Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles
10th February
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Thursday 10 February 1972
Two British soldiers were killed in a land mine attack near Cullyhanna, County Armagh.. An IRA member was shot dead during an exchange of gunfire with RUC officers.
Saturday 10 February 1973
Two members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) were killed in a premature explosion near Strangford, County Down.
Monday 10 February 1975
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) Truce
Two Catholic civilians were shot dead by Loyalist paramilitaries in a gun attack on Hayden’s Bar, near Pomeroy, County Tyrone. A Catholic civilian was shot dead by Loyalists in Belfast. The renewed Irish Republican Army (IRA) ceasefire began.
[The ceasefire was to last officially until 23 January however there were a number of incidents during 1975 involving members of the IRA. During the period of the ceasefire the British government and the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) denied that a deal had been made with the IRA. Sinn Féin (SF) and the IRA said a 12 point plan had been agreed with the British. Some of the elements of this alleged deal were to become apparent such as the setting up of ‘incident centres’ and a reduction in security force activity in Nationalist areas.]
Thursday 10 February 1977
Those members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) who were arrested at the end of the Balcombe Street siege in London were convicted of six murders.
[The Balcombe Street siege had begun on 6 December 1975.]
Sunday 10 February 1980
Betty Williams, one of the founding members of the Peace People, resigned from the organisation for family reasons.
[There was speculation that there had been serious disagreements among the main members of the organisation. On 5 March 1980 another member of the Peace People, Peter McLachlan, also resigned.]
Tuesday 10 February 1987
An opinion poll published in the Daily Express (a British newspaper) found that 61 per cent of the British public were in favour of British withdrawal from Northern Ireland.
Saturday 10 February 1990
A Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) patrol came under gunfire on the Shankill Road, Belfast. The shooting incident was attributed to the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) which, it was claimed, was resentful of the work of the Stevens Inquiry.
Hugh Annesley, then Chief Constable of the RUC, issued a strategy document for the future of the RUC.
Monday 10 February 1992
The British government sent an extra battalion of British Army troops to Northern Ireland.
Wednesday 10 February 1993
Albert Reynolds, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), nominated Gordon Wilson to become a member of the Irish Senate (the upper house of the Irish Parliament).
[Gordon Wilson had been injured, and his daughter killed, in the Enniskillen bomb on 8 November 1987.]
Thursday 10 February 1994
McGlinchey Killed
Dominic McGlinchey, former leader of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA), was shot dead by three gunmen in Drogheda, Republic of Ireland.
It is not clear which organisation was responsible for the killing
Saturday 10 February 1996
John Bruton, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), announced that the Irish Government was breaking off ministerial contact with Sinn Féin (SF) in the light of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) bombing in London on 9 February 1996.
Monday 10 February 1997
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) left a large bomb on the outskirts of Strabane, County Tyrone. The bomb was defused by the British Army.
Ed Turner, then Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) mayor of Strabane, said that in light of the attempted bombing he would not be recommending anyone to invest in the town. His statement drew criticism from Nationalists. Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), sent a fax to John Major, then British Prime Minister, requesting talks between SF and the British government.
Tuesday 10 February 1998
Robert Dougan (38), a leading Loyalist, was shot dead in Dunmurry near Belfast.
[It was believed that Dougan was a leading member of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). While no group claimed responsibility for the killing Republican paramilitaries were involved and the Irish Republican Army (IRA) were later blamed by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) for the death. The killing of Dougan (and Brendan Campbell on 9 February 1998) led to the expulsion of Sinn Féin (SF) from the multi-party talks on 20 February 1998.]
Mark Fulton, considered to be a leading Loyalist figure, was attacked by a gunman who fired two shots at him in the Redmondville estate, Portadown, County Armagh. Fulton escaped injury but blamed the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) for the attack. This claim was denied by David Ervine, then leader of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP).
Wednesday 10 February 1999
The Belfast Telegraph (a Belfast based newspaper) published the results of an opinion poll. The poll showed that, of Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) supporters questioned, 63 per cent approved of David Trimble, then leader of the UUP.
Saturday 10 February 2001
There was a pipe-bomb attack on a Catholic home in Derry. A couple and their two nieces, aged five and three, escaped injury when the device was thrown through the kitchen window of their home in the Waterside area. It exploded, causing minor damage to the house. The attack was carried out by Loyalist paramilitaries.
Sunday 10 February 2002
There was stone throwing in the Arthur Bridge area of the Whitewell Road, north Belfast. The disturbances happened during the evening and followed on from rioting on Saturday (9 February 2002).
Pupils from the Holy Cross Girls’ Primary School in Ardoyne, north Belfast, travelled to County Galway to begin a holiday as guests of Peacock’s Hotel. The management of the hotel had made the offer of the holiday following incidents during 2001 when the school was blockaded by Loyalist protesters.
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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 10th February between 1972 – 1998
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10 February 1972
Joseph Cunningham, (26)
Catholic
Status: Irish Republican Army (IRA),
Killed by: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC)
Shot during gun battle, O’Neill’s Road, Newtownabbey, County Antrim.
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10 February 1972
Ian Harris, (26)
nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in land mine attack on British Army (BA) mobile patrol, Cullyhanna, County Armagh.
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10 February 1972
David Champ, (23)
nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in land mine attack on British Army (BA) mobile patrol, Cullyhanna, County Armagh
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10 February 1973
Leonard O’Hanlon, (23)
Catholic
Status: Irish Republican Army (IRA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Died in premature bomb explosion in the grounds of Castleward National Trust Estate, near Strangford, County Down.
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10 February 1973
Vivienne Fitzsimmons, (17)
Catholic
Status: Irish Republican Army (IRA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Died in premature bomb explosion in the grounds of Castleward National Trust Estate, near Strangford, County Down.
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10 February 1975
Joseph Fitzpatrick, (19)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: non-specific Loyalist group (LOY)
Road sweeper. Shot while sweeping street, Cooke Place, off Ormeau Road, Belfast
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0 February 1975
Arthur Mulholland, (65)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Shot during gun attack on Hayden’s Bar, The Rock, near Pomeroy, County Tyrone
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10 February 1975
Eugene Doyle, (18)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Shot during gun attack on Hayden’s Bar, The Rock, near Pomeroy, County Tyrone
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10 February 1980
Hugh Maguire, (9)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: not known (nk)
Killed during street disturbances, Springfield Road, Ballymurphy, Belfast. Confrontation between local people and British Army (BA) patrol.
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10 February 1981
David Montgomery, (27)
Protestant
Status: Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Shot at his workplace, a timber yard, Strand Road, Derry.
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10 February 1994
Dominic McGlinchey, (42)
Catholic
Status: ex-Irish National Liberation Army (xINLA),
Killed by: not known (nk)
Former leader of Irish National Liberation Army (INLA). Shot while at public telephone kiosk, Hardmans Gardens, Drogheda, County Louth.
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10 February 1998
Robert Dougan, (38)
Protestant
Status: Ulster Defence Association (UDA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot, while sitting in his stationary car, outside Balmoral Textiles Ltd, Station View, off Upper Dunmurry Lane, Dunmurry, near Belfast, County Antrim.
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Belfast Child 