Tag Archives: John Bell

29th March – Deaths & Events in Northern Ireland Troubles

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

Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles

29th March

—————————————————–

Sunday 29 March 1970

There were serious disturbances in Derry following a march to commemoration the Easter Rising.

The British Army later established a cordon around parts of the Bogside.

Friday 29 March 1974

Two Catholic civilians were killed in a bomb attack on Conway’s public house, Greencastle, near Belfast. The bomb was planted by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF).

Tuesday 29 March 1977

There were reports that the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) was boycotting the United Ulster Unionist Council (UUUC).

Thursday 29 March 1979

 Political Developments, Segregation

flag-one-752x501

See Segregation in Northern Ireland

Sunday 29 March 1981

The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) decided to withdraw the nomination of Austin Currie from the forthcoming by-election in Fermanagh / South Tyrone.

Thursday 29 March 1984

During the trial of John Robinson, a Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officer, for the killing of Seamus Grew, a member of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA), on 12 December 1982, Robinson said he had been ordered to lie about events leading up to the shooting.

He claimed that senior RUC officers had told him what to say and gave the reason as protecting Special Branch officers and an RUC informer in the Republic of Ireland.

[Robinson was later acquitted of the killing.]

on the situation in Northern Ireland which was drawn up on behalf of the Political Affairs Committee, was passed by the European Parliament by124 votes to 3. The report called for a power-sharing administration in Northern Ireland together with an integrated economic plan. The preparation of the report had been opposed by Unionists and the British government.

 

Tuesday 29 March 1994

The Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF), a cover name (pseudonym) used by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), launched a rocket and gun attack on a Sinn Féin (SF) office on the Falls Road, west Belfast.

A report published by the Fair Employment Commission (FEC) suggested that Catholic under-representation in the workplace was 5 per cent compared to 7 per cent in 1990.

Wednesday 29 March 1995

Michael Ancram, then Political Development Minister at the Northern Ireland Office (NIO), held a second meeting with representatives of the Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) and the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP).

Friday 29 March 1996

The Forum for Peace and Reconciliation in Dublin was suspended until a new Irish Republican Army (IRA) ceasefire has been established.

Saturday 29 March 1997

The Irish Republican Army (IRA) left a large bomb, estimated at 1,000 lbs, close to a British Army base at Ballykinlar, County Down. The bomb was defused by the army.

An Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officer was shot in the leg at Forkhill, County Armagh.

Republican paramilitaries carried out two separate ‘punishment’ attacks in west Belfast. In one of the attacks a man was shot in the leg, in the other a teenager was beaten. Loyalist paramilitaries carried out two separate ‘punishment’ shooting attacks in Belfast.

A man was shot in the leg near the Ormeau Road, while a second man was shot in both hands near the Shore Road. An IRA underground firing range was discovered in the Republic of Ireland near Scotstown, County Monaghan.

Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam, then Labour Party spokesperson on Northern Ireland, said in a radio interview that an IRA ceasefire could allow Sinn Féin (SF) to enter the multi-party Stormont talks on 3 June 1997.

Sunday 29 March 1998

A Catholic family were forced to leave their home in the Greymount area of north Belfast following a petrol-bomb attack by Loyalists in the early hours of the morning. The house was badly damaged in the attack. The family were the subject of a prolonged campaign of sectarian intimidation.

The Sunday Telegraph (a British newspaper) published a report in which it claimed that a clandestine British Army unit called Force Research Unit (FRU) had links to Loyalist paramilitary groups. Although allegations about a similar unit known as Future Reaction Force (FRF) were made in 1992 (Dillon, 1992 ‘Stone Cold’) the report claimed that the unit was still operating in Northern Ireland.

Brian_Nelson_Loyalist

[Reports about the FRU were linked to Brian Nelson who was an intelligence officer for the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) but who was at the same time working for British Army intelligence.

Nelson was given intelligence reports on Republicans which he passed on to the UDA who made plans to carry out assassinations. At the time of the Stevens inquiry (which began on 14 September 1989) the security forces stated that they acted to prevent over 200 assassinations.

See Brian Nelson

However the Sunday Telegraphy claimed a number of the assassinations went ahead although the security forces had knowledge of what was planned. It was believed that as many as 15 murders could have been prevented. Sinn Féin (SF) called for a independent judicial inquiry into the latest allegations.]

David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), travelled to Chequers for a private meeting with Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, about the final phase of the multi-party talks at Stormont. After years of controversy, the Irish Christian Brothers published a formal apology to all those in its care who had been mistreated. It invited all such people to seek help.

Monday 29 March 1999

Talks at Hillsborough

Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, and Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), met at Hillsborough Castle for the opening round of meetings on decommissioning of paramilitary weapons. Loyalist paramilitaries carried out a bomb attack on the home of James McCarry, then a Sinn Féin (SF) councillor on Moyle District Council; no one was injured in the attack.

There were clashes between Republicans and Loyalists outside the Waterfront Hall, Belfast, where the Orange Order was holding a ‘cultural evening’.

The IRA announced it had identified the location of the bodies of nine people killed by the organisation between 1972 and 1981 and buried in secret.

jeanmcconville2

The British and Irish governments said they were willing to facilitate the exhumation of the remains of the ‘missing’ by ensuring that any new evidence uncovered would not be used in subsequent criminal proceedings.

See The Disappeared

The Parades Commission announced that the planned Apprentice Boys of Derry (ABD) parade would be re-routed away from the lower Ormeau Road area of Belfast. Colin Part, then Deputy Chief Constable for Norfolk, was appointed to take over control of the investigation into the killing of Rosemary Nelson.

 ———————————————

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.

7  People lost their lives on the 29th March between 1972– 1992

—————————————————————————

29 March 1972


 Bernard Calladene,   (39)

nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed by booby trap bomb in abandoned car, Wellington Street, Belfast

—————————————————————————

29 March 1972
 Ruby Johnston,   (35)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: not known (nk)
Died seven weeks after being badly burned during petrol bomb attack on bus, Ring Road, Armagh.

—————————————————————————

29 March 1973
 Michael Marr,   (33)

nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot by sniper while on British Army (BA) foot patrol, Andersonstown Park West, Andersonstown, Belfast.

—————————————————————————

29 March 1974


 James Mitchell,  (38)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Killed in bomb attack on Conway’s Bar, Shore Road, Greencastle, Belfast.

—————————————————————————

29 March 1974


 Joseph Donnelly,   (24)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Killed in bomb attack on Conway’s Bar, Shore Road, Greencastle, Belfast.

—————————————————————————

29 March 1985


 John Bell,  (34)

Protestant
Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty reservist. Shot at his workplace, garage, Church Square, Rathfriland, County Down.

—————————————————————————

29 March 1992


 Terence McConville,   (43)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Shot at his home, Bann Street, Portadown, County Armagh.

—————————————————————————

 

Advertisement

6th November – Deaths & Events in Northern Ireland Troubles

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

 

Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles

6th November

—————————————————————————————————-

Saturday 6 November 1971

Kathleen Thompson (47) was shot dead by British soldiers as she stood in garden in the Creggan area of Derry.

Wednesday 6 November 1974

——————————————————-

IRA 1983 Break Out of the Maze Prison

——————————————————-

33 Republican Prisoners escaped from the Maze Prison through a tunnel. Hugh Coney (24) was shot dead by a sentry during the escape. 32 of the prisoners were captured by the end of the day.

Two British soldiers were shot dead by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in Crossmaglen, County Armagh.

Thursday 6 November 1975

Freed: Tiede Herrema, accompanied by his wife, Elisabeth, in November 1975,

The siege at the house in Monasterevin, County Kildare, where Tiede Herrema, then a Dutch industrialist, was being held hostage, ended with his safe release.

Saturday 6 November 1976

Two Catholic civilians died as a result of separate shooting incidents carried out by Loyalist paramilitaries in New Lodge, Belfast and Whiteabbey, Belfast.

Friday 6 November 1981

Garret FitzGerald, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), held talks with Margaret Thatcher, then British Prime Minister, in London. As a result of the meeting it was decided to establish the Anglo-Irish Inter-Governmental Council which would act as forum for meetings between the two governments.

Tuesday 6 November 1984

 

New measures were announced to try and combat the problem of impersonation during Northern Ireland elections.

[The local phrase of “vote early, vote often” was a reflection of the belief that there was a widespread problem even if it could not be quantified.]

Tuesday 6 November 1990

Cahal Daly was announced as the new Catholic Primate of All Ireland.

Wednesday 6 November 1991

Plans for public expenditure in Northern Ireland for the year 1992 to 1993 were published. Total expenditure was estimated at £7,030 million, which represented an increase of 8.4 per cent on the previous year.

Friday 6 November 1992

The Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF), a cover name (pseudonym) used by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), announced that it was extending its campaign to include “the entire Republican community”.

The coalition government in the Republic of Ireland collapsed and a general election was called for 25 November 1992

Saturday 6 November 1993

Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), rejected the six principles proposed by Dick Spring, then Tánaiste (deputy Irish Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs), as “the basis for a peace process”.

[Spring had outlined the principles on 27 October 1993.] Albert Reynolds, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), told the Fianna Fáil (FF) Ard Fheis (annual conference) that peace could begin by the end of the year.

Wednesday 6 November

Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), was involved in a car accident near Dundalk in the Republic of Ireland, and received hospital treatment for minor injuries.

Peter McMuller, a former member of the British Army’s Parachute Regiment, was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment for his part in a bomb attack on British Army barracks in Yorkshire, England. He was released because of time already spent in jail.

Thursday 6 November 1997

Split in Sinn Féin In Dundalk in the Republic of Ireland around 12 members of Sinn Féin (SF) resigned from the party in protest at SF’s acceptance of the Mitchell Principles.

[There were also media reports that a number of members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) had left the paramilitary group. A number of commentators considered this to be the most significant split in Republican ranks since 2 November 1986.]

Saturday 6 November 1999

John Hume, then leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), delivered his 20th annual leader’s address to the party’s annual conference in Belfast. He said SDLP policies of negotiation, partnership and reconciliation had a major influence in bringing about the Good Friday agreement.

The deputy leader, Séamus Mallon, called on Sinn Féin (SF) and the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) to end their “miserable dispute” over decommissioning and devolution. Peter Mandelson, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, also addressed the conference.

The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI) formally accepted the recommendations of the Patten report. A new pedestrian bridge was lifted into place across the Liffey, in Dublin, between Grattan Bridge and the Ha’penny Bridge. The Millennium Bridge was due to open in late December 1999.

——————————————————–

———————————————————————————

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.

10 People lost their lives on the 6th November between 1971 – 1989

————————————————————

06 November 1971

 


 Kathleen Thompson,  (47)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot in the back garden of her home, Kildrum Gardens, Creggan, Derry.

————————————————————

06 November 1973
 John Aikman,  (25)

nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot by sniper while on British Army (BA) foot patrol, Newtownhamilton, County Armagh.

————————————————————

06 November 1974


 Hugh Coney,  (24)

Catholic
Status: Irish Republican Army (IRA),

Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot while attempting to escape from Long Kesh Prison, County Down.

————————————————————

06 November 1974


 Stephen Windsor,  (26)

nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot by sniper while on British Army (BA) foot patrol, Crossmaglen, County Armagh.

————————————————————

06 November 1974


 Brian Allen,  (20)

nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot by sniper while on British Army (BA) foot patrol, Crossmaglen, County Armagh

————————————————————

06 November 1975


 John Bell,  (59)

Protestant
Status: Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Shot while driving home from work, Ballymoyer, near Newtownhamilton, County Armagh.

————————————————————

06 November 1976


 Carol McMenamy, (15)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: non-specific Loyalist group (LOY)
Died one day after being shot while standing outside friend’s home, Newington Street, New Lodge, Belfast.

————————————————————

06 November 1976


 Eugene McDonagh,  (23)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Barman. Shot outside his workplace, Jordanstown Inn, Whiteabbey, County Antrim.

————————————————————

06 November 1989
 Robert Burns,  (49)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Irish People’s Liberation Organisation (IPLO)
Shot at his home, Milltown Avenue, Derriaghy, near Belfast, County Antrim.

————————————————————

06 November 1991
 Michael Boxall,   (27)

Protestant
Status: Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in horizontal mortar attack on Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) mobile patrol, Bellaghy, County Derry.

————————————————————

 

See below on how to order a copy of my No.1 Bestselling book: A Belfast Child 

22nd October – Deaths & Events in Northern Ireland Troubles

Deaths in the Troubles, , , , , , ,

Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles

 22nd October

Tuesday 22 October 1974

Members of Parliament (MPs) who were part of the United Ulster Unionist Council (UUUC) elected James Molyneaux as their leader. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) carried out a bomb attack on the Brooks club, in St James’s Square in London. Although the bomb was thrown into an empty dining room, two members of the kitchen staff were severly injured in the blast.

Wednesday 22 October 1975

gilford four cropped

‘Guildford Four’ Patrick Armstrong, Gerard Conlon, Paul Hill, and Carole Richardson (who became known as the ‘Guildford Four’) were found guilty at the Old Bailey in London of causing explosions in London in October 1974. The four were sentenced to life imprisonment.

[Following an appeal the four were released on 19 October 1989. The court of appeal decided that the ‘confessions’ had been fabricated by the police.]

Thursday 22 October 1981

The European Court ruled against the British government on the grounds that it was discriminating against homosexuals by treating homosexuality as a crime in Northern Ireland.

Monday 22 October 1984

The European Commission on Human Rights decided that the use of plastic bullets by security forces in Northern Ireland was justified in riot situations.

Friday 22 October 1993

While addressing the House of Commons at Westminster, John Hume, then leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), said that he thought the Hume-Adams Initiative was the best chance of achieving peace that he had seen in 20 years. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) issued threats against the staff of five firms that were undertaking building work on behalf of the security forces.

Tuesday 22 October 1996

The Irish News (a Belfast based newspaper) published details of an opinion poll  One result showed that 94 per cent of all respondents, and 70 per cent of Sinn Féin (SF) supporters, wanted an immediate Irish Republican Army (IRA) ceasefire.

Friday 22 October 1999

Some journalists were shown identity cards that were alleged to have been taken from two British soldiers who had been “arrested” by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in the Short Strand area of east Belfast. Republicans claimed that the soldiers had been involved with a group of Loyalists in throwing stones at Nationalist residents of Short Strand. It was said that the two soldiers had been questioned by the IRA before being released.

Two men were shot in the legs in a paramilitary ‘punishment’ shooting in Strabane, County Tyrone. The IRA were believed to have been responsible for the attack. Following their arrest on 20 October 1999, seven men were charged with firearms offences and in the case of three other men files were forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions in the Republic of Ireland. Political talks that formed part of the Mitchell Review of the Agreement continued late at Stormont, Belfast.

Monday 22 October 2001

Adams Asks IRA to Decommission At around 1.00am (0100BST) rioting resumed in the Limestone Road and Halliday’s Road area of north Belfast. Petrol bombs and fireworks were thrown at the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). John Reid, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, gave a speech in Belfast in which he said that the British government would not be “grudging or ungenerous” in the event of decommissioning of weapons by paramilitary groups. Later in the day Reid met a number of political leaders to discuss the issue of decommissioning.

Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), held separate meetings with John Reid and David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). Adams later made what he described as a significant speech at 5.00pm (1700BST). In his speech he said: “Martin McGuinness and I have also held discussions with the IRA and we have put to the IRA the view that if it could make a ground-breaking move on the arms issue that this could save the peace process from collapse and transform the situation.”

[The IRA responded on Tuesday 23 October 2001.]

The announcement was welcomed by Nationalists, the Irish government, the British Government, and the American administration. Those Unionists who had supported the Good Friday Agreement also welcomed the announcement. Adams also confirmed that one of the three men arrested in Columbia, South America, on 13 August 2001, was SF’s representative in Cuba. Adams said that Niall Connolly, who had lived in Cuba for a number of years, had been asked to represent SF in Cuba by a senior member of the party. However, Adams said that the “decision was taken without the knowledge or authorisation of the international department or any other party structure including the party chairperson or myself”.

———————————————————————————

Remembering all innocent victims of the Troubles

Today is the anniversary of the death of the following  people killed as a results of the conflict in Northern Ireland

“To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.”
― Thomas Campbell

To the innocent on the list – Your memory will live  forever

– To  the Paramilitaries  –

There are many things worth living for, a few things worth dying for, but nothing worth killing for.

  4  People lost their lives on the 22nd October  between 1972 – 1982

————————————————————–

22 October 1972


 John Bell,   (21)

Protestant
Status: Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Shot at his farm, Derrydoon, near Newtownbutler, County Fermanagh.

————————————————————–

22 October 1973
 Ronald Fletcher,  (46)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: non-specific Loyalist group (LOY)
Killed during bomb attack on Wilson’s Bar, Upper Newtownards Road, Ballyhackamore, Belfast.

————————————————————–

22 October 1974
 Dominic Donnelly, (48)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: non-specific Loyalist group (LOY)
Killed by booby trap bomb hidden in radio, at Eastwood’s Bookmakers, Marquis Street, Belfast.

————————————————————–

22 October 1982


 Thomas Cochrane,   (54)

Protestant
Status: Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Abducted while travelling to work, Glennane, near Markethill, County Armagh. Found shot Lislea, near Camlough, County Armagh, on 29 October 1982.

————————————————————–