Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles
4th June
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Tuesday 4 June 1968
Lord Stonham, then Minister of State at the Home Office with responsibility for Northern Ireland, began a three day visit to the region.
Friday 4 June 1976
Ian Paisley, then leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), disclosed information about a series of secret talks between the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP). The two parties had held five meetings since March 1976.
Wednesday 4 June 1980
John Turnley, then chairman of the Irish Independence Party (IIP), was shot dead by Loyalists while on his way to a political meeting in Carnlough, County Antrim.
[The IIP was a Nationalist party that had been established on 7 October 1977
Friday 4 June 1982
James Flynn (37), believed to be a member of the Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA), was shot dead by the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) in North Strand Road, Dublin.
[The INLA later claimed that Flynn was responsible for the killing of Seamus Costello, who had been leader of the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP), on 5 October 1977 in Dublin.]
Monday 4 June 1984
Ronald Reagan, then President of the United States of America (USA), addressed a joint session of the Dáil and Senate in Dublin.
He stated that US policy was not to interfere in matters relating to Northern Ireland but he criticised violence in the region and supported the New Ireland Forum.
Tuesday 4 June 1985
In Fermanagh District Council a Sinn Féin (SF) member is elected as chairman with a member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) being elected as vice-chairman. In Magherafelt a SF member was elected as vice-chairman
Wednesday 4 June 1986
Ian Gow, a former Conservative minister, was part of a group of people who launched a new organisation called ‘Friends of the Union’.
Monday 4 July 1988
John Hermon, then Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), announced that disciplinary proceedings were to be undertaken against 20 RUC officers as a result of the investigation into the ‘shoot to kill’ incidents in 1982.
Thursday 4 June 1992
The Court of Appeal in London upheld the appeal of Judith Ward against her conviction for involvement in a bomb attack on 4 February 1974. The court quashed her conviction and accused the original forensic scientists of having concealed evidence.
Tuesday 4 June 1996
The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) invited nine political parties to attend talks at Stormont. Sinn Féin (SF) were not invited to the talks. Mary Robinson, then President of the Republic of Ireland, began the first official state visit to Britain by an Irish Head of State.
Wednesday 4 June 1997
The Gardaí shot and wounded an armed robber, John Morris (26), in Inchicore, Dublin.
Two other robbers were arrested at the scene.
[Morris died on 5 June 1997 from his wounds. The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) later said that Morris was one of its members. It was also later learned that no shots had been fired at the Gardaí during the robbery.]
The Armagh Grand Orange Lodge wrote a letter to the residents of the Nationalist Garvaghy Road setting out the Lodge’s reasons for wishing to parade through the area in July 1997. The Residents’ Coalition demanded a public meeting with the Orange Order on the issue.
Thursday 4 June 1998
The text of a Northern Ireland Office (NIO) memo on the run-up to the announcement of the Independent Commission on Policing was leaked to the press.
Friday 4 June 1999
Portadown Orangemen began proximity talks with representatives of the Garvaghy Road Residents’ Coalition (GRRC) to try to resolve the dispute surrounding the Drumcree parade planned for 4 July 1999. Frank Blair, then of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), acted as mediator.
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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.
12 People lost their lives on the 4th June between 1972 – 1997
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04 June 1972
Gerard Murray (26)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: non-specific Loyalist group (LOY)
Shot outside his shop, Annesley Street, off Antrim Road, Belfast.
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04 June 1975
Francis Jordan (21)
Catholic
Status: Irish Republican Army (IRA),
Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot while planting bomb outside Pit Bar, Mill Vale, near Bessbrook, County Armagh
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04 June 1976
Alexander Patterson (42)
Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot while travelling in Shankill black taxi, along Upper Crumlin Road, Belfast.
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04 June 1976
William Spring (51)
Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Defence Association (UDA)
Found shot in Waterproof Street, Lower Oldpark, Belfast. Assumed to be a Catholic
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04 June 1980
John Turnly (44)
Protestant
Status: Civilian Political Activist (CivPA),
Killed by: Ulster Defence Association (UDA)
Irish Independence Party (IIP) member. Shot while travelling to political meeting, Carnlough, County Antrim.
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04 June 1982
James Flynn (37)
Catholic
Status: Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA),
Killed by: Irish National Liberation Army (INLA)
Shot from passing motorcycle as he left Cusack’s Bar, North Strand Road, Dublin. Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA) / Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) feud.
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04 June 1983
Andrew Stinson (35)
Protestant
Status: Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR),
Killed by: Irish National Liberation Army (INLA)
Off duty. Killed by booby trap bomb attached to mechanical digger in field, Eglish, near Dungannon, County Tyrone.
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04 June 1984
David Chambers (34)
Protestant
Status: Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Shot by sniper while travelling on motorcycle to his workplace, Dollingstown, near Lurgan, County Down.
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04 June 1987
Joseph Leach (21)
nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot by sniper while on British Army (BA) mobile patrol, Shaw’s Road, Andersonstown, Belfast
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04 June 1988
Michael Darcy (28)
Protestant
Status: Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Shot outside his home, Killeter Road, Castlederg, County Tyrone.
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04 June 1990
Patrick Boyle (60)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Shot at his home, Eglish Park, Annaghmore, near Loughgall, County Armagh.
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04 June 1997
John Morris (26)
nfNIRI
Status: Irish National Liberation Army (INLA),
Killed by: Garda Siochana (GS)
From County Dublin. Shot, during armed robbery, at commercial premises, Goldenbridge Industrial Estate, Inchicore, Dublin.
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Belfast Child 