to have deliberately entered a part of the Parc des Princes stadium where French fans of Turkish origin were standing, in order to attack them. The six were banned from all football stadiums for the duration of their trial.

On 24 November 2006 a PSG fan was shot and killed by police and another seriously injured during fighting between PSG fans and the police. The violence occurred after PSG lost 4–2 to Israeli club Hapoel Tel Aviv at the Parc des Prince in a UEFA Cup match. PSG fans chased a fan of Hapoel Tel Aviv, shouting racist and anti-semitic slogans. A plainclothes police officer who tried to protect the Hapoel fan was attacked, and in the chaos, one fan was shot dead and another seriously injured.

In response, the French Interior Minister, Nicolas Sarkozy held a meeting with the president of the French Football League, Frederic Thiriez to discuss racism and violence in football. The director-general of the French police, Michel Gaudin, insisted that measures against football hooliganism had reduced racist incidents to six that season from nineteen in the previous season. Gaudin also stated that 300 known hooligans could be banned from matches.

The fan who was shot, was linked with the Boulogne Boys, a group of fans who modelled themselves on British hooligans in the 1980s. The group’s name comes from the Kop of Boulogne (KOB), one of the two main home fan stand at the Parc des Princes.

The KOB themselves held a silent memorial march attended by 300 and accused the police office of murdering the fan. They cited bias in the French press who had only given a “one-sided” account of the incident.

French President Jacques Chirac condemned violence that led up to the shooting, stating that he was horrified by the reports of racism and anti-Semitism. French Prime Minister, Dominique de Villepin called for new, tougher measures to deal with football hooligans. Prosecutors opened an inquiry into the incident, to determine whether the officer involved should face criminal charges.

German football hooligans with masked faces in a 1990s match.

Before a home match against Sochaux on 4 January 2006, two Arab youths were punched and kicked by white fans outside the entrance to the KOB. During the match racist insults were aimed at black players and a PSG player of Indian origin, Vikash Dhorasoo was told to “go sell peanuts in the metro”.

In the recent years, following UK’s example, France’s legislation has changed, including more and more banning of violent fans from stadiums. The threat of dissolution of fan groups has also tempered the outward rivalry and violence of a number of fans. Known violent fans under ban sentences are to report to the nearest Police station on nights of game, to prove they are not anywhere in proximity to the stadium

11th June – Deaths & Events in Northern Ireland Troubles

Deaths in the Troubles, Major events in The Troubles, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles

11th June

————————————

Sunday 11 June 1972

There was a gun battle between Loyalist and Republican paramilitaries in the Oldpark area of Belfast.

There were shooting incidents in other areas of Belfast and Northern Ireland.

In all, two Catholics, a Protestant, and a British soldier were shot and killed.

Colonel Gaddafi announced that he had supplied arms to “revolutionaries” in Ireland.

Wednesday 11 June 1980

The Irish Republican Army (IRA) issued a statement that threatened to renew attacks on prison officers.

Thursday 11 June 1981

A general election was held in the Republic of Ireland.

[When counting was completed a minority government was formed between a coalition of Fine Gael (FG) and Labour. On 30 June 1981 Garret FitzGerald replaced Charles Haughey as Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister).

Two H-Block prisoners were elected to the Dáil.]

Saturday 11 June 1983

In the new British cabinet announced by Margaret Thatcher, then British Prime Minister, James Prior, was reappointed as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

Wednesday 11 June 1986

Five people, one of whom was Patrick Magee, were found guilty at the ‘Old Bailey’ court in London of conspiring to cause explosions in Britain including the Brighton bomb on 12 October 1984.

[Magee later received eight life sentences.]

Thursday 11 June 1987

General Election

A general election was held across the United Kingdom (UK).

The Conservative Party was returned to power. In Northern Ireland the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) increased their vote and their share of the poll.

The overall Unionist vote fell as did the vote of Sinn Féin (SF).

Enoch Powell, formally an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Member of Parliament (MP), lost his South Down seat to Eddie McGrady of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP).

Friday 11 June 1993

Queen Elizabeth paid a visit to Northern Ireland.

John Hume, then leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), held another meeting with Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF). Amnesty International criticised certain aspects of emergence powers in Northern Ireland.

Tuesday 11 June 1996

The second day of the Stormont talks were again spent in argument over the appointment of George Mitchell as chair and the extent of his “over-arching” role.

The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) agreed to a compromise which reduced the role of George Mitchell but which let talks proceed.

Wednesday 11 June 1997

Robert (‘Basher’) Bates (48)

Robert Basher Bates

a former leading member of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) ‘Shankill Butchers’ gang, was shot dead while opening the Ex-Prisoners Information Centre on Woodvale Road, Belfast.

Initially Republican paramilitaries were blamed for the killing but all the groups denied any involvement, and it later became clear that Loyalist paramilitaries were responsible.

Bates had pleaded guilty in January 1979 to 10 murders.

Most of the victims were Catholics who were abducted, tortured, and killed with butcher knives, hatchets and sometimes guns.

One of Bates’ victims was James Moorehead (30) who at the time was a member of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). It was believed that Bates was killed in retaliation for his part in the murder of Moorehead.

See Robert “Basher” Bates

See Shankill Butchers

See Lenny Murphy

The Queen paid a visit to Northern Ireland and travelled to Dungannon, Belfast, and Hillsborough Castle where a garden reception for 2,000 people was held.

The police and customs officials carried out a series of raids in Britain and Ireland and broke up a drugs gang which had links to the UDA. Police seized £6 million pounds of property, £2 million pounds of illicit alcohol, and £500,000 in cash.

Thursday 11 June 1998

Three shots were fired at a Sinn Féin (SF) election worker in the Markets area of south Belfast.

[Republicans claimed that the attack was carried out by “Group B” a remnant of the Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA). Residents reported increased friction in west and south Belfast between supporters of the Provisionals and Officials in recent weeks.]

Friday 11 June 1999

Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, intensified discussions to try to resolve the issues preventing the establishment of an Executive in Northern Ireland.

The Police Authority of Northern Ireland warned that the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) did not have sufficient funds to meet the additional costs in policing the violence surrounding the Drumcree dispute.

 

——————————————

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 11th   June between 1972 – 1997

——————————————

11 June 1972
 John Madden  (43)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: non-specific Loyalist group (LOY)
Shot outside his shop, Oldpark Road, Belfast.

——————————————

11 June 1972


 Joseph Campbell  (16)

Catholic
Status: Irish Republican Army Youth Section (IRAF),

Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot during gun battle, Eskdale Gardens, Ardoyne, Belfast.

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11 June 1972


 Norman McGrath  (18)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot from passing British Army (BA) Armoured Personnel Carrier as he walked along Alloa Street, Lower Oldpark, Belfast.

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11 June 1972
 Peter Raistric  (18)

nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot by sniper while in Brooke Park British Army (BA) base, Derry.

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11 June 1975
 Kenneth Conway   (20)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: not known (nk)
Died one day after being shot at the junction of Woodvale Road and Glenvale Street, Shankill, Belfast.

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11 June 1976
 William Palmer   (50)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: non-specific Republican group (REP)
Died three days after being shot at his home, Milltown Avenue, Derriaghy, near Belfast

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11 June 1976
 Edward Walker  (20)

Protestant
Status: Ulster Defence Association (UDA),

Killed by: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC)
Shot while travelling in stolen car along Doagh Road, Newtownabbey, County Antrim

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11 June 1982


 David Reeves  (24)

Protestant
Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed by booby trap bomb while searching garage, Carranbane Walk, Shantallow, Derry.

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11 June 1997

Robert Bates  (48)

Protestant
Status: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF),

Killed by: Ulster Defence Association (UDA)
Shot, at his workplace, Ex-prisoners Interpretative Centre, Woodvale Road, Shankill, Belfast. Ulster Defence Association / Ulster Volunteer Force feud.

See Shankill Butchers

See Lenny Murphy

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Robert “Basher” Bates 12th Dec 1948 – 11th June 1997. Shankill Butcher

Deaths in the Troubles, Major events in The Troubles, , , , ,

Robert William Bates

” Basher “

Robert William Bates (nicknamed “Basher”) (12 December 1948 – 11 June 1997) was an Ulster loyalist from Belfast, Northern Ireland. He was a member of the Ulster Volunteer Force and the infamous Shankill Butchers gang, led by Lenny Murphy.

Shankill Butchers 

Shankill Butchers.

See Shankill Butchers

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed in this post and page are soley intended to educate and provide background information to those interested in the Troubles of Northern Ireland.

They in no way reflect my own opinions and I take no responsibility for any inaccuracies or factual errors

 

Bates was born into an Ulster Protestant family and grew up in the Shankill Road area of Belfast. He had a criminal record dating back to 1966,  and later became a member of the Ulster loyalist paramilitary organisation, the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF).

Bates, employed as a barman at the Long Bar, was recruited into the Shankill Butchers gang in 1975 by its notorious ringleader, Lenny Murphy.

The gang used The Brown Bear pub, a Shankill Road drinking haunt frequented by the UVF, as its headquarters. Bates, a “sergeant” in the gang’s hierarchy, was an avid participant in the brutal torture and savage killings perpetrated against innocent Catholics after they were abducted from nationalist streets and driven away in a black taxi owned by fellow Shankill Butcher, William Moore.

William moore.jpg
William Moore

The killings typically involved grisly-throat slashings preceded by lengthy beatings and torture. Bates was said to have been personally responsible for beating James Moorhead, a member of the Ulster Defence Association, to death on 30 January 1977 and to have played a central role in the kidnapping and murder of Catholic Joseph Morrisey three days later. He also killed Thomas Quinn, a derelict, on 8 February 1976 and the following day was involved in shooting dead Archibald Hanna and Raymond Carlisle, two Protestant workmen that Bates and Murphy mistook for Catholics.

Martin Dillon revealed that Bates was also one of the four UVF gunmen who carried out a mass shooting in the Chlorane Bar attack in Belfast city centre on 5 June 1976. Five people (three Catholics and two Protestants) were shot dead. The UVF unit had burst into the pub in Gresham Street and ordered the Catholics and Protestants to line up on opposite ends of the bar before they opened fire. He later recounted his role in the attack to police; however, he had claimed that he never fired any shots due to his revolver having malfunctioned.

Forensics evidence contradicted him as it proved that his revolver had been fired inside the Chlorane Bar that night. Lenny Murphy was in police custody at the time the shooting attack against the Chlorane Bar took place.

Bates was arrested in 1977, along with Moore and other “Shankill Butcher” accomplices.

Gerard McLaverty and Joseph Morrissey

His arrest followed a sustained attack by Moore and Sam McAllister on Catholic Gerard McLaverty, after which they dumped his body, presuming him dead. However McLaverty survived and identified Moore and McAllister to the Royal Ulster Constabulary who drove him up and down the Shankill Road during a loyalist parade until he saw his attackers. During questioning both men implicated Bates, and other gang members, leading to their arrests.

Following a long period spent on remand, he was convicted in February 1979 of murder related to the Shankill Butcher killings and given ten life sentences, with a recommendation by the trial judge, Mr Justice O’Donnell, that he should never be released.

In prison

At the start of his sentence, Bates was involved in a series of violent incidents involving other inmates. Bates later claimed that he had perpetrated these acts in order to live up to his “Basher” nickname.

He served as company commander of the UVF inmates and became noted as stern disciplinarian.

However while in the Maze Prison, he was said to have “found God”, and as a result became a born-again Christian. He produced a prison testimony, which was later reprinted in The Burning Bush, and, after publicly advocating an end to violence, was transferred to HMP Maghaberry.

Brendan hughes.jpg
Brendan Hughes

In prison, Bates formed a friendship with Provisional IRA member and fellow detainee Brendan Hughes. Bates foiled a UVF assassination plot on Hughes.

Early release and death

 

Ex-Prisoners Interpretative Centre, Woodvale Road, where Bates worked after his release and where he was shot

In October 1996, 18 months prior to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, Bates was cleared for early release by the Life Sentence Review Board. He was given the opportunity of participating in a rehabilitation scheme, spending the day on a work placement and returning to prison at night.

As he arrived for work in his native Shankill area of Belfast early on the morning of 11 June 1997,  Bates was shot dead by the son of a UDA man he had killed in 1977.

The killer identified himself to Bates as the son of his victim before opening fire. Bates had been working at the Ex-Prisoners Interpretative Centre (EPIC), a drop-in centre for former loyalist prisoners.

Bates’ killing had not been sanctioned by the UDA leadership but nevertheless they refused to agree to UVF demands that the killer should be handed over to them, instead exiling him from the Shankill. He was rehoused in the Taughmonagh area where he quickly became an important figure in the local UDA as a part of Jackie McDonald‘s South Belfast Brigade.

Bates’ name was subsequently included on the banner of a prominent Orange Lodge on the Shankill Road, called Old Boyne Island Heroes.

Relatives of Shankill butchers victims Cornelius Neeson condemned the banner, stating that:

“it hurts the memory of those the butchers killed”.

A fellow Lodge member and former friend of Bates defended the inclusion of his name to journalist Peter Taylor:

“I knew him very well and he’d been a personal friend for twenty or thirty years and to me he was a gentleman”.

He went on to describe him as having been:

“an easy-going, decent fellow, and as far as the Lodge is concerned, a man of good-standing”.

He was a buried in a Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster ceremony by Reverend Alan Smylie.

Bates’ funeral was attended by a large representation from local Orange Lodges.

Mairead Maguire, July 2009

Mairead Maguire was also amongst the mourners, arguing that Bates had “repented, asked for forgiveness and showed great remorse for what he had done”, whilst a memorial service held at the spot of his killing two days after the funeral was attended by Father Gerry Reynolds of Clonard Monastery

See Shankill Butchers

Shankill Butchers.

See Shankill Butchers

lennie murphy

See Lenny Murphy

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Wednesday 11 June 1997

From killer to victim: Basher’s death sums up the futility of the Troubles

Robert “Basher” Bates, who was gunned down in Belfast yesterday, was an icon. To some he represented the very worst that the troubles has produced: to others he was testimony that even the most brutal terrorist might not be beyond redemption.

Two decades ago the 10 murders he was involved in were among the most barbaric ever seen. He shot some of his victims but others he killed in the most cruel fashion, he and his associates wielded butcher’s knives, axes and cleavers on random Catholic victims. The Shankill Butchers slaughtered human beings as one would animals.

The horror of those killings took Belfast to a new low. Yesterday his death conjured up the most appalling vista of all: that the IRA was intent on regenerating the troubles. The relief was palpable when it emerged that he had been killed not by the IRA but by a loyalist, in what is thought to have been personal revenge for the murder by Bates of a close relative, 20 years ago in a bar room brawl.

Basher Bates was one of hundreds of convicted killers released after serving an average of 15 years behind bars. There are hundreds of unsettled personal grudges in Northern Ireland: quite a few people know, or think they know, who killed their fathers or other loved ones. Yet this seems to have been the first personal revenge killing of a released prisoner.

While loyalist groups have accounted for close on 1,000 of the 3,500 victims of the Troubles, the ferocity and awfulness of the Shankill Butchers’ killings have remained in the public memory for two full decades.

A book dwelling on the graphic details has been a local bestseller for 20 years, and can still be picked up in many of the garage shops of Belfast. It was, for example, the favourite reading of Thomas Begley, the young IRA man who four years ago carried a bomb into a Shankill Road fish shop, killing himself and nine Protestants.

Bates was not the prime mover in the Shankill Butchers gang: that was UVF man Lennie Murphy, who was shot dead by the IRA in 1982. But he was one of the leading lights during their two-year reign of terror, and one photograph of him, looking like an unshaven, unkempt dullard, has remained lodged in the communal memory as a vision of a psychopathic killer.

The judge who gave him 16 life sentences for his killings told him, correctly, that his actions “will remain forever a lasting monument to blind sectarian bigotry.” When he told him he should remain behind bars for the rest of his natural life, society shuddered and hoped it had heard the last of Basher Bates.

But Northern Ireland has a scheme, not found in the rest of the UK, for the release of even the most notorious killers, and more than 300 loyalists and republicans have been quietly freed over the last decade. Many of these former lifers engross themselves, as Bates seemed to be doing, in community or welfare work.

As the years passed in jail, Bates was at first a difficult prisoner, then a troubled soul and finally a remorseful born-again Christian, praying fervently for forgiveness. One who knew him in prison said of him: “He’s now a shell of a man, very quiet and inoffensive in a bland kind of way. The hair has gone, he’s prematurely bald. He has found the Lord and he’s no threat to anyone.”

Basher Bates made a long and painful journey from merciless assassin to man of God. His personal odyssey seemed to be over: neither he nor anyone else could have foreseen the fateful circularity which in the end transformed him from killer to victim.

 

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