A Chronology of the Northern Ireland Conflict
ISSUE 38
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t can often be a contentious issue of debate of when and how Northern Ireland’s ‘Troubles’ began, who and what is to blame, and even which event in case led us to where we are now. You can go back 30 years, or even 300 years and beyond for in reality Ireland has been engaged in conflict with England for centuries. Therefore, in order to compile a chronological record of the modern Troubles - the term usually given to the most recent conflict, we must mark a defining point of start, which we have taken as partition itself and from which we began in. In turn again, we feel it is equally important to give you the reader some understanding why events spiralled as they did into a bloody civil war. This is not another view of the Troubles, this has been done and redone. This is the historical recording of events compiled by people from different parts of Belfast who lived through them. Our objective as local historians is to compile what we hope will be as near as possible a definitive reference to events as they unfolded through the last three decades. In terms of research we have used as much material as possible and from diverse perspectives. We are confident that we have covered events as they were reported at the time. If however you feel that we have either left something out or indeed got something wrong we are more than happy to hear from you. As mentioned above this series of publications is the historical recording of the Troubles and all corrections are more than welcome. GLENRAVEL LOCAL HISTORY PROJECT Ashton Centre Churchill Street Belfast BT15 2BP Tel: (028) 9020 2100 • Fax: (028) 9020 2227 E-Mail: glenravel@ashtoncentre.com This is designed to create a better historical understanding of what has become known as ‘The Troubles.’ Therefore for educational purposes you are more than welcome to use any material from them. All that we ask is that the source is acknowledged and a copy of the material sent to us after publication. We use material that has been placed in the public domain. We try to acknowledge all the copyright holders but sometimes this is not possible. If you claim credit for something that has appeared in this publication then we will be happy to know about it so that we can make the appropriate acknowledgements.
SOURCE MATERIAL USED FOR THIS PUBLICATION
www.wikipedia.org
IRISH NEWS Numerous issues for period covered
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NEWS LETTER Numerous issues for period covered
BELFAST TELEGRAPH Numerous issues for period covered
LOST LIVES A record of all those killed during The Troubles
We use this site to cover major events during the Northern Ireland conflict. We recommend its use not only for local material but also for any general educational or research subject.
Wednesday 1st September 1976 Three men and two women from the Portadown area who had been held at Monaghan police station under the Offences Against the State Act were released without charge. They were arrested after the car in which they were travelling crashed on the Clones to Monaghan road and they were interviewed by Special Branch officers who were investigating the fire bomb attack on cinemas and pubs in Dublin. Five marines were injured in an IRA mortar bomb attack on Crossmaglen RUC station. The Royal Marines who were hurt were hit by flying glass and shrapnel when three of five mortar bombs aimed at the station exploded. Two of the shells went off as they crashed through the roof and a large section was blown off. The firing point
was near Rathview Park, about 100 yards from the base. During the attack several shots were also heard. The IRA c l a i m e d responsibility for the attack, claiming that it had taken precautions to avoid civilian casualties. Shortly before the attack armed and masked men had stopped traffic entering the village on four roads. The IRA also evacuated residents near to the station before the attack. In Lurgan a Chinese restaurant in Malcolm Road, Mountainview,
was wrecked by a 3lb bomb which was planted by two women. The women, one armed with a sub machine gun and the other with a handgun, placed a plastic bag c o n t a i n i n g commercial explosives on the counter. Staff and customers got out before the explosion. A 20lb bomb with a petrol can attached was carried out of the premises of GS Wholesale at Little York Street in Belfast. Two gunmen had planted the bomb and made off in a car. The army defused the device. Armstrong’s tiling
warehouse at Boucher Road Industrial Estate was destroyed by a bomb explosion. A six man gang in a red van had planted the devices. In Newtownhamilton an incendiary bomb in the post office was neutralised by the army. More than 50 people were evacuated from their homes in Cookstown while the army dealt with mortar bombs found hidden in a hedge. Soldiers found four mortar tubes, three loaded with shells, in the hedge at Molesworth Road, 300 yards from the town’s police station.
IRA firebomb attack on Armstrong’s Tile Warehouse
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Thursday 2nd September 1976 An army foot patrol came under fire in south Armagh but no one was injured. Two high velocity shots were fired at the patrol at Silverbridge,
about 3 miles form Crossmaglen but no hits were claimed but fire was returned. A bomb exploded in Lurgan after a man planted a device with
a can of fuel attached to it. The bomber gave staff in Stevenson’s electrical shop in William Street a 20 minute warning as he left the package. The blast
which came 19 minutes later, caused only superficial damage to the shop and there were no casualties. The bomb contained 3lb of explosives.
Friday 3rd September 1976 Saturday 4th September 1976 Five men were arrested in Dublin in connection with fire bomb attacks in the city. A large party of armed Special Branch detectives swooped on the b o m b e r s headquarters in a house at Lakelands, Terenure. A stockpile of firebombs and materials for making incendiary devices were found in the house. The RUC uncovered a large arms cache in a house at Rathcoole near Belfast. 14 guns and over 2000 assorted bullets and other equipment were found in the raid. The haul included seven pistols, four revolvers, a rifle, a double barrelled sawn off shotgun, a h o m e m a d e submachine gun,
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bullets, magazines, a starting pistol, 2 two way radios, a bayonet, a telescopic sight, a silencer, holsters, an ammunition pouch and weapon cleaning equipment. A 32 year old man was shot in the foot in Ballymena after he was confronted by two armed and masked men in King Street and taken to an entry where he was shot. Two high velocity shots were fired at a Commando mobile patrol in Newry but both shots missed. Shots were fired at a routine UDR patrol three miles from Keady. Fire was returned and no one was hit in the exchange.
An incendiary device was found in the Trampas boutique in Great Victoria Street, Belfast. The device was taken outside and defused by the army. Two similar incendiaries also found in the shop overnight were also successfully defused. A 33 year old man from Riverdale Park South, Belfast was charged with having ammunition at his home. He was accused of having four rounds of 303 ammunition at his home. A 22 year old man was shot in the stomach as he and another man walked along University Road in Belfast. One shot rang out as the two men approached
an entry near a garage. The injured man was taken to hospital. A 17 year old youth was also admitted to hospital with gunshot wounds to his right leg. A petrol bomb was thrown through a window into the living room of a house at Workman Avenue. The room was slightly damaged but the family inside the house were not injured. A blast bomb was thrown at the Holy Cross school in Ardoyne. An army search of the area uncovered a second device which was defused in a controlled explosion. Windows in the school and in nearby houses were broken,
but there were no injuries. The army came under fire at the Springfield Road roundabout. Fire was returned but the army claimed no hits. There were no injuries.
In Strabane the army post came under fire from automatic fire which came from the direction of the Strabane Bridge. Fire was not returned and there were no injuries.
Monday 6th September 1976 A 69 year old widow collapsed and died after being evacuated from her home during a bomb alert in Newtownstewart.
rang out as Mr Hunt and another man walked past an entry. Two men were slightly injured in a shooting in the Twinbrook area of Belfast. The two men, both 21, were driving through the estate when they were stopped by a crowd. The men ran off but a gunman fired shots at them and both men were hit. One received a leg injury and the other a hand injury.
She was Mrs Sarah McGarvey from Mill Street, where a 10lb parcel bomb had been planted outside the Central Motor Works garage. The bomb went off 30 minutes after the warning, and caused severe damage to the garage and broke windows in nearby houses. Some cars in the showroom were also damaged. A single shot was fired at a police land 22 year old Mr rover at Cliftonville Samuel Hunt from Road. No one was Lissan Close in the injured. Cregagh area was shot in the stomach as A mystery explosion he walked along demolished a house at University Road. He Melbourne Street in was hit when a shot the Shankill area.
The RUC searching the garden of a house at Stanhope Drive in the Unity flats area, found an armalite rifle, a pistol and a quantity of ammunition. Two youths hijacked buses in the Shantallow area of Derry. They forced the driver to take them to the junction of the Racecourse Road where they were met by a further three youths who loaded three duffle bags and two petrol cans on to the bus and then forced the driver to go to the Pennyburn industrial estate. The youths ran off and the bombs exploded 15 minutes after the army arrived.
In Sion Mills a garage and car showroom were damaged by a 5lb bomb. The explosion was at Sayers garage in the village, but a warning was given and there were no injuries.
12 shots were fired at Magherafelt RUC station and soldiers on duty fired back but no one claimed hits.
At Aughrim a number of shots were fired at a house but no one was injured. A single shot was fired at soldiers on patrol at Sugar Island, Newry. They returned fire but claimed no hits.
Tuesday 7th September 1976 Bombs packed into two chairs were left at an upholstery factory in Ballysillan industrial estate on the Ligoniel Road. Workers moving one of the chairs noticed a strong smell of petrol and became suspicious. They left
the chair sealed in a lift and were on their way back to the loading bay when a device in the other chair exploded. The bomb blast started a blaze and no one was injured. A 26 year old girl saved her family after
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a petrol bomb was lobbed through the bedroom window of the house at Glenwood Park in Dunmurry. The girl was wakened by the sound of breaking glass and roused her sleeping parents and
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teenage sister. They found the petrol bomb had turned her bedroom into a blazing death trap. A 19 year old Strabane youth was charged with being a member of the IRA in 1974, possessing a
rifle and hijacking a In Portadown four car in Strabane. high velocity shots were fired at a routine A soldier was injured UDR mobile patrol in an ambush a mile on the outskirts of the from Keady village. town. The patrol 20 shots were fired at returned fire but don’t the mobile patrol but think they hit the the soldier was not gunman. seriously injured.
Wednesday 8th September 1976 In Belfast the RUC the rear garden of a found 48 rounds of house at Andersonstown ammunition hidden in Road.
Thursday 9th September 1976 A Co Armagh woman got a surprise when she opened a tin of paint and found a small bomb. The woman bought the paint in Lisburn and brought it back to her Waringstown house. It was defused by the army.
A 21 year old man and a 16 year old youth were charged with petrol bombing a house at Glenwood Park in Dunmurry and with being in possession of a .22 revolver.
challenged by the soldiers he ran off and the troops opened fire but no hits were claimed. A dance was in progress in the ballroom at the time but there were no other persons in the car park.
driver were waiting for the officer at a nearby car park and drove out of the park and fired a shot from close range. Arms ammunition and explosives were found by the gardai in a raid on a house near Portlaoise. Three men were arrested at the scene, one of which had recently escaped from the prison. A 7lb bomb attached to a trip wire was included in the find. The bomb had a painted inscription which read: "Torturers beware Informers next". The bomb was dismantled by the army. Also discovered were five home made hand grenades, two armalite rifles and magnum pistol. The raid was carried out on a farmhouse at the Heath four miles from the town and the jail.
A bomb wrecked a confectioners shop in Portadown after a small bomb was attached to a petrol can and left it in the shop. The area was Friday 10th September 1976 cleared and the bomb A 29 year old bombs rocked the exploded as the army postman was shot on building at prepared to deal with his way to work in Glenmachan Street in it. Lisburn. The man Belfast. The bombs explosions was hit by a number were planted by two Two of shotgun pellets and armed youths and the caused damage to the of he was seriously devices exploded 20 premises McCauselands car injured. minutes after the and hire on the Grosvenor Fire swept through a building car accessory depot in surrounding area was Road in Belfast. Belfast after two evacuated. A 46 year old RUC Saturday 11th September 1976 reservist was shot A blaze broke out one was injured. through the wrist after a bomb blasted while on duty at a hardware shop at The army fired on a Queen Street, Lurgan. the Donegall Road in man seen carrying a The gunman and his Belfast. An armed rifle in the car park of Back issues are only gang planted the the Castle ballroom in available as PDFs bomb at James Dungiven. The foot Wilson’s store and the patrol noticed the See back cover for bomb exploded a man in the car park details on being short time later. No and
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Monday 13th September 1976 A 21 year old man from Lenadoon was jailed for five years for possessing timing devices for bombs at his home in Carrigart Avenue.
18 year old Victor Moody of Mayo Street in Belfast was found dying in an entry near Disraeli Street. He had been shot in the head and died shortly after being admitted to the Mater Hospital.
Two shots were fired at a taxi driver and his passenger near the Ravenhill Road. Both shots missed but a bottle thrown at the taxi hit the driver, cutting his head. In Dungannon the army stated that children playing on the local golf course found a live hand grenade in a bunker. They reported the matter to the RUC and the army neutralised the device.
patrol was attacked by youths throwing stones and bottles as it passed the Village end of Broadway. In Sandy Row C & B Fashions was damaged by smoke after a petrol bomb was thrown into the shop.
In Derriaghy the Travellers Rest bar was cleared after a bomb scare, but the suspect device was harmless. In Carrickfergus a suspect device was found at the Central Bar but it did not contain explosives.
Tuesday 14th September 1976 Two prison offices were taken from their homes at gunpoint and threatened not to report for work at the Maze. Shots were fired into another officer’s home and hoax bombs were left outside houses belonging to a further six warders. Disruption and destruction started by the UDA spread across Belfast. The spate of fires and bomb hoaxes in loyalist areas led to
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tension with the RUC and fire brigade. Targets ranged from business premises to Government buildings, such as libraries and Housing Executive offices. Youths burst into Robinsons lard and dripping factory in the Shankill Road and ordered out the workforce of 30 and set fire to the building. Youths threw petrol bombs and hoax car bombs were left throughout East Belfast. An RUC
IRA firebomb attacks in Belfast city centre
Wednesday 15th September 1976 An army patrol found a rifle, a quantity of ammunition and bomb making equipment near a house in the Creggan area of Derry.
Two citybus buses were set alight on the Highfield Estate in Belfast as the UDA inspired violence continued throughout loyalist areas of
Belfast. The UDA were protesting against the ill treatment of their prisoners at the Maze. Four more bomb hoaxes stretched the RUC and army and Protestant peace women who were pelted with eggs and potatoes by UDA supporters continued to protest on the streets against the violence and intimidation. Citybus services to Springmartin, Glencairn, Ardoyne and Turf Lodge were suspended. An 11 year old girl was shot in the head in Groomsport Street in Belfast. A shotgun was discharged and two youths were seen running away and the girl was hit above the right eye and received a minor injury. Two young boys who were with her were struck on the thigh and hip but were not seriously hurt. A car was hijacked at Thorn Street, Donegall Road and was loaded with a
device and the driver was ordered to take it to Shaftesbury Square but it turned out to be a hoax. The custom post at Clontivern, Newtownbutler was destroyed by a 5lb
bomb. No one was hurt. In Larne two petrol bombs were thrown at parked cars in the Antiville area. The first was at Doric Drive and did not explode but the
second at Bardic Drive went off inside the vehicle. No one was injured. There were bomb hoaxes at Magheramourne Railway Station and Glynn Railway Station.
Bomb attack on Simpson & Mitchell’s merchants in Smithfield Square
The Forensics Laboratory in Belfast is destroyed in an IRA bomb attack
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A suspect device was discovered outside the gasworks at Larne Road in Ballymena. A controlled explosion was carried out but the device was a hoax. There were bomb scares at Turkingtons Garage, Baird’s factory and at a derelict building at
O’Neil Avenue area and a number of shots were fired and two men were detained and later handed to the RUC. The weapons were found A submachine gun in a follow up and a pistol were operation. recovered by the army in Newry. The A small quantity of soldiers spotted three explosives and a men acting shotgun were found suspiciously in the by the army in a Malcolm Road in Lurgan. Controlled explosions were carried out but all three devices were hoaxes.
search of a derelict house in Manor Street, Belfast. A former UDR man who stole 100 rounds of ammunition from the Ministry of Defence and then sold it to a neighbour for £2 was jailed for two year at the Belfast City Commission.
Thursday 16th September 1976 The headquarters of the Belfast Telegraph were extensively damaged after a huge bomb exploded outside the Royal Avenue premises. Emergency copies of the paper were quickly put together and the limited edition copies were sold on the streets for 1p. The no warning bomb caused serious
Queens Arcade in when a bomb in a was shopping bag damage to the offices Belfast and one member of extensively damaged exploded. staff had a leg severed in the blast and 13 other people were injured. The building was being evacuated after a spray of bullets hit the rear of the building which was followed by an explosion. Smith’s record shop at the corner of
An office girl is carried away (left) after a bomb attack on the offices of the Belfast Telegraph (right)
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Friday 17th September 1976 The house of a Protestant woman peace support was daubed with black paint. The woman heard the sound of footsteps running away but did not realise her blue front door and
front room window had been covered with paint until a passing police patrol knocked on the door of her home at Sherbrook Close off the Shankill Road. The army who chased
Saturday 18th September 1976 A middle aged woman was at the centre of a bomb drama in the centre of Belfast. She shouted a warning to staff of n e w s p a p e r wholesaler’s offices after seeing a girl and a boy planting a bomb outside the building. The woman was outside the Menzies
premises in Academy Street when she saw the couple walking along with a carrier bag and overheard the couple discussing planting the bomb. The bomb exploded less than 10 minutes later, but the woman had managed to warn the 60 staff working inside the building to
the bombers who attacked the Belfast Telegraph offices later found a bloodjacket and two revolvers. The army chased the youths into a derelict house in Stephen Street near the Telegraph building in Royal
Avenue but they escaped through the rear of the house, and ditched their guns and the jacket. The soldiers found bloodstains inside the house and at the back and recovered the items.
get out. The blast damage was contained mainly to the steel shutters at the front of the building and windows on upper floors were also smashed.
Lisburn but the area was cleared before the blast.
A car bomb caused extensive damage to the Modern Tool Supply Company in
A 26 year old man from Cooldarragh Park in the Cavehill area was shot dead at
A post office sorting office was slightly damaged in a fire started by six petrol bombs.
Office girls make their way through the rubble after a bomb explosion in Murray Street
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his home. The man was shot in the head and his body was discovered when his girlfriend returned home.
incident at Kerrera Street, Crumlin Road, Belfast. A 28 year old man was injured in the leg and was not seriously injured.
The Belfast to Bangor train was hijacked by two men at Sydenham. There were no passengers on the train at the time and the hijackers hurled three petrol bombs into one of the carriages, starting a fire which caused only slight damage. Traffic on the line was held up until the damaged train could be moved.
A Citybus bus was hijacked by three men and set on fire at the junction of Woodstock Road and Woodstock Place. The bus had been driven across the roadway and was badly damaged.
A number of petrol bombs were thrown at Cochrane’s mineral water store at Ravenhill Avenue causing slight damage. There was a shooting
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TOP - Hijacked buses on the Shankill Road. ABOVE - The remains of a burned out bus at the corner of Dover Street and Shankill Road
Gribben furniture store in north Belfast was destroyed in a fierce fire following a men, one of whom responsibility for his petrol bomb attack. opened fire. shooting and warned of further attacks. A 24 year old man Sergeant Albert They also stated that was shot in the right Craig, aged 32, no warning bomb ear at the Green Briar married with a two attacks would be Inn in year old son, of carried out in places Andersonstown. He K i l l y b i l l y , being used by the was drinking in the Enniskillen was shot army for intelligence bar when he was dead in Portadown. or propaganda approached by two The IRA claimed purposes.
Monday 20th September 1976 Mr Joseph Paton aged 64, of Drumalig Road in Lisburn died as a result of injuries sustained in the bomb attack on the Belfast Telegraph. Mr Paton was employed as a full time stereotyper and had been standing in a locker room above the loading by where the van bomb was left. He was taken to hospital after losing a foot.
minutes before it exploded. The car used had been hijacked earlier in the Springfield Road.
A 16 year old schoolboy was charged with possession with intent of two pistols and a number of bullets at Clonduff Estate in the Cregagh area.
A prison officers home at Hillhall Estate in Lisburn was petrol bombed and slight damage was
An 18 month old baby was injured when the car in which it was travelling passed a parked car at the Broadway entrance to the Royal Victoria Hospital and the bomb in the car exploded. Ten others were injured. An anonymous caller to the post office warned of the bomb a few
A 17 year old youth was injured when he closed a gate at the front of his home at Minnaduff, Gortin, when a booby-trap device exploded. The device contained 5lb of explosives but the house was slightly damaged.
caused but the officer escaped injury. A house at Beechmount Drive in Lisburn was also petrol bombed. A man, his wife and two children were asleep in the bed when the bombers struck. No one was injured but a fire badly damaged the living room and hallway. Another prison officer’s home was attacked by petrol bombers at Hillhall Gardens. The 35 year old officer was sitting in his living room when the petrol bomb was thrown through a front window. Some
furniture and a carpet were damaged. A petrol bomb exploded outside the Glenshek Bar in Ballycastle. Slight damage was caused to the door. A 50lb bomb was discovered beside a road at Aughnagarr in Dungannon. It was defused by the army. The army carried out a controlled explosion on a 50lb bomb outside the Copper Grill in Newry. The vehicle used had been hijacked in Co Louth by four armed men.
The archway at the Broadway entrance of the Royal Victoria Hospital following a bomb blast
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Tuesday 21st September 1976 Thursday 23rd September 1976 The army defused a 500lb bomb in a hijacked customs caravan near Newtownbutler. The explosives were packed in five milk churns. A mortar bomb attack on an army base in Derry was foiled
when the devices were spotted before they could be detonated. The army revealed that if the bombs had been fired they would have caused complete destruction of the base in the Creggan Estate.
Two men from Donegal were charged with possession of 188lb of explosives a few yards form the border.
found during a police search of the Liverpool Supporters Club in Disraeli Street off the Crumlin Road.
A homemade gun, a magazine and quantity of ammunition were
Cross border train services were disrupted by a bomb hoax. The main Belfast to Dublin line was closed for a time after the Samaritans received an a n o n y m o u s telephone call warning that two devices had been planted near the border.
Smyth’s record shop in Queen’s Arcade following a bomb blast
Bomb attack on Coulter’s on the Antrim Road
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The main Newry to Forkhill road was blocked by a hijacked bus parked near Meigh. A man was hospitalised after being shot by the army in the Turf Lodge Estate. The army stated that the car in which he was travelling failed to stop when challenged by a patrol. The patrol then fired a number of shots at the car which drove on.
The clothing firm, D J Doherty’s was severely damaged by a fire bomb left by a youth in a third floor stitching room. Prison wardens
uncovered a cache of homemade weapons during a search of two loyalist compounds at the Maze prison. The weapons included nail studded clubs, 30
Friday 24th September 1976 A bomb at an upholstery factory on an industrial estate at Whitehouse on the outskirts of Belfast was defused by the army and a short time later they also defused a bomb at Donegall Avenue.
Soldiers came under fire from gunmen in Belfast in two shooting incidents. Two youths fired one low velocity shot at an army checkpoint at the Grosvenor RoadSorella Street junction. Fire was not
Saturday 25th September 1976 Fred McLaughlin aged 27, a shipyard worker and George Rankin aged 50 of Old Westland Road died while having a drink in the Cavehill Inn on the Cavehill Road. Both men were shot as they sat at the bar. A 47 year old woman was hit in the arm and a man shot in the mouth and ear when two gunmen, one carrying an armalite rifle, opened fire. Two other women in the bar were treated for shock.
Gunmen burst into a drapery store on Manor Street and shot at women who were in the shop. One
cudgels made from table and chair legs, a chain flail and a serrated sword made from a food container. 21 masks made from bedding and clothing
were also discovered. Most were found in a hole underneath a dining hut in one of the compounds. They house 140 members of the UDA.
returned. An army foot patrol came under fire at the junction of Hatfield Street and the Ormeau Road. The gunmen fired two shots and again fire was not returned. In Portadown one low velocity shot was
fired near the local railway station A bombing attempt at the Eglantine Inn, Malone Road, Belfast was foiled. Three men planted two bombs in the building but they were carried out into the roadway and later defused.
woman took the full force of a shotgun blast in the face and a 15 year old girl with her was also injured. Pauline Doherty aged
17 was shot dead as she babysat a one year old neighbour’s baby along with her 13 year old sister and 11 year old brother.
The Cavehill Inn after Fred McLaughlin and George Rankin were shot dead
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Two youths walked into the house in Manor Street and the girl was hit in the chest and neck. She died later in the Mater hospital.
club. It was carried A 5lb bomb left at a outside where it library at Railway exploded on waste Street was defused. ground.
Soldiers fired three rubber bullets at a crowd after a bus was A bomb was planted hijacked and burned at the Ardoyne on the Springfield Crumlin Star social Road.
Monday 27th September 1976 A girl of 19 was shot dead and her father seriously injured when they were shot in the hallway of their Finaghy home. Four gunmen arrived at the Kyle home and Rosaleen Kyle died of her injures. Her father a 61 year old bank official was seriously injured. Gunmen pulled up at the junction of Shore Road and Catherine’s Row in Belfast and fired nine shots at the Wolfe Tone Republican Club hitting Mr Michael Boothman, a 32 year old unemployed man form Dandy Street in Greencastle. Hit by two bullets he died on his way to hospital. The gunmen then
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drove along the Shore Road and fired 6 shots at the Boundary Bar near Greencastle but nobody was hurt.
The fish and chip shop on main Street, Millisle was seriously damaged after being petrol bombed. Nobody was injured. Edward Street, Lurgan. Fire was not returned and no was injured.
A 10lb bomb in a dustbin was defused by the army. It was found at the junction of Westland Street and Lonemoor Road. The army also dealt with 3lb of explosives found in a black plastic bag at Lonemoor Road. nearby buildings but nobody was hurt. It was left at Customs House Street on the quay and caused slight damage to the office of the Port and H a r b o u r Commissioners.
A small bomb left at an unmanned army Nine people were post in Derry treated for shock shattered windows in when a bomb Back issues are only exploded on the Donegall Road in available as PDFs Belfast. See back cover for Nine shots were fired details at a police car in
A warehouse in Sandy Row following an IRA bomb attack FACING PAGE - Firebomb attacks on shops in Great Victoria Street
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Tuesday 28th September 1976 The army admitted that one of its patrols wounded a man in south Armagh in error. The army statement said investigation into the incident, which happened in the Silverbridge area, resulted from a failure of internal communications. The army also said the investigation into another shooting at Aughnacloy in which a lorry driver was injured revealed that the shots were accidentally fired by an army sentry. The Silverbridge incident occurred when the man was game shooting with his friend when he was shot by an army patrol, both men were carrying shotguns.
A 10 minute warning was given. The fire caught hold and a woman in a wheelchair had to be carried from the building and an 82 year old customer was burned in both legs. One hour later the bomb exploded and the building was c o m p l e t e l y destroyed.
A woman was taken to hospital suffering from shock after a bomb attack on a car showroom in Newry. The bomb was placed in the back of a car and petrol sprinkled over the vehicle. The 2lb bomb exploded 20 minutes later Ballymena United Chairman David which damaged the McKeown at the remains of the burned out building but the petrol team bus did not ignite.
A Lurgan petrol Two masked gunmen station was damaged entered the Brown when a 5lb bomb Trout Inn at exploded. Aghadowey and left a suitcase in the kitchen 15 shots were fired at house at while the other a sprinkled petrol Tullywhisker near around the building Sion Mills. No one and then set fire to it. was injured.
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The remains of the grandstand at Ballymena United Football Club
Wednesday 29th September 1976 device with two gallons of petrol attached which had been planted by two men in premises in Gamble Street off Corporation Street. The area was cleared Four bombs were after the bombers left. defused in Belfast A 5lb booby trap city. One was a 15lb bomb in a spare The Dungannon to Ballygawley road was closed for 8 hours while the army worked to defuse a 435lb bomb hidden in a culvert.
wheel left outside a garage on Andersonstown Road was also defused. A bomb at the Busy Bee supermarket in west Belfast was also neutralised. Workers at a linen factory in Hardcastle Street in the Ormeau area had to leave their premises after a bomb
was spotted, it was Thursday 30th defused. Soldiers on a road check in the Oldpark A hoax bomb left area came under outside the Europa attack by gunmen but Hotel in Great nobody was hurt and Victoria Street fire was returned. Belfast caused traffic chaos and rail traffic An army patrol was was also disrupted by fired on at Slemish three bomb hoaxes on Way in the Belfast to Dublin Andersonstown but line. nobody was injured.
Friday 1st October 1976 A bomb hoax near the railway line at Dunmurry delayed trains into Belfast. The line was closed for 45 minutes while the area around an overhead road bridge was checked.
hit in the neck and chest when one gunman took part in the shooting. The married soldier who was married and lived in the Waterside area of the city was walking along Shantallow Avenue An off duty UDR when he was fired on. man was shot and seriously injured A senior fire officer shortly after starting tackled a car bomb work on a building fire single handed in site in the Shantallow Belfast, when men area of Derry. The 45 from three other city year old corporal was stations refused to
answer the call as part of industrial action boycotting fires started by bombs. The fire officer used two hand extinguishers to put out the blaze in a grey Ford van after it had been blown up by an army bomb team in Dock Street Belfast. At Exchange Street in Belfast policemen tackled a small fire after an explosion. One bus was totally destroyed and eight
September 1976 A fierce gun battle took place between south Armagh troops and gunmen. Nobody was reported as hit. A small bomb was thrown at the bus depot in Ardoyne, Belfast but it caused no damage.
others were damaged after a proxy bomb blasted the Citybus depot on the Falls Road. 12 youths hijacked the bus on its final run of the night and ordered the driver to take a bomb to the depot opposite Milltown cemetery. The bomb exploded outside the depot minutes before midnight but the area had been cleared and no one was injured. The explosion caused some damage to the
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building and surrounding premises, including private homes and a pub.
Park in Finaghy. No one was hit. A 20lb bomb planted by three men, one of them armed, was defused at A S Bairds Four shots were fired services and spares through the window depot at Annadale of a house at Ardmore Embankment.
Saturday 2nd October 1976 Mr Victor Dormer, a 25 year old unemployed lorry driver and a former soldier, died in hospital after he was shot and wounded in a house in north Belfast. Mr Dormer of Copperfield Street was visiting his mother in laws house when a gun man burst in and shot him.
Three fire bombs, complete with explosives but not set to go off, were found in the Royal Victoria Hospital. Two of the incendiaries were discovered in a lift at the casualty department and the third in a toilet in the same block. Explosives packed into two cassette
Two incendiary devices exploded in the Frontier Cinema in John Mitchel Place, Newry. One seat was damaged and no one was injured.
A 34 year old man from the Duncairn Gardens area of Belfast who kept two magazines, one of them containing a bullet, in his home, was given a six month sentence.
cases made up the bombs found in the lift and the making of an incendiary were in a cigarette packet in the toilet.
A family of six escaped injury when two shots were fired at their house in Cliftondene Crescent. One bullet went through a downstairs front window and the second through an upstairs window. The army defused a bomb on the third floor of the Livestock M a r k e t i n g Commission in
A 30lb bomb exploded in the kitchen of the Post Office Club at Thornhill Road, Dunmurry. No one was injured.
Bomb attack on a supermarket in the Donegall Road
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University Street. It had been left by an armed man. A bomb was defused in a hairdressers' at Botanic Avenue but a bomb exploded at the
chartered accountants office next door a few minutes later. The bombs had been left by an armed man. Two men from the Short Strand area of
Monday 4th October 1976 A 29 year old man from North Belfast was charged with having firearms and ammunition. The man from Spamount Street was accused with having a revolver, a pistol and 12 rounds of ammunition in s u s p i c i o u s circumstances in Belfast. A no warning bomb d a m a g e d
Andersonstown Police Station caused considerable damage but nobody was hurt. The bomb estimated at 100lb badly damaged a wall and a fence at the entrance to the station and also wrecked cars parked nearby. The police station itself lost most of its windows and some doors were ripped off their hinges.
Belfast were charged with possessing a quantity of explosives and bombing equipment in Belfast. They were jointly accused of possessing
100lb of explosive mixture, 57 detonators, 11 timing switches, three anti handling units and 40ft of detonator cord with intent.
Five bombs went off in the middle three floors of the Embassy Ballroom in Derry causing serious damaged. Over 330 dancers were evacuated and no injuries were reported.
making material in the Lone Moor Road area of the Bogside.
An army patrol found nine homemade mortar bombs, hand grenades, 4lb of explosives, switches and other bomb
Three houses on the Antrim Road, Belfast were damaged by fire bombs and a statement issued by the IRA afterwards said the attacks were made on the homes of "capitalists in retaliation for damage caused to workers houses during army searches".
Bomb attack on the Richview Filling Station
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Tuesday 5th October 1976 Wednesday 6th October 1976 A 10lb bomb left at the back of a UDR mans house in the Tyrone village of Caledon was defused by the army. Six people were injured when a no warning bomb exploded on the second floor of the Casanova restaurant in Corn market. There were around 12 people in the restaurant at the time and the blast forced the outer door shut and it had to be
kicked down by the 68 year old Katherine police to enable them O’Connor was to escape. stabbed to death as she lay in bed. Her son in law, Frank A 13 year old boy was Nolan aged 34 was hit by a plastic bullet shot dead at point in the Turf Lodge blank range in the area. The bullet next door bedroom. fractured his skull His wife managed to when the army fired escape the gunman by on a group of youths diving under the bed. who were stoning They were killed in soldiers. The boy their home in Victoria from Norglen Gardens, Belfast but Crescent was struck the family were at close range on the originally from the temple and fell Hillman Street area immediately to the and had only moved ground. into the area a short
IRA bomb attack on Andersonstown RUC Barracks
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time before the murders. A 26 year old man was shot in the leg in Anglesey Street in the Shankill area. It was believed to be a punishment shooting. A RUC land rover came under fire at the bottom of Tate’s Avenue. The shots were fired from the direction of Maguire and Patterson’s old premises on the Donegall Road. Five pistols and ammunition were found in Kinallen Street in Belfast during a routine RUC search. In Ballymacarrett a pistol and 200 rounds of ammunition were found. Bombs left at a building site in the Grosvenor Road area caused some structural damage. Two bombs were left at the premises of Spendlove Jebb at Willow Street. There were no injuries.
Thursday 7th October 1976 A bomb exploded in a office in Bedford Street, Belfast. The device was left in Ewarts property office by an armed gang. The bomb was in a cardboard box and exploded a short time after it was left and caused a small fire. A 24 year old soldier, serving with the 3rd Parachute Regiment was charged with the killing of Majela O’Hare at Whitecross. He was released into military custody. A soldier was injured TOP - Victoria Gardens MIDDLE - The wife and children of Frank Nolan are taken from their home following the killings of Frank and his mother in law Katherine O’Connor BOTTOM - The broken window through which the killers gained access
when his patrol came under fire. He was a member of a mobile patrol which was attacked at Monagh roundabout in west Belfast. A gunman fired a single shot and no fire was returned. The army operating in Manor Street in the Oldpark area of Belfast found homemade .22 rifle. In the same area in a derelict house at Waterproof Street, police found a .45 pistol and 7 bullets for the gun, along with a stone of chemical cement.
Back issues are only available as PDFs See back cover for details 23
Fire bomb attacks on warehouses in Adelaide Street
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Friday 8th October 1976 A 17 year old youth of Ardmoulin Avenue was found guilty of the murder of Mr Samuel Llewellyn who was shot dead in the Lower Falls area in 1975. The youth was detained during the pleasure of the Secretary of State for his part in the murder.
was not clear if the bomb had been hidden in the van or concealed at the roadside. The patrol had gone to the area to examine the van and as they towed it away the bomb went off. The policeman was in his 40’s and died instantly.
A reserve policeman and five soldiers were injured in an explosion in Kilrea, Co Londonderry. The Kilrea blast was in the townland of Gortncrene, off the Garvagh Road, but it
A bomb wrecked the Belfast Telegraph offices in Newry, a short time after the building was evacuated. The offices were badly damaged in the 10lb blast.
An army patrol opened fire on a gunman they claimed to have seen taking aim from a position at
Abercorn Square in Strabane. The single shot fired by the army missed its target.
Saturday 9th October 1976 Four bombs exploded in Ballymena seriously injuring one man. Among the targets were two boutiques, hardware shops and a Post Office yard. The area of Fair Hill was packed with shoppers on market day and there an explosion tore through a parked car, hurling him through the air and seriously injuring him. Mrs Yvonne
Dunlop, aged 26, died when she was trapped in the back of her father’s shop which was destroyed in one of the incendiary devices. Her 8 year old son escaped from the fire with singed hair. In Ballymoney two parcel bombs were found in the Main Street and the area was cleared and the army moved in to defuse the bombs.
Peace people rally in Ballymena
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IRA bomber Noel Jenkinson, 46, was found dead in his cell at Leicester Prison. He was serving life imprisonment for his part in the Aldershot barracks attack which killed seven people in 1972. He died from natural causes. A large car bomb
shattered the centre of Dungannon. Three teenagers were taken to hospital but were allowed home after treatment for shock. The 200lb bomb exploded outside a draper’s shop which had been hijacked earlier in Union Street. The blast
caused extensive damage to the street and surrounding area. Five men, three of them armed, planted three 30lb bombs attached to petrol cans in College Square North. The bombers left two of the bombs downstairs and one upstairs in
the premises of K and E Wholesalers. The bombs were later defused by the army. Police found a machine gun and two magazines in a plantation behind Markethill High School, six miles outside Armagh. A 22 year old man from Victoria Parade, Belfast was charged with possessing a bomb with intent at Gamble Street. A man and a teenage girl from North Belfast appeared in court charged with causing an explosion at Academy Shirt Factory in Belfast. A 19 year old from Duncairn Parade was charged with causing an explosion in Belfast.
Firemen clear up after firebomb attacks on shops in Ballymena
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A 32 year old man form Twinbrook was charged with possessing a silencer for a gun and also having firearms and ammunition at Adelaide Park.
Monday 11th October 1976 Mrs Annie Brennan aged 46 of Hillview Street in the Oldpark was shot dead on her doorstep. Her son had been shot in the leg only hours before she was attacked. Mrs Brennan was talking to a man and a woman on her doorstep when a youth approached from Linwood Street and opened fire with an automatic pistol. He fired six shots wounding Mrs Brennan who died three hours later in hospital.
Springfield Road. The soldier was detained in hospital with minor leg injuries. The bomb containing up to 25lb of explosives, was hidden in a culvert. The blast blew a deep crater blocking half the road. A large piece of tarmac threw up by the blast narrowly missed a young child and a block of concrete was blown through the roof of a house 300 yards away in
Springmartin Road. After the blast the army fired plastic bullets to disperse a crowd of youths. A 43 year old man lost part of a leg when a booby trap bomb
was accidentally triggered at Unicks near Stewartstown. A seven year old boy and an eight year old boy who were with him received facial injuries in the blast.
Tuesday 12th October 1976 Thirty nine year old Peter Francis Woolsey was shot dead in the milking parlour of his farm near Portadown. He was believed he was killed because he was a Catholic. His body was discovered by his wife who went to
look for him when he had not returned home. He had been shot in the back and was lying face up in the dairy section of the building. A bomb wrecked the Ballygomartin West Circular Road but no one was hurt. The
Thirteen year old Brian Stewart died when he was hit by a plastic bullet fired during disturbances in Turf Lodge. He had been hit on the head seven days previously and had not regained consciousness. The commander of an army patrol was injured in a bomb blast set off by bombers just after the soldiers left the Moyard base on
Bomb attack on the Ewart offices in Bedford Street
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device was planted by two youths who used a Post Office van hijacked earlier. A hostile crowd gathered as soldiers conducted a search in the Beechmount area. The army fired two shots at a man they claimed was armed but did not claim any The milking shed in which the body of 39 year old Peter Woolsey was discovered hits.
Wednesday 13th October 1976 Police found a big arms cache in a house in Waveney Avenue. They found two sub machine guns, a 9mm pistol, a .22 zip gun, two .33 rifle parts, five SLR magazines, 8 Styre magazines, three cartridge cases, 100 cartridges, six .9mm drill rounds, a
Starlight night-sight, a homemade silencer, two cleaning kits and a camouflage facekit. In Lurgan the army discovered a cache of bomb making equipment in a house in Dingwell Park. A number of soldiers were involved in a
An army robot moves in on a suspect van in Dock Street
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fire which damaged a was accused of Gaelic Club in West possessing 8 sets of terminal leads, 26 Belfast. batteries, one roll of A formal complaint wire, two strips of was lodged with the wire, seven boxes of police over the blaze clocks fitted with at the O’Donnell wires, one small GAA Club in timing device and Rockmore Street in other suitable bomb the Falls Road area. making material, in A 43 year old man of s u s p i c i o u s Beechmount Grove circumstances.
A controlled explosion blows the roof of the van into the air
Thursday 14th October 1976 Five soldiers from the Black Watch regiment were accused of conspiring to pervert the course of justice. The charge relates to the alleged planting of evidence; mainly single bullets, on civilians brought in for questioning when the regiment was based at Fort Monagh in west Belfast. Mr William Henry Corrigan aged 41 was shot dead outside his home at Meadowview Drive, Annaghmore. His 19 year old son was seriously injured in the attack. As Mr Corrigan was
drinking his car into the driveway a gunman hiding behind a wooden fence opened up with the automatic Kalashnikov rifle, and hit him on the head. His son was shot in the back several times. A 19 year old man from St James’ Crescent was accused of possessing a .38 revolver and 6 rounds of ammunition with intent at his home. A pipe bomb exploded in the centre of Bangor. The device contained half a pound of explosives was thrown at an
Seconds later the van busts into flames
e l e c t r i c i t y transformer at the rear of shops at Main Street. At Keady a single high velocity shot was fired at the towns
RUC station. Youths hijacked lorries, a bus and a car, and stoned Andersonstown police station during the disturbances.
Friday 15th October 1976 Belfast’s Aldergrove airport was shut down by a bomb scare. Flights were halted and the airport building evacuated but nothing was found in an extensive search. Six men were arrested after an RUC patrol and military police arrived at the Balmoral Furnishing Company premises in Upper Dunmurry Lane following a tip off. They fired on
bombers trying to escape and two men were hit and the RUC then arrested five at the scene and another man with a gunshot wound was arrested on the Lisburn Road. Two of the bombs were placed on the ground floor and two on the first floor of the premises. Two five gallon petrol containers were also planted. The bombs exploded a short time later.
A fireman tackles the blaze with portable extingishers
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Saturday 16th October 1976 Garda Michael Clarken aged 24 died and four other officers were injured in a blast at a remote house in Garyhinch, near Portlaoise Jail. The police were lured to the trap by an a n o n y m o u s telephone call to the police station. The caller said that men were moving around inside the house which had been empty for two years. The police surrounded the building and when the officer approached the house and opened the door
there was a huge explosion. He was killed instantly and four others were buried under rubble as the house collapsed on them. About 100lb of explosives were packed into all sides of the building and trip wires were laid across entrances.
A 1lb bomb of h o m e m a d e explosives went off near Abercorn army base in Derry. The bomb in a brown carrier bag was spotted lying on the
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Four people had to be treated for shock and slight injuries when a bomb exploded without warning in the Rockboat Bar in Martinstown. The device went off in a pool room in the bar. Only slight damage was caused by the bomb which was estimated at 3 lb.
A small bomb went off without warning in the Elk Bar b e t w e e n Toomebridge and Castledawson. Two customers in the pub had to be treated for shock. A short time Soldiers found six
Monday 18th October 1976 A 23 year old pregnant woman was shot in the back as she left the GAA and Camogie Club at Greencastle near Belfast.
later another larger bombs exploded in the same room of the bar. Three policemen who were checking the building were slightly injured in the blast.
Cliftonville Cricket ground near the post ground. He was by a soldier and the walking his dog when area was evacuated. a booby trap bomb, thought to have been Two low velocity meant for the security shots were fired at a forces exploded and police land rover in injured his left hand. North Queen Street. One bullet struck the The RUC narrowly passenger door of the escaped injury when vehicle but no one a car bomb exploded was injured and fire as they were on their was not returned. way to investigate an armed robbery at the A 47 year old man Peoples Filling was slightly injured at Station, Upper
bags containing over 250lbs of explosives under bushes five miles south of Pomeroy. A 27 year old man was charged with possessing two pistols in the city centre. The man from Moira Street was remanded. Army patrols uncovered two rifles and 45 rounds of ammunition under a hedge in Coalisland and a rifle a shotgun, ammunition and five pounds of explosives hidden in a wall near Kilrea. Springfield Road. The car bomb exploded as the police vehicle was travelling to the scene. The RUC discovered three pistols and 40 rounds of ammunition in a derelict garage in Wilson Street in the Shankill area. A member of the army foot patrol was
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hit in the leg at the junction of Shankill Street and Edward Street in Lurgan. He was not seriously injured. The IRA admitted that they were responsible for an attack on Belfast’s gasworks which resulted in one of the most spectacular explosions in the city. Three IRA members died by their own
bomb. The explosion sent a huge fireball soaring hundreds of feet into the air over the city. Hundreds of homes near the gasworks were evacuated when one of the four gasometers caught fire. The gas did not explode and damage was confined to the gasworks complex. All that was left of the gasometer after the
blaze was a ring of steel supports. A statement from the IRA said that their intended target was an army base inside the gasworks. The three men killed were named as Paul Marlowe, aged 32, married with three children, from Nansen Street in the the Falls area. Francis Fitzsimmons, aged 28, married with
two children, from Thompson Street in the Short Strand area and Patrick Joseph Surgenor, aged 24, a bachelor form Sheriff Street, in the same district. They died instantly when one of their bombs d e t o n a t e d prematurely setting off another four linked to it each contained 10lb of explosives.
The skeleton frame of the gas holder at Belfast Gas Works after it was destroyed by an IRA bomb which killed three of its members
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Tuesday 19th October 1976 Four armed men carried out a bombing raid on McIlhaggas glass and paint shop and Batty Bros, hardware and fancy glass store in Datton Street off Townsend Street in the Shankill. The RUC broke into nearby homes after the blast after it was feared that some residents had been trapped, but no one was found.
Police in Co Cavan found a bomb making factory and more than a ton of explosives in an unoccupied house at Gortacashel, Redhills. Included in the find were detonators, explosives and timing devices. A small find of arms was made by the army in the Rossville Flats in Derry.
Wednesday 20th October 1976 The 23 year old woman who was shot in the back at Greencastle lost her baby who was born four weeks prematurely after the shooting. The woman remained in intensive care. Two soldiers were shot in an ambush on the Falls Road, Belfast. The soldiers from the Kings Own Borderers were travelling in a land rover patrol along the Falls Road and were about to turn into the Whiterock Road when the gunmen opened
Thursday 21st October 1976 In Lisnaskea troops found 86 bullets, 20ft of fuse wire and 41lb of explosives in two plastic bags hidden in a small wood near the town. An anonymous telephone warning that a bomb had been planted outside Andersonstown RUC station was received and four youths were seen planting a parcel in a wrecked car near the perimeter fence. The youths ran away and the area was
up from the cover of a nearby house. About 8 shots were fired and Friday 22nd one of the soldiers was A soldier was shot in hit in the back and the the leg at an army other in the groin. observation post at Oldpark RUC station Soldiers carrying out in Belfast. Four shots a search in the were fired at the Taghnevan Estate in observation post. Lurgan found arms, The RUC foiled a car bullets and explosives bombing in Castlederg. hidden inside the The car was stopped at inspection plates of a a checkpoint at number of lamp posts. Kilclean on the border, The finds included a a number of men got machine gun, a rifle out and ran away and and a pistol along with shortly afterwards the 500 rounds of car exploded. A ammunition gelignite policeman was hit on and two telescopic the back by shrapnel sights. but was not seriously
cleared. The army carried out a controlled explosion in the vehicle but it did not contain explosives. Incendiary attacks on shops in Shipquay Street in Derry severely damaged one floor of Alexander Sloan’s furniture store and caused slight damage to another shop. The first incendiary was in a record shop in an arcade and the device was neutralised by the army.
October 1976 injured. The Europa Hotel in Belfast was the target for an elaborate bomb hoax when the driver of the van carrying the fake bomb lost his way and ended up near an RUC station. The driver who was unfamiliar with Belfast parked in Ann Street and raised the alarm. The area was evacuated and traffic diverted and the army carried out a controlled explosion but it did not contain explosives.
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Saturday 23rd October 1976 Troops found a man carrying a loaded pistol in Norglen Parade, Belfast. A Belfast man was charged with possessing more than 800 bullets. The 33 year old from Lawnbrook Avenue was charged with possession of the bullets and parts of a Sterling submachine gun. The army defused a bomb device left near the pavilion at Shane Park, Belfast, home of Instonians Rugby Club.
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A 19 year old girl from Ballyclare Street, Belfast, was accused of possession of a Thompson sub machine gun and also faced a charge of member shop of Cumann na mBan. A barman was shot in the leg as he fled from a car he had been bundled into earlier in Monkstown. He was found by a passing motorist and taken to hospital. Gambles bookshop on the Antrim Road was blown up by a 20lb bomb. The shop
had been closed and the owner was held hostage while the bomb was planted. Five passersby and a policeman were injured in the blast which occurred after a telephone warning that there was a 20lb car bomb outside the Ace Taxis premises, 20 m from the b o o k s h o p . Thousands of rare Irish books were destroyed in the blast. The army defused a 100lb car bomb outside Newry town hall, one minute before it was due to exploded. About 200
people were playing bingo in the hall when the warning was issued. An incendiary device was found in the paint department of Wellworths store in Market Street, Omagh. The area was cleared and it was taken away by the army. In Derry an army mobile patrol fired a plastic bullet to disperse a stone throwing crowd of 400 youths who surround it outside a community centre in Creggan.
Monday 25th October 1976 One soldier died and four others hurt when the army patrol was ambushed in Ardoyne. Gunner Anthony Brian Abbott aged 19 from Whitefield, Manchester, died from gunshot wounds to the chest. 27 shots were fired from two firing positions. A soldier was injured when the army land rover in which he was travelling along the Springfield Road came under fire from a sniper. The soldier was hit in the chest by a single bullet. A soldier was injured in an explosion in an alleyway in the New Barnsley estate. A man walking with two children nearby was blown over by the blast. The soldier was hit about the legs with glass fragments when the bomb exploded. A 29 year old man lost an eye after being hit by one of four
bullets fired at an army patrol in Dunmisk Park, near Andersonstown. He was walking nearby when the gunman opened fire. The soldiers did not return fire and administered first aid until the man was removed to hospital.
a passing car. The man received cuts to the legs and abdomen but was not seriously hurt.
A petrol bomb thrown at the rear of a house occupied by a 75 year old woman at Hawthorne Park, Dunmurry, hit the garden fence and The driver of a van exploded. was injured in the leg when gunmen opened fire on an army patrol Five soldiers were in the Oldpark hurt, when seven district. Six shots mortar bombs were were fired at the fired at Crossmaglen patrol in Ballynure army police base. Street, all missed but Five bombs landed one hit the van. The inside the camp driver’s five year old damaging temporary son was in the van but buildings. The other two bombs landed on was not hurt. outbuildings of a The army came under house occupied by fire on the Antrim two pensioners. The were Road, Springfield buildings destroyed and their Road and at left Broadway but no hits home uninhabitable. The were claimed. five injured soldiers A doorman at the were hit by shrapnel Regency Hotel in and burned by flashes Botanic Avenue was from the exploding injured when five mortar bombs. A shots were fired heavy burst of through the door from automatic fire was
directed at the post. A 19 year old youth from Portadown died in hospital 12 days after being injured in a gun attack at his home at Annaghmore. His father Mr William Corrigan was killed instantly in the attack which came as he was driving into his garage. His son, Leslie Corrigan was working at a van in the yard and was hit in the back. An army patrol found 216 bullets and part of a telescopic sight under brambles at Corcullentrabeg on the Moy Road, Portadown. Seven incendiary devices planted in a post office, newsagents, a hardware shop and a shoe shop were all defused in Newtownhamilton. Home Decor paint and paper shop at Strand Road, Derry, was badly damaged
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by a bomb and in the fire which followed the next door Leprechaun Restaurant was gutted. A caller representing the IRA told police that there were eight bombs in Strand Road and gave
a 20 minute warning. The area was evacuated and there were no injuries. An incendiary device was carried out of a chemist shop beside the Leprechaun and defused as was another device, with
an explosive charge attached, in a paint store on the opposite side of the street. A fourth incendiary exploded later at a record shop but caused only minor damage. In the Waterside three shops
including a supermarket and a boutique in the Spencer Road area were damaged after incendiary devices exploded. A second device at a boutique was neutralised.
Tuesday 26th October 1976 Wednesday 27th October 1976 Fifty five year old Mr Joseph Wilson of Lisdown Armagh was shot dead by a youth who walked into the supermarket where he worked and shot Mr Wilson in the back. Mr Wilson was a lieutenant in the UDR and had survived another bid on his life 12 months previously. Cowzers chemist shop on the Ormeau Road in Belfast was badly damaged in a bomb attack. The area had been cleared and no one was hurt. The bomb blasts started a fire which destroyed a robot used by the army to defuse bombs.
the Dunmore Estate Buses and lorries in north Belfast was were hijacked in the defused by the army. Turf Lodge area as protest of army raids. The RUC It was their first investigated an searches since the explosion at a lamp death of Brian post near the junction Stewart who died of Ballymurphy after being shot in the Road. The blast did head by a plastic little damage and no bullet. one was hurt. One of several shots An incendiary device fired in Church found in the Waterside Heel bar in Thursday 28th Derry was defused. Sixty one year old Mr The device was James Kyle died in pushed through the hospital, one month letter box of the shoe after he was shot at shop and the device his home in Ormonde was discovered by the Park in Finaghy. His owner when he 19 year old daughter, Rosaleen, died in the opened up. gun attack when In Derry the army gunmen sprayed the defused a suspect hallway of the house. bomb in a plastic bag A device planted in with wires attached A 55 year old man the Swift Screw found in Bishop was charged with having a rifle in the Products factory in Street.
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Avenue, Bangor, went through the front window of a house. No one was injured in the shooting. In Belfast the army were investigating a mystery explosion in the Whiterock area. The site of the blast had not been found.
October 1976 Andersonstown area. The man from Glenhill Park was accused of having the rifle at his home. A 52 year old Catholic man was seriously injured when a car bomb exploded outside his home in Antrim. Police examined a van used by bombers to attack a pub near Castledawson. Two
men left a suitcase in the Moyola Lodge restaurant and shouted a 5 minute warning. The bomb exploded but no one was injured. The building was
structurally damaged. Two blast bombs were thrown over a perimeter wall at Strand Road RUC station but no one was hurt. At the same time a blast bomb was
Friday 29th October 1976 Mrs Maire Drumm was shot dead by loyalist gunmen as she lay recuperating in the Mater Hospital after an eye operation. She was due to be moved to a Dublin nursing home but three gunmen,
dressed as hospital workers, walked into the hospital with pistols hidden in coats. The men calmly walked up to her bed and opened fire on the former vice president of Sinn Fein, who had gone to
thrown at a police land rover at the junction of Strand Road and Lawrence Hill, but it did not explode. Soldiers found 20lb of explosives, two
grenades, a revolver, 20 bullets, batteries and other items of bomb making equipment during a search of a house at Lislane Drive in Creggan Estate.
a cupboard to get some grapes. They fired at 12 times, hitting her five times in the head and chest. As the gunmen ran off Mrs Drumm crawled some distance across the floor and collapsed and died 10 minutes
later. A 53 year old UDR man was attacked as he arrived at his home in Harding Street, Derry, after work. The gunmen opened fire with pistols at point blank range. Five or six shots were fired from the
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doorway of a nearby bomb. They also house hitting the man sprinkled petrol over in the stomach. the floor before leaving, but the A blast bomb was explosion did not start thrown at an the fire. No one was observation post at injured. Rosemount RUC station in Derry. No A petrol bomb was one was hurt and the thrown through the post was undamaged. front living room window of a house in Patterson’s bar in the Woodvale are. Bank Square, The device caused Maghera, was badly scorching to furniture damaged by a bomb in the house at March blast. Three gunmen Street. held up customers The army defused before planting the two bombs left under
Saturday 30th October 1976 A 20lb bomb was planted in the photographic department of the Royal Victoria Hospital. The device was planted by a man and woman was made safe by the army. The device did not contain a firing mechanism.
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the front seat of a land rover at the rear of Agnew’s car showroom on the Lisburn Road, Belfast. The devices contained 50lb of explosives and were attached to five gallons of petrol.
station struck a sentry post but no one was hurt and no fire was returned. Five high velocity shots were fired at soldiers in Bridge Street, Strabane. No one was injured and no fire was returned.
Five high velocity shots were heard in the Springhill area but the target was not known.
A mini car left at Portlee Walk, Antrim, was damaged in a controlled explosion set off by the army. A shot fired at The vehicle did not Andersonstown RUC contain explosives. crossed the Albert Bridge in Belfast. The army returned fire but no hits were reported.
Three petrol bombs were thrown into Corry’s timber yard on the Springfield Road and were dealt with by staff and little damage was caused. A shot was fired from a Cortina car at two A number of shots pedestrians in Ross were fired at an army Street. No one was mobile patrol a sits injured.
In Newtownwstewart a bomb in a green holdall was left outside the front door of the RUC station and exploded just as the area was evacuated. Structural damage was caused and nearby houses were also damaged but no one was hurt
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