Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles
27th September
Wednesday 27 September 1972
Five people died in separate incidents across Northern Ireland.
Monday 27 September 1976
Roy Mason, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, gave his first press conference since his appointment. In a statement he stressed the importance of trying to improve the Northern Ireland economy and in trying to reduce unemployment.
Sunday 27 September 1981
Garret FitzGerald, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), gave an interview on Radio Telefis Éireann (RTE) and set out his vision for a new Republic of Ireland in what became know as his ‘constitutional crusade’.
[The main theme of his ideas was to make the Republic of Ireland a society where the majority ethos would be expressed in a way so as to not alienate Protestants living in Northern Ireland.]
Thursday 27 September 1984
There were serious disturbances at the Maze Prison involving Republican and Loyalist paramilitary prisoners. Eight Prison Officers and five prisoners were injured in the clashes.
Wednesday 27 September 1989
John Taylor, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Member of Parliament, issued proposals for a devolved assembly in Northern Ireland.
Friday 27 September 1991
The Irish Times carried a report of an interview with Peter Brooke, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. Brooke was reported as stating that Articles 2 and 3 of the Republic of Ireland’s constitution were “not helpful” in finding an agreement in Northern Ireland. He also warned that people should not seek to stretch the Anglo-Irish Agreement (AIA).
Monday 27 September 1993
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) exploded a large bomb, estimated at 300 pounds, in the centre of Belfast and caused extensive damage. The IRA exploded a second bomb, estimated at 500 pounds, in south Belfast. John Hume, then leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), and Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), suspended their talks while a report from them (the Hume-Adams Initiative) was being considered by the British and Irish Governments.
A report in the Irish Times (a Republic of Ireland newspaper) claimed that the Hume-Adams Initiative asked the British government to state that it no long-term interest in Northern Ireland and that it would use its influence to persuade Unionists that their best interest lay in a united Ireland.
Tuesday 27 September 1994
The European Parliament passed a motion which called for all paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland to begin ceasefires. John Hume, then leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by the Socialist Group of the European Parliament.
Wednesday 27 September 1995
Ruling on Gibraltar Killings
See Operation Flavius – SAS execute three IRA Terrorists in Gibraltar
In Strasbourg the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the shooting on 6 March 1988 of three unarmed Irish Republican Army (IRA) members in Gibraltar by undercover members of the Special Air Service (SAS) breached the Human Rights Convention in relation to the right to life. The court found that the SAS killings were “unnecessary” and that the three IRA members could have been arrested. No damages were awarded but the British government was ordered to pay the legal costs of the families. [On 24 December 1995 the British government paid £38,700 to cover the legal costs.]
Saturday 27 September 1997
Following an increase in sectarian tensions in the Oldpark area of north Belfast, the homes of two Protestant families were attacked.
[There were attacks on Catholic homes on 28 September 1997.]
Loyalists took part in a picket of the Catholic church at Harryville, Ballymena.
Monday 27 September 1999
Interlocutory hearings of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry took place in the Guildhall in Derry. The hearings were chaired by Lord Saville and discussed the issue of anonymity for up to 500 security force witnesses to the shootings on 30 January 1972.
[The first of the main hearings began on 27 March 2000.]
Sinn Féin (SF) demonstrators disrupted the public launch of the annual report of the Police Authority of Northern Ireland (PANI). Figures in the report indicated that recorded crime for 1998/99 had increased by 28 per cent while detection rates had dropped by 5 per cent. Michael Cunningham, then an Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) councillor, pleaded guilty to 13 charges of indecent assault on two girls aged six and seven years.
[On 12 November 1999 Cunningham was sentenced to two years imprisonment.]
Thursday 27 September 2001
There was a second night of shooting and rioting following Loyalist protests in north Belfast. Loyalist paramilitaries fired approximately 30 shots at security forces on Cambrai Street, off the Crumlin Road. One woman was injured when she was shot in the leg. 13 Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers were injured as a result of the rioting. Ronnie Flanagan, then Chief Constable of the RUC, stated in an interview on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) ‘Newsline’ programme that the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) was involved in the most recent shooting and rioting in north Belfast.
British Airways announced that it was cutting back on a number of its European and United States routes. The service between Belfast and London is one of the ones to close on 27 October 2001. Up to 160 employees are expected to lose their job.
Remembering all innocent victims of the Troubles
Today is the anniversary of the follow people killed as a results of the conflict in Northern Ireland
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 September between 1972 – 1992
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27 September 1972
Daniel McErlane, (46)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: non-specific Loyalist group (LOY)
Died one day after being injured during car bomb attack on social club, Upper Library Street, Belfast.
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27 September 1972
Daniel Rooney, (19)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot by undercover British Army (BA) member, from passing car while walking along St James Crescent, Falls, Belfast.
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27 September 1972
George Lockhart, (24) nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Died four days after being shot by sniper while on British Army (BA) foot patrol, Lecky Road, Bogside, Derry.
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27 September 1972
Alexander Greer, (54)
Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot while standing with friend at the corner of Ligoniel Road and Mill Avenue, Ligoniel, Belfast.
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27 September 1972
James Boyle, (17)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: non-specific Loyalist group (LOY)
Found shot by Flush River, Elswick Street, off Springfield Road, Belfast.
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27 September 1978
Mary McCaffrey, (65)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Died four weeks after being injured in remote controlled bomb attack near to her home, Forfar Street, off Springfield Road, Belfast.
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27 September 1981
Anthony Braniff, (27)
Catholic
Status: Irish Republican Army (IRA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Found shot in entry off Odessa Street, Falls, Belfast. Alleged informer.
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27 September 1982
Leon Bush, (22) nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish National Liberation Army (INLA)
Killed by booby trap bomb attached to security barrier, West Circular Road, Highfield, Belfast.
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27 September 1992
Gerard O’Hara, (18)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ), Killed by:
Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF)
Shot at his home, North Queen Street, New Lodge, Belfast.
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Belfast Child 