14th August
Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles
Thursday 14 August 1969
British Army Troops Deployed
After two days of continuous battle, and with the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) exhausted, the Stormont government asked the British government for permission to allow British troops to be deployed on the streets of Northern Ireland.
Late in the afternoon troops entered the centre of Derry. John Gallagher, a Catholic civilian, was shot dead by the Ulster Special Constabulary (‘B-Specials’) during street disturbances on the Cathedral Road in Armagh.
John Gallagher was recorded, by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), as the first ‘official’ victim of ‘the Troubles’.
In Belfast vicious sectarian riots erupted and continued the following day. In Divis Street the RUC fired a number of shots, from a heavy Browning machine-gun mounted on an armoured car, into the Divis Flats and Towers.
Patrick Rooney
One of the shots killed a young Catholic boy while he lay in bed.
Saturday 14 August 1971
A British soldier was killed by the Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA) in Belfast.
Monday 14 August 1972
Two British soldiers were killed by an IRA booby trap bomb in Belfast. A Catholic civilian was shot dead during an IRA attack on a British Army patrol in Belfast.
Saturday 14 August 1976
Majella O’Hare
Majella O’Hare (12), a young Catholic girl, was shot dead by British soldiers while she was walking near her home in Ballymoyer, Whitecross, County Armagh.
A rally in Andersontown to call for peace attracted a crowd of approximately 10,000 people. This rally was organised by the Women’s Peace Movement (later Peace People).
Monday 14 August 1978
The Daily Mirror, a British national newspaper, announced its support for a British withdrawal from Northern Ireland.
Sunday 14 August 1983
Security forces in France uncovered a haul of weapons believed to be on route to the Irish Republican Army (IRA) on a ferry from Le Harve to Rosslare in the Republic of Ireland.
Tuesday 14 August 1984
James Prior, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, said that the decision to ban Martin Galvin, then leader of NORAID (Irish Northern Aid Committee), from the UK had been “a bad mistake”.
[The decision and subsequent police action had led to the death of Sean Downes on 12 August 1984.]
Monday 14 August 1989
Twentieth anniversary of the deployment of the British Army on the streets of Northern Ireland. Peter Brook, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, had talks with James Molyneaux, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), and Ian Paisley, then leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).
Wednesday 14 August 1991
Loyalist paramilitaries attacked a bus near Markethill, County Armagh, that was carrying families of Republicans prisoners. Two women were injured in the attack.
Saturday 14 August 1993
A group of supporters of ETA from the Basque country paid a visit to Belfast and expressed support for Sinn Féin (SF) and the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
Sunday 14 August 1994
Sean Monaghan
Sean Monaghan (20), a Catholic civilian, was abducted and killed by the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF), a cover name (pseudonym) used by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). He was found shot dead, on waste ground, off Ottawa Street, Woodvale, Belfast.
Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), said that he had confidence that the peace process could move towards a negotiated political settlement.
Thursday 14 August 1997
A man was killed by masked men who entered his flat on the Newtownards Road, Belfast. Four serving and former members of the prison service who lived in the mid-Ulster area had their homes attacked.
[The attacks were believed to have been carried out by the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF).]
Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), Martin McGuinness, then Vice-President of Sinn Féin (SF), and a SF Teachta Dála (TD; member of Irish Parliament) were granted visas to visit the United States of America (USA) and to raise funds for SF.
Saturday 14 August 1999
There was violence in Derry and Belfast following Apprentice Boys parades through the Bogside and lower Ormeau Road. Several Nationalists engaged in a protest were injured as Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers cleared the lower Ormeau Road to allow the Loyal Order parade to pass.
The Northern Ireland politician, trade unionist and author, Paddy Devlin, died in Belfast. Devlin had been a founding member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP). He had been awarded an MBE in 1998.
Tuesday 14 August 2001 IRA Withdraws Decommissioning Proposals
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) announced in a statement that it had withdrawn its plan on how to put its weapons beyond use. The Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD) had announced on 6 August 2001 that the IRA had agreed a plan on how it was going to decommission its weapons.
This IRA move had been rejected by David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), who said that the UUP wanted to see decommissioning actually begin (7 August 2001).
The UUP rejection, together with the British government’s decision to suspend the Assembly and the institutions, were the reasons given by the IRA for the decision to withdraw the plan.
The IRA statement concluded that: “Conditions therefore do not exist for progressing our proposition. We are withdrawing our proposal. The IRA leadership will continue to monitor developments. Peacekeeping is a collective effort”.
John Reid, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, said the move would “play into the hands of those sceptics who have always doubted their intention”. Brian Cowen, then Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, said the decision was “very disappointing”.
All shades of Unionist opinion reacted with scorn to the news on decommissioning and also to the arrests of three suspected IRA members in Colombia (13 August 2001).
A 12 year-old Catholic boy was beaten in what police described as a sectarian attack in south Belfast. In north Belfast the British Army carried out a controlled explosion on a lorry, one of two vehicles that had been hi-jacked by Loyalists.
There was a pipe-bomb attack on a Catholic family in north Belfast at 11.15pm (2315BST). Two men were seen running away from the area after the attack.
Graham Shillington (90), a former Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), died in a nursing home in County Armagh. Shillington had been Chief Constable from 1970 to 1973.
The Irish Times (a Republic of Ireland newspaper) reported on the results of a survey into the level of knowledge that people in the two parts of Ireland had about the other.
The survey found that, of those questioned, residents in the Republic had
“considerable ignorance”
about the Northern Irish Protestant tradition, although 48 per cent said they would like to learn more.
Only 19 per cent of Northern Protestants felt they had a good or excellent understanding of the traditions and culture of the Republic. The survey had been carried out on behalf of Co-operation Ireland.
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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 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.
12 people lost their lives on the 14Th August between 1969 – 1994
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14 August 1969
John Gallagher, (30)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Special Constabulary (USC)
Shot during street disturbances, Cathedral Road, Armagh.
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14 August 1969
Patrick Rooney, (9)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC)
Shot at his home, during nearby street disturbances, St Brendan’s Path, Divis Flats, Belfast.
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14 August 1971
John Robinson (21) nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA)
Shot by sniper while on British Army (BA) mobile patrol, Butler Street, Ardoyne, Belfast.
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14 August 1972
David Storey,
(36) nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed by booby trap bomb left outside Casement Park British Army (BA) base, Andersonstown, Belfast.
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14 August 1972
Brian Hope, (20) nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed by booby trap bomb left outside Casement Park British Army (BA) base, Andersonstown, Belfast.
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14 August 1972
Charles McNeill, (70)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot during sniper attack on British Army (BA) foot patrol, Brompton Park, Ardoyne, Belfast.
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14 August 1974
Joseph McGuinness (13)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Defence Association (UDA)
Shot while walking along North Queen Street, New Lodge, Belfast.
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14 August 1974
Paul Magorrian, (21)
Catholic
Status: Irish Republican Army (IRA),
Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot while walking through St Malachy’s estate, Castlewellan, County Down
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14 August 1975
William Meaklin, (28)
Protestant
Status: ex-Royal Ulster Constabulary (xRUC),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Abducted while driving his delivery van, Mullaghduff, near Cullyhanna, County Armagh. Found shot, near Newtownhamilton, County Armagh, on 15 August 1975.
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14 August 1976
Majella O’Hare, (12)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot while walking near to her home, Ballymoyer, near Whitecross, County Armagh.
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14 August 1980
James Bell, (24)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot during attempted burglary of Greenvale Restaurant, Cookstown, County Tyrone
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14 August 1994
Sean Monaghan, (20)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF)
Found shot, on waste ground, off Ottawa Street, Woodvale, Belfast
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Belfast Child 