Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles
3rd January
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Friday 3 January 1969
The third day of the People’s Democracy (PD) march took it from Maghera to Claudy.
Monday 3 January 1972
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) exploded a bomb in Callender Street, Belfast, which injured over 60 people.
Friday 3 January 1986
Pascal O’Hare, then a Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) Assembly Member, resigned from the party because he believed the Anglo-Irish Agreement (AIA) secured the union with Britain and reduced the chance of a united Ireland.
Saturday 3 January 1987
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) organised a petition against the Anglo-Irish Agreement (AIA). Eventually 400,000 signatures were collected and the petition handed into Buckingham Palace on 12 February 1987.
Friday 3 January 1992
Two Catholic civilians were shot dead at their butcher’s shop in Moy, County Tyrone, by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF).
The Labour Party in Britain undertook to continue with the political talks in the event of it winning the forthcoming general election
Sunday 3 January 1993
Patrick Shields (51) and his son Diarmuid Shields (20), both Catholic civilians, were shot dead by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) at Lisnagleer, near Dungannon, County Tyrone.
[A number of weeks later the girlfriend of Diarmuid committed suicide because she was unable to come to terms with his death.]
Monday 3 January 1994
Patrick Mayhew, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, said that troop levels would be reviewed after a cessation of violence but the British government would not “join the ranks of the persuaders” for a particular outcome
Friday 3 January 1997
There was a report in the Irish Times which indicated that the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) were considering ending their ceasefire officially if the Irish Republican Army (IRA) continued to carry out attacks.
[The Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) denied that there was any truth in the report.]
Saturday 3 January 1998
Loyalist prisoners representing the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF), voted to withdraw their support for the peace process. They expressed anger at the British government’s handling of the process and insisted that concessions were being made to Republicans.
However, the political leaders of the Loyalist paramilitary groups insisted that the 1994 ceasefire was still intact. Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, said that she would not resign despite calls from Unionists for her to do so.
The gates of the Catholic chapel in Harryville, Ballymena, County Antrim, were rammed by Loyalists in a stolen car following Saturday night mass. This incident was one of a number since picketing began outside the chapel in August 1996. A building, used by a community playgroup, in the grounds of a Catholic chapel, were destroyed in an arson attack believed to have been carried out by Loyalists.
Sunday 3 January 1999
Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), said there should be a speedy resolution of the problems surrounding decommissioning. Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) detectives were reported as saying that they knew the identity of the people responsible for the Omagh Bombing but did not have enough evidence to bright them before a court.
The Irish group ‘Boyzone’ held a concert in Omagh to help raise money for the fund established to help victims of the bombing. After the concert the band-members met with survivors of the bombing. The concert raised £20,000 for the victims’ fund.
Thursday 3 January 2002
Loyalist Paramilitary Killed William Campbell (19), a member of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), was killed when a pipe-bomb exploded close to a derelict house in Winston Way in the Heights area of Coleraine, County Derry, at approximately 11.30pm (2330GMT).
[Police were investigating the theory that the derelict house may have been used by Loyalist paramilitaries as a store for explosives. It was believed that Campbell was handling the device when it exploded prematurely. There was speculation that the pipe-bomb may have been fitted with a timing device. There have been numerous pipe-bomb attacks on Catholic homes in Coleraine since 11 September 2000. Nationalists claimed that there had been over 100 attacks on Catholic families in the previous two years.]
Loyalist paramilitaries carried out a pipe-bomb attack on a Catholic family in north Belfast at approximately 9.30pm (2130GMT). A mother and her four children escaped injury when a “substantial explosive device” filled with shrapnel was thrown through the window of the living room. The explosion caused extensive damage to the house. The family were upstairs at the time of the attack.
[Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said the attack may have been sectarian. Nationalists claimed the attack had been carried out by the UDA. The family said they would move from there home.]
A pipe-bomb was defused outside the house of a PSNI officer in Annalong, County Down. The house had also been attacked on 27 April 2001.
A man (39) was shot in the leg in a paramilitary ‘punishment’ attack in Newtownards, County Down. He was found lying in a laneway in the Scrabo estate. Police discovered 500 empty bottles in the Loyalist Tiger’s Bay area of north Belfast. Police officers said they believe the bottles would have been used to make petrol bombs.
[There have been numerous attacks since the middle of 2001 from Tiger’s Bay into the mainly Catholic Limestone Road area.]
Loyalists attacked the home of Danny O’Connor, then a Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) councillor, in Larne, County Antrim. O’Connor’s car, and that of his father, were also damaged in the attack.
[O’Connor’s home has been attacked by Loyalists approximately 20 times in the past four years.]
The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) welcomed the proposals in the planned Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland. Alex Attwood, then SDLP chairman and justice spokesman, said that the proposals were “an opportunity for all and a threat to none”. He also said that the British government should not adopt a “minimalist” approach to the proposed Bill.
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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.
5 People lost their lives on the 3rd January between 1980– 1993
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03 January 1980
Robert Crilly, (60)
Protestant
Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty reservist. Shot at his workplace, Main Street, Newtownbutler, County Fermanagh.
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03 January 1992
John McKearney, (69)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Shot together with his nephew, at their shop, The Square, Moy, County Tyrone. He died 4 April 1992.
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03 January 1992
Kevin McKearney, (32)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Shot together with his uncle, at their shop, The Square, Moy, County Tyrone
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03 January 1993
Patrick Shields, (51)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Shot at his home / shop, Lisnagleer, near Dungannon, County
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03 January 1993
Diarmuid Shields, (20)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Shot at his home / shop, Lisnagleer, near Dungannon, County Tyrone.
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Belfast Child 