The
TROUBLES A CHRONOLOGY OF THE NORTHERN IRELAND CONFLICT
NOVEMBER - DECEMBER
1973
It 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 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.
For back issues of the single Troubles Magazine visit the Glenravel stall every Friday morning at St George's Market. You may also obtain them at our website at www.troublesmagazine.com where sold out issues can also be downloaded. E-Mail: info@troublesmagazine.com
SOURCE MATERIAL BELFAST NEWSLETTER Various issues for period covered
BELFAST TELEGRAPH Various issues for period covered
IRISH NEWS Various issues for period covered
NOVEMBER 1973
Gortgoel Road. Despite the intensity of the attack none of the police were hit. Fire was not returned.
Friday 2nd November 1973 Dead mans wife is pregnant Twenty eight year old Daniel Joseph Carson of Brooke Drive, Dunmurry was killed after a gunman fired three shots into his car as he drove home from work from Batty Bros. Hardware store on the Shankill Road. Mr Carson, a Roman Catholic was badly wounded and unable to control his car, which crashed into a wall. He was found a few minutes later by police and rushed to hospital where he died a short time later. Mr Carson’s widow, Ann, is expecting their second child in three months time. She has a three-year-old son, Michael. Mr Carson from the Springfield area was a well-known amateur footballer and played for St Paul’s in the Lisburn Amateur League.
Friday 2nd November 1973 Cylinder bomb on Lisburn Road A cylinder bomb was planted at the Four in Hand bar on the Lisburn Road. No warning was received but the device only partially exploded and the army was able to defuse the rest of the charge.
Friday 2nd November 1973 Rubber bullet used in Derry Troops fired a rubber bullet to break up a crowd of 20 youths, armed with bottles and stones, which advanced on a patrol during a search in the Shantallow area.
Friday 2nd November 1973 ‘Loyalists IRA Allies’ claim Alliance party spokesman, John Hadden, speaking in Omagh, said that the Loyalist Coalition and the unpledged Unionists were allies of the IRA. He stated that all three were opposed to the Assembly, the formation of an Executive, BELOW - A victim of a bomb attack on the Avenue and to a Council of Ireland. Bar in Union Street is taken from the rubble.
Friday 2nd November 1973 Lucky escape for ambushed RUC A police patrol was ambushed on the outskirts of Portglenone. More than 30 shots were fired from automatic weapons at the RUC land rover at
Friday 2nd November 1973 Man killed in bar bomb One man died and five others were injured when a massive bomb exploded in the back of a stolen car outside the Avenue Bar at the corner of Union Street-Kent Street, close to he city centre. The bomb was packed into a beer keg, went off in a Ford Cortina, which had earlier been stolen, on the Crumlin Road. Several nearby shops and offices suffered damage from the blast, which virtually destroyed the bar. The body of the dead man was found among the huge pole of rubble at the bar, which was damaged earlier this year in a bomb attacked for which the Ulster Freedom Fighters claimed responsibility. Friday 2nd November 1973 Cavehill Road shooting A 19-year-old motorist was shot in the stomach on the Cavehill Road near Crangles bar. The man was driving his car past when the occupants of a grey Morris Oxford or Austin Cambridge started firing at a man standing on the pavement near
LEFT - Mr John Mullan, the owner of the Castle Wine Store in Pacific Avenue, at the ruins of his premises following a no warning bomb attack. (also facing page) BELOW - Robert McCaffrey.
the bar. The intended victim escaped with a graze Saturday 3rd November 1973 to the leg, but the motorist had to be detained for RUC station under fire treatment in the Mater Hospital. A gunman fired three shots at Rosemount police station in Derry but no one was hurt. Troops on Friday 2nd November 1973 duty at the time did not return fire. Labourer cleared on arms charges A labourer was cleared at Belfast court of Saturday 3rd November 1973 possessing arms and ammunition found in his Three bombs in South Armagh village home during an army search. He was charged Villagers in Newtownhamilton began clearing up with having two pistols, two fully loaded the devastation caused by two car bombs and the magazines an assortment of gun parts and 395 army were examining a third bomb left in a local rounds of ammunition but claimed that someone shop. Several people had to be treated for shock had broken into his house and left the weapons and cuts after the two bombs exploded within five there. Forensic evidence was inconclusive and minutes of each other at Dundalk Street and the Ardoyne man was acquitted. Castleblaney Street causing widespread damage. Garages, shops, cafes and many private houses Friday 2nd November 1973 were badly damaged. The third bomb, which did not explode, was left in O’Malley’s hardware Housewife on arms charges A 23-year-old Belfast housewife was returned for store in the village square, a building which was trial at Belfast’s Magistrate Court accused of damaged by another blast just a week ago. possessing two rifles, three rounds of .303 ammunition and one telescopic sight at her home Saturday 3rd November 1973 under suspicious circumstances. Bessbrook village targeted Several homes in Bessbrook village were damaged when a controlled explosion set off the detonator of the 150 lb bomb left at Riverside Crescent, an area known to be occupied by policemen. The blast also disrupted electricity supplies for a time. Saturday 3rd November 1973 Bomb in carriage Belfast’s York Street station was at a standstill today after explosives were found in a carriage. Troops and police sealed off the area for two hours while bomb disposal men dealt with the one-pound device, which was only partly made up. Trains were delayed for a time. Saturday 3rd November 1973 BBC transmitter damaged Television and radio broadcasts were hit by an explosion, which damaged a BBC booster transmitter at Fathom Mountain. The explosion was heard over a wide area, but troops delayed an inspection of the scene until daybreak.
Saturday 3rd November 1973 Bomb warning to Newry exchange The army defused a 100lb bomb found outside the Osborne Hotel in Warrenpoint. A warning was given to the Newry telephone exchange and the controlled explosion shattered windows in the area.
A single shot was fired in Herbert Street, off the Crumlin Road, but the target is unknown. Saturday 3rd November 1973 Army blow up car The army blew up a hijacked car, which was abandoned in Alliance Avenue. The car, taken at gunpoint in Jamaica Street, did not contain any explosives.
Saturday 3rd November 1973 Custom post destroyed Eight armed men blew up the British custom post Saturday 3rd November 1973 at Tullydonnell, a caravan was being used as Minor disturbances in Derry temporary accommodation. Seven shots were heard in the Iniscarn RoadLinsfort Drive area of the Creggan and two shots were reported in the Meenan Drive district of the Saturday 3rd November 1973 Bogside.Several minor stone throwing incidents Landmine explodes were reported in the Shantallow and Creggan A massive explosion, which was heard all over areas, but no one was hurt. Belfast and as far away as Holywood, was traced to the Hannahstown Road. It was believed to Monday 5th November 1973 have been a landmine laid for an army patrol. Pipe bomb found The blast blew a huge crater on Harmiston Hill. A pipe bomb was found at a Catholic school in the Lisburn area. The area around St Colman’s Saturday 3rd November 1973 School at Lambeg was evacuated after the device Shots fired was discovered. The army carried out a Shots were fired at the army post in Finiston controlled explosion, which broke a few nearby School, Oldpark Road, from the direction of windows. Ballymoney Street, and at the rear of Tennent Street RUC station from Cambrai Street. There BELOW - The wreckage of Charlie Farrell’s bar in Essex Street following a bomb attack. were no casualties and fire was not returned.
Monday 5th November 1973 Chemists destroyed in fire Boyd’s chemist shop on the Crumlin Road, Belfast was the target of an incendiary attack. A blaze swept through the building, opposite Ardoyne fire station and caused serious damage.
Monday 5th November 1973 Garage bombs After an anonymous warning a 20lb bomb exploded in Wilson’s garage on the Portadown Road, Lurgan. A short time later a duffle bag containing 5lbs of explosive mix was found at Girvan’s garage on Mourne Road. The army defused it.
Monday 5th November 1973 Belfast shootings One soldier was hit in the hand and slightly wounded when one shot was fired at an army patrol in Andersonstown. Four or five low velocity rounds were aimed at troops manning a vehicle checkpoint in Ainsworth Avenue. The shots came from a passing car and the troops returned the fire but no one was arrested.
A carrier bag containing a bomb was left in the forecourt of Dan Davidson’s garage at George Street Dungannon. It exploded five minutes after an anonymous telephone warning. The force of the blast blew off part of the buildings roof and there was some damage to adjoining buildings.
Monday 5th November 1973 Arms find Fifteen two-ounce sticks of gelignite found by an army patrol on waste ground in the St James’s Road area were dealt with by bomb disposal. BELOW - British troops clear up following a car bomb attack on the Republician Clubs’ headquarters in Panton Street. RIGHT - Car bomb attack on the former SDLP offices in Killen Street.
Monday 5th November 1973 Northwest shootings Two shooting incidents were reported in the Creggan and Bogside areas of Derry yesterday but no one was hurt. Seven shots were fired form Glenfada Park at an observation post on the city walls and a pistol shot was fired from a passing car at an army post in the Creggan. No fire was returned. Five shots were fired at an army patrol in the Ballycolman area of Strabane but, although two of the shots hit the vehicle, there were no casualties. The other bullets struck a parked lorry and security forces later found a number of spent cartridge cases.
outside the old RUC station. There were no casualties and the sentry returned one shot at the car but did not claim a hit. Monday 5th November 1973 Suffolk shooting Three shots were fired at troops in two separate incidents at Horn Drive in the Lenadoon area but there were no casualties. Tuesday 6th November 1973 Soldier shot dead outside court A soldier was shot dead outside Newtownhamilton courthouse while on security duty. The gunman shot the soldier from only a few yards away and then escaped into the town.
Monday 5th November 1973 Greencastle shooting Six shots were fired from a car travelling Tuesday 6th November 1973 countrywards on the Shore Road at an army post Belfast man shot in legs A 22-year-old man was in hospital after being shot in the legs while visiting his mother’s house in Upper Meadow Street in the New Lodge area. Tuesday 6th November 1973 Armagh shooting An army marksman returned fire after a gunman fired a single shot at troops in the old Worcester Valve factory on the outskirts of the city. The army reported a hit but the gunman was helped away by another man. Tuesday 6th November 1973 Derry hijacking A furniture van and a private car were hijacked by youths in the Little Diamond area of the Bogside. The van was driven to Westland Street and used as a barricade and the car was used to block Lecky Road. Both vehicles were later recovered. Tuesday 6th November 1973 Mailbox destroyed The contents of a mailbox were destroyed after an incendiary device ignited inside it at the head post office. No damage was caused to any other building.
Tuesday 6th November 1973 Bomb maker jailed An eighteen-year-old youth from Andersonstown was jailed for eight years after he was found guilty of making, delivering and priming a car bomb, which caused £41,000 damage to Stewarts Derriaghy supermarket.
and one woman was taken to hospital suffering from shock. Mr Mullan only suffered a small cut. Debris from the shop was found up to 200 yards away and many cars were damaged and firemen had to hose away petrol from fractured tanks.
Thursday 8th November 1973 Army blow up suspect car Tuesday 6th November 1973 The army in Strabane blew up a hijacked car at Falls ambush bid Riverside, Strabane. A number of suspicious Five men and a woman from the Falls area went parcels had been placed under the drivers seat on trial accused of having guns and ammunition but it was later discovered that the parcels in what was described as a ‘build up to an ambush contained no explosives. on the army’. In court it was alleged that a secret observation post run by the army observed the accused as they attempted to set up an ambush Thursday 8th November 1973 near the Beehive bar. Gelignite expert gets 12 years A New Lodge Road man was sentenced to 12 years after admitting being an explosives expert Thursday 8th November 1973 of the 3rd Bn. Of the Provisional IRA and having Hunt for bus stop killers an untimed bomb in the city centre. The 24 year Police investigating the murder of a young Roman old was caught after police chased him after he Catholic apprentice were making house-to-house and a companion abandoned a car containing inquiries in the Highfield Estate. Eighteen-year- 12lbs of explosives against the flow on one-way old Robert McCaffrey was shot in the head by traffic in Wellington Place. one of four youths who approached him as he waited for a bus home on the Springfield Road. Thursday 8th November 1973 A number of spent revolver cartridges were found UVF gunman gets 8-year sentence on the West Circular Road. Mr McCaffrey A 32-year-old UVF gunman was sent to prison worked at Mackies and was taken to hospital after for eight years for possession of six .22 rifles. the shooting but died a short time later. He was caught in Scotland where he was on the run after escaping from Belfast’s Crumlin Road Jail where he was serving six years for armed Thursday 8th November 1973 robbery. Bomb blasts wine store The Castle Wine Store on Pacific Avenue was rocked by a massive bomb, which exploded in the front of the shop. The owner had just moved to the back of the shop to have a cup of tea and this action may have saved his life. The shop collapsed after the blast and it was a staircase, which saved Mr Mullan, the owner. Houses close to the wine store had all their windows blown in RIGHT - Bomb attack on Madden’s Bar, Smithfield
Thursday 8th November 1973 Monkstown hijacking Five vehicles were hijacked and roads blocked in Monkstown. The trouble developed after a search by security forces in which a number of weapons were found. It started with the hijacking of three Ulsterbuses, one of which was later burned. Groups of youths also hijacked a lorry and a mechanical digger.
Thursday 8th November 1973 Bomb defused in Co Tyrone An army bomb disposal expert was called in after soldiers found a 500lb landmine under a culvert at Cloughogue, Coalisland. The mine was defused and the explosives were destroyed.
Thursday 8th November 1973 Bombs keep pupils at home Pupils at a Donaghadee primary school got the Thursday 8th November 1973 day off after two small bombs exploded within Armagh evacuation 15 minutes of each other at the front door of St Residents of the Alexander estate in Armagh were Anne’s primary school on the Millisle Road. The evacuated for over three hours after a suitcase damage caused was superficial but there were containing 50lbs of explosives was left by armed many broken windows. men outside nearby government offices. The detonator of the bomb exploded blowing off the Thursday 8th November 1973 lid of the suitcase, and later an army expert made Belfast girl remanded the explosives harmless. An eighteen-year-old girl from Rosapenna area was remanded charged with possessing an armalite rifle in Englishtown, Co Antrim. The Thursday 8th November 1973 girl was in detention in hospital. Newington shooting Two RUC reserves on patrol in the Newington Friday 9th November 1973 area of the Antrim Road, came under fire but Beer barrel bomb neither was hit. A hidden gunman in an alleyway A bomb in a beer barrel exploded outside fired six high velocity shots at them. Maddens bar in Smithfield, Belfast. A passer by noticed a youth running away from an 1100 car and raised the alarm. The area was cleared and 15 minutes later the bomb exploded severely LEFT - Bomb attack on the Mayfair Bar, Leeson Street. BELOW - Bomb attack on a bar on the Ormeau Road.
damaging the bar and dozens of windows were Friday 9th November 1973 blown in. Some stallholders in the nearby market Shots heard in Derry had a lucky escape as the area had been cleared. A dozen shots were fired at troops on the city walls in a combined attack by two gunmen from Friday 9th November 1973 the Bogside. One of the gunmen fired from the Murder charge area of Dove Gardens and the other from Fulton A 16-year-old Strabane boy appeared at a juvenile Place. Fire was returned but no hit was claimed. court charged with attempting to murder a British soldier in Strabane. The youth had been involved in a shooting incident in the Melmount Road area. Friday 9th November 1973 Fermanagh grocery bomb Friday 9th November 1973 Six men armed with submachine guns planted a Hit by flying glass bomb in a grocery shop on the BelturbetMother of six Theresa O’Hanlon was hit by flying Enniskillen Road. While the men primed the glass when a 4oz pipe bomb was thrown through bomb the held two shop assistants, a milk lorry the ground floor window of her home at driver and a brother of one of the assistants at Rosemount Gardens. She was in the living room gunpoint. The bomb in a cardboard box was left when the small bomb exploded, smashing behind the counter and the staff and customers windows in the house and in other houses nearby. were told that it would go off in five minutes. A sister of Joe Cahill, Mrs O’Hanlons condition The army are still trying to defuse it. One hour later a land mine exploded at Derryard was described as fair. on the Rosslea to Fivemiletown Road. It blew a large crater in the road but no injuries were Friday 9th November 1973 reported. Duncairn Gardens bomb find 700lbs of bomb making chemicals were found at Boyle Street-Hallidays Road lock up garages in the Duncairn district. Also in he garage were 52ft of cortex, five feet of safety fuse, batteries and wire, 22 detonators, a flack jacket and a large gas cylinder. BELOW - No warning car bomb attack on the American Bar in Dock Street. RIGHT - Bomb attack on the Quay Road Railway Bridge at Whitehouse
Friday 9th November 1973 Man pointed to workmate An 18-year-old painter was jailed for 10 years after pointing out a Roman Catholic workmate to a gunman. When the gunman pulled the trigger the gun jammed and the Catholic man escaped after receiving a head wound, but he was able to identify his attackers to the RUC.
Saturday 10th November 1973 Army blow up suspect car The army blew up a suspect car in Adelaide Street, Belfast. The car was reported as unattended and the area was sealed off. A cardboard box was discovered in the boot and the car exploded in a ball of flames and the fire brigade dealt with the blaze. The RUC stated that no bomb was found in the car.
Saturday 10th November 1973 Man has third lucky escape A Belfast lorry driver had his third lucky escape when a bomb wrecked the Sunflower bar on Corporation Street. It was the third time Owen McGrath of Clifton Crescent, aged 23, had been only slightly injured in an attack. He was first injured when the Sportsman’s Bar in York Street was bombed and he was later shot in the back
Bernard Teggart
while in the Gem Bar in North Queen Street. The bullet is still lodged in his back, but Mr McGrath was only slightly injured in the latest attack.
Saturday 10th November 1973 Dungiven landmine An army patrol was uninjured when a landmine exploded about 100 yards from them on the Dungiven-Ringsend Road about five miles form Dungiven.
Saturday 10th November 1973 Gosford Castle bomb There were no casualties when a 50-100lbs bomb exploded in a lorry outside the military base at Gosford Castle. Four armed men in the Forkhill area had earlier hijacked the lorry. The bomb was loaded on board and the driver told to take the lorry to Gosford where it exploded at around 6.30pm shattering windows and damaging cars.
Saturday 10th November 1973 Army defuse bomb A bomb planted at Tremore, Derrylin Road, Fermanagh was blown up in a controlled explosion. The blast blew the door and roof off the building and no one was hurt.
Kathleen Feeney
John Lundy
Saturday 10th November 1973 Dungannon explosives find About 80lbs of explosive mix was found close to Donaghmore telephone exchange. The chemicals, which had apparently been hidden there, were removed and dealt with by the army.
Saturday 10th November 1973 Docks murder William Wallace aged 62 was shot dead at the Sunflower bar, Corporation Street. He died instantly after a number of shots were fired into the bar followed by a 20lb cylinder bomb. Mr Wallace was walking past the bar at the time and a passing motorist pursued the gunmen but they lost the getaway car in the Duncairn area. Saturday 10th November 1973 Boy accused of having gun A 15-year-old schoolboy was charged with possessing a firearm and also firing at an army post. The boy was arrested in a stolen car and the court was told that he could be connected to other incidents including four armed robberies and three hijackings.
Monday 12th November 1973 UFF and Red Hand Commandos outlawed The UFF and Red Hand Commandos were outlawed by the Secretary of State with immediate effect after it was believed that they were linked to a serious of bomb attacks. The groups were added to a list of proscribed organisations making it an offence to be a member of them. Monday 12th November 1973 Bomb blitz in Belfast 13 people were injured when six bombs went off in two hours in Belfast. Rush hour traffic was thrown into chaos and four bars, a petrol station and the former SDLP headquarters were damaged. It is believed that the bombs were part of the run up to the UVF ceasefire expected to
come into effect on Saturday. The bombs were at the Shaftesbury Bar on the Antrim Road which was rocked by a 100lb car bomb which could be heard all over the city. Dozens of houses had windows smashed. The next target was at the Mayfair Bar at Grosvenor Road-Leeson Street. There were no casualties. A short time later ten people were injured after a car bomb wrecked dozens of houses in the Hamill Street/Killen Street area and virtually demolished the former SDLP headquarters. Residents in the area reacted with anger, as this was the third explosion at the same spot. Another bomb exploded outside the American Bar at Princes Dock Street, badly damaging the building, which may have to be demolished. A civilian saw three men leaving the car, which contained a 150lb bomb and raised the alarm. The area was evacuated before the blast, which also damaged a garage opposite. Later a bomb exploded outside Farrells Bar at Essex Street as the area was being evacuated. There was no warning about the bomb but a passer by saw a youth running from the car and alerted the RUC. The bar was wrecked by the blast and houses and shops in the area were damaged along a 200-yard stretch. The bomb in a beer keg in the back of the car was discovered in the forecourt of the Deerpark service station on the Oldpark Road and a controlled explosion was carried out. The explosion shattered windows and damaged the pumps, but there were no casualties. A corporal of the 1st Btn. Royal Green Jackets helped to save dozens of people after a car bomb was seen outside the Transport Bar on the Grosvenor Road. The 150lb bomb caused severe structural damage to the premises and to a number of houses in Stanley Street. There was a no warning parcel bomb at Laverys bar on the Lisburn Road. The building only recently rebuilt after a previous bomb attack in which the 60-year-old owner was killed was extensively damaged. Several homes nearby were damaged and responsibility was later claimed by the UFF. Meanwhile outside Belfast the Lifford Bridge was damaged in a bomb attack.
Monday 12th November 1973 Soldiers attacked Soldiers in an observation post at Unity Flats in Belfast came under attack when a blast bomb was thrown from a passing car but there were no casualties. Monday 12th November 1973 Rail link disruption The rail link between Belfast and Dublin was closed for 12 hours after a bomb was planted under a bridge at Tullygonnley near Lurgan. The bomb exploded soon after it was planted and blew a large crater in the road, as well as shattering windows in a farmhouse 300 yards away.
home near Clones. The victim originally from Belfast moved to the area with his wife after their Belfast home was bombed. The house in Clones was raided, religious artefacts were broken and a bomb was planted which demolished the house when it exploded.
Tuesday 13th November 1973 Shot boy and twin abducted A 15-year-old boy, Bernard Taggart, was found dying in the grounds of Bellevue after he was abducted from St Patrick’s Training School on the Glen Road. Bernard and his brother Gerard had been abducted from the school and Bernard’s body was found with a placard with the word ‘tout’ written on it. He died a short time later in Monday 12th November 1973 hospital. His brother was given money to get a Shots fired in Coalisland bus home, which he did arriving shocked and Two bursts of automatic fire were aimed at the frightened. local RUC station but there were no casualties and the army returned fired but did not claim any Tuesday 13th November 1973 hits. Somerton Road targeted The Somerton Inn was extensively damaged Monday 12th November 1973 when a bomb in a gas cylinder was left at the Bomb hoax side of the bar. It was spotted by the owner and There was an elaborate bomb hoax when a was detonated by the army. hijacked car was abandoned outside Stewarts bar in Main Street Pomeroy. The car stolen earlier at Tuesday 13th November 1973 Sixmilecross, was seen to contain a gas cylinder Army swoop in Belfast with wires attached and there was an anonymous Five men were being questioned after being phone warning that it contained a bomb. No arrested by the RUC and army in swoops in Belfast after the banning of the UFF and the Red explosives were found. Hand Commandos. Monday 12th November 1973 Border surveillance Tuesday 13th November 1973 Security along the 270-mile border is being Blast hits line stepped up and in the rest of Ulster the army are A 500lb bomb caused a huge crater when it to use new equipment. The equipment includes exploded in the railway line at Quay Road, helicopter borne cameras, miniaturised radar, Whitehouse. special night vision aids, searchlights, TV surveillance systems and new armoured Tuesday 13th November 1973 personnel carriers. Carrick youths jailed Six Carrickfergus youths were sent to hail for a Monday 12th November 1973 total of 14 years on charges arising from a petrol Clones home blown up bomb attack of a Catholic home in the town. All A 30-year-old man was recovering in hospital the youths admitted charges of conspiring to after being shot in the back by 8 raiders at his cause arson.
Tuesday 13th November 1973 Woman injured in Ardoyne attack An elderly woman was injured and five people had to be treated for shock after a car bomb exploded without warning in the Ardoyne, Belfast. The 150lb bomb was left outside a bookmakers at the Brompton Park-Crumlin Road junction. The explosion caused widespread damage and the woman was hit by debris and she received four stitches. Tuesday 13th November 1973 Men attacked at work Two men were recovering after attempts were made to murder them at work. Three gunmen went to Bennett’s builders yard off Powerscourt Street in the Ormeau area. They sought out the men and fired at them. Both men were hit but not seriously injured.
was caused to property. Another beer keg bomb caused slight damage to the Tyrone crystal works and adjoining property. No one was hurt in this incident. Tuesday 13th November 1973 Milk churn bomb A milk churn bomb planted by two men exploded without warning at the Altmore Hotel, Pomeroy, which has often been used as a venue for SDLP conferences. Damage to the hotel was severe and on the Donaghmore Road the army dealt with a Claymore type device found under a road culvert. Tuesday 13th November 1973 Glengormley bar damaged A man and woman were hurt when a car bomb exploded as they drove past the Crown and Shamrock bar in Newtownabbey. Two youths spotted leaving the car at the bar escaped but the bar was evacuated.
Tuesday 13th November 1973 Shots fired Two shots were fired through the ground floor window of a flat in Cliftonpark Avenue but there Wednesday 14th November 1973 Army defuse pub bomb were no casualties. An attempt to blow up yet another Roman Catholic owned public house was foiled today Tuesday 13th November 1973 when the army defused a gas cylinder bomb Armagh pubs hit A man was seriously injured when a car bomb planted in the Lower Falls area. The bomb was exploded outside the Northern Bar in the town. placed in McIlhattons bar by armed men who put The Hilltop Bar, Toby jug and McAleaveys were it on rubble in the corner of the building. The also targeted. Each of the bombs contained only area was cleared and there were no injuries. a small amount of explosives and only the detonators went off. A 70-year-old man and his son grappled with a man they saw getting out of Wednesday 14th November 1973 a car at McAleaveys but he succeeded in escaping Landmine blast injuries soldier from them minus his coat. The Grange Orange One soldier was slightly injured when a landmine Hall just outside Armagh was also targeted but blew up as troops were investigating a hoax bomb no damage was caused by the car bomb left near Dungannon. The blast came as the army vehicles were speeding along a disused road outside. towards a convent and the injured soldier did not require hospital treatment. Tuesday 13th November 1973 Beer keg bomb Three people were injured after a beer keg in a Wednesday 14th November 1973 car abandoned across the Dungannon- 4 bombs in Derry Ballygawley Road exploded outside Quinn’s pub. Business premises in Derry were hit in bomb There was no warning given an extensive damage attacks but no one was injured. Taylor’s chemist
shop on Rosemount Avenue suffered most damage after 4 youths left a duffle bag containing 10lb of explosives. The interior of the premises was destroyed but there was little structural damage. A 20lb bomb was defused by the army in Devlins supermarket on Racecourse Road. Five armed men left the bomb upstairs and telephoned a warning, and the army later defused the bomb. A man and a woman left a parcel on the counter of the Rock Stores on Strand Road. They gave a ten-minute warning and the 10lb bomb exploded causing minor damage. At the same time it was warned that there was a bomb on the premises of Foyle Taxis in Foyle Street. The area was evacuated and there was a blast on waste ground at the rear of the firm. Later it was found a 1lb bomb had caused the explosion and no damage was caused.
Wednesday 14th November 1973 Shots fired Four shots were fired at a householder in Suffolk as he went to answer the door and his brother was hit in the knee. Three bullets struck an RUC land rover in Craigavon. A single shot was fired at a security forces vehicle checkpoint at Ann Street-Sloan Street in Lurgan. There were no casualties in either incident. A workman in Belfast escaped injury when shots were fired at him at Princes Dock Street. Two armed men one with an automatic and the other with a pistol, opened fired when the man spotted them and ran for cover. One bullet sliced into the tyre of a parked lorry but the man was unhurt. Two shots were fired through a window of a Protestant occupied house at Hillcrest, Upper Ballysillan but no one was injured. Shots were heard in the Antrim Road, Baltic Avenue area but there were no signs of damage or injuries. LEFT - The London bombings for which the IRA unit were jailed. BELOW - Dolours Price
Wednesday 14th November 1973 Ammunition found A civilian who found 30 rounds of .303 ammunition lying at a car park at Sugar Island handed them over to the army.
Altnagelvin hospital. The gunman fired at a military patrol on Lecky Road from the corner of Stanley Walk and Lecky Road and the young girl was caught in the cross fire. Other shooting incidents in Derry included two shots fired at the army post in Blighs Lane from Thursday 15th November 1973 St Cecilia’s School. Four shots were heard in the Meenan Drive area off the Bogside, and five Jail for life Eight IRA bombers were jailed for life for causing shots near the community centre at Fanad Drive bombs in London. One man was jailed for 15 in Creggan. There were no casualties. years after pleading guilty to the charges. Thursday 15th November 1973 Bombs in van defused The army defused two bombs left on a milk float in the Crumlin Road area. The van was laden with a gas cylinder containing 100lbs of explosives and a beer keg containing 150lbs of explosives. Thursday 15th November 1973 14-year-old girl killed Kathleen Feeney was killed on her way to a local shop when a gunman attacked an army patrol. Miss Feeney was the sister of Mr Danny Feeney an SDLP member of Derry Council. The girl was hit in the neck and was dead on arrival at
Thursday 15th November 1973 Bars attacked in Belfast One man was seriously hurt in another spate of bar bombings in the city. The man was injured when a bomb exploded at the Albertbridge Wine Store on the Albertbridge Road. The explosives packed into a canister were left outside but the blast demolished the building. The driver of a passing car was injured by what is thought to have been a piece of shrapnel. Two passengers in his car suffered shock. Another blast was directed at the Clorane Bar in Gresham Street. An 1100 car parked outside the pub and was reported to the police who evacuated the area before it exploded causing extensive
Paul Holmes
William Armstrong
William McLarnon
Robert Martin Walsh
Hugh Feeney
Martin Brady
Marion Price
Gerard Kelly
Friday 16th November 1973 Bomb found in school A booby trap bomb was discovered at St Mary’s Intermediate School in Derry. The Creggan estate was quickly evacuated after the caretaker spotted the 10lb bomb, which had been placed against a wall outside a crowded classroom. The bomb consisted of home made explosives, a detonator and a clock and its most deadly component was a trip wire, which could easily have been tripped Thursday 15th November 1973 over. The army carried out a controlled explosion, which destroyed the bomb and cracked a single Claymore mine On the border between Derrylin and Ballyconnell window in the school building. in Fermanagh a large claymore mine went off. The army had been waiting to search the area, Friday 16th November 1973 and the army defused a 3lb bomb left in the toilet IRA man killed in gunfight of a Catholic owned bar in Donaghcloney. A 23-year-old South Armagh man died after 10 gunmen attacked Keady police station. The man Thursday 15th November 1973 was badly wounded and later died in Eire where Loyalist prison protest it was reported that he was commanding officer A protest against the ‘undemocratic system of of the IRA Crossmaglen unit. The gunmen first justice in the Law Courts, namely the Diplock planted a large bomb at a gable wall of the small commission’ is contained in a statement issued on behalf of loyalist prisoners in Crumlin Road Jail. The statement issued from Portadown maintains that the prisoners are not treated like other citizens in the UK. damage to shops in the street. The car had been stolen on the Shankhill Road. Later a Cortina was noticed parked suspiciously close to the Elbow Room on the Dublin Road and the area was evacuated before the blast. The pub and surrounding area were severely damaged. Elsewhere in Belfast shots were fired at soldiers in the Clonard district and five petrol bombs were found in the Falls area by the army.
Friday 16th November 1973 Blast in Belfast Arcade A policeman was hurt when a bomb exploded in a busy Belfast shopping arcade. Security forces went to Queens Arcade after a warning was phoned to the Irish News that there was a bomb there. The bomb was found behind double doors at the Queens Bar inside the arcade, a detonator exploded seconds later, injuring the policeman. The area remained sealed off as the army moved in to deal with the remainder of the explosives. It is normal practice to stop and search everyone who enters the arcade and it is unknown how the bomb was smuggled in. RIGHT - British troops deal with a suspected car bomb at Unity Flats by setting it on fire and burning up any explosives
police station and then a 50-yard fuse, and detonated the charge, which badly damaged the station. The RUC men in the station had spotted what was going on and opened fire on the men. One RUC officer was hit in he shoulder as a fierce gun battle developed and dozens of rounds were exchanged during the following ten minutes. Just before the gunmen fled they planted another bomb to cover their escape but it did not explode. The man was found at the side of the road and taken to hospital in Co Monaghan by a passing motorist. Friday 16th November 1973 Pigeon Club attacked 26 people including three soldiers were injured when a car bomb exploded outside a pigeon club at Iveagh Street in the Falls area. A five-minute warning was given and the area was being cleared when the explosion came, badly damaging the club and causing widespread blast damage to dozens of homes in the area. The car used in the attack was a Singer Vogue stolen earlier from Fairview Street in the lower Crumlin Road area. Also in the Falls area a nail or blast bomb exploded at Cavendish Street but the target was unknown. RIGHT - Members of the RUC search for records in the debris of Lurgan Barracks following an IRA bomb attack. BELOW - Car bomb attack on the Iveagh Street Pigeon Club.
Friday 16th November 1973 Lisburn Road pub attacked again There was no warning before a bomb believed to have been packed into a compressed air cylinder blew up outside the Four in Hand pub on the Lisburn Road. The 25-30lb device blew a hole in the wall beside which it had been placed but no one was hurt. A car with a number of men in it was seen speeding away shortly before the blast. Friday 16th November 1973 Shots heard Four shots were fired at eight Catholic youths at Candahar Street-Burma Street in the Ormeau Road area but none of the group was hurt.
Friday 16th November 1973 Beer keg bombs The army defused a 150lb beer keg bomb left in a stolen car in the car park at the Seaside Tavern in Strand Road, Holywood. The area had been evacuated after the car, stolen earlier from the Holywood Road, was spotted. Another bomb expert defused a 100lb beer keg device left in a car abandoned by two men at the Ivanhoe Bar on the Saintfield Road. The Ford car had been stolen earlier from Kyle Street in the Holywood Road area. Friday 16th November 1973 Derry shootings Two shooting incidents were reported in the city but security forces were not involved. The shots were fired in the Elmwood Road area of the Bogside and four to six shots were heard at Central Drive in the Creggan but there was no apparent target in either case. Also in Derry the army found 124 rounds of ammunition on wooded ground near Altnagelvin on the Dungiven Road. Friday 16th November 1973 RUC man shot in ambush Gunmen locked an elderly couple in the back room of their home at Moy in Tyrone before ambushing and shooting an RUC constable in the leg. He was not seriously hurt in the attack. The gunmen ordered the couple into an upstairs back bedroom and then went to the front of the house where they lay in ambush. A police land rover passed the house a short time later and the gunmen opened fire. Police returned the fire and one policeman was hit and the vehicles windscreen was shattered. The elderly couple were not injured but were treated for shock. Friday 16th November 1973 Bar blast killed passer-by A no warning bomb at McGlades bar in Donegall Street killed a passer-by and injured five others. Gerald Barnes aged 30; a fitter from Springfield Crescent was killed as he passed the bar. The
30lb device had been thrown into the bar filled with 60 people and the bomb exploded about 40 seconds later. Saturday 17th November 1973 Border road bus blows up A hijacked bus blew up on the South Armagh border today several hours after armed men planted a bomb in it. Ten passengers and the driver of the CIE bus were ordered out at the Killeen customs post and the bus later blew up and was reduced to a tangled mass of twisted metal. No one was hurt. The Dublin to Belfast railway line remains closed as a hijacked lorry had been left on the line and was then hit by the train. Part of the lorry became embedded in the train. In other border crossings car and lorries all hijacked in South Armagh were still blocking minor roads near the border. Saturday 17th November 1973 Six injured in pub blast Two more Catholic owned pubs one in the Grosvenor Road area and the other in Glengormley were targets for bomb attacks. Six people were reported injured and taken to hospital after a bomb exploded at the rear of the Glen Inn at Glengormley’s village square. A 73-year-old woman suffered a heart attack after the blast and a man received an eye injury. The bomb in the toilet at the rear caused extensive damage to the bar. Only part of a 200lb exploded at the Salisbury bar on the corner of Durham Street and Grosvenor Road. A passer by spotted an 1100 car at the side of the premises and the area was sealed off. The bomb caused a blaze in the car but there were no casualties but several windows were smashed. Saturday 17th November 1973 Post Office van used as bomb A bomb in a hijacked post office van demolished Lurgan police station after it had been evacuated. The explosives were packed into two milk churns placed in the van and the driver was told to take it to the police station. When the van reached
Saturday 17th November 1973 Maternity unit drama Fifteen mothers and nine babies were taken to safety from the Mater Hospital seconds before a large car bomb exploded outside the Cherrymount Saturday 17th November 1973 Bar on the Crumlin Road. The blast damaged the bar and smashed dozens of windows in the Bicycle bomb A bicycle bomb was left outside a bar in Maters maternity unit and nurses’ home but Broughshane Street, Ballymena did not explode although some people were shocked there were no casualties. A passer by had spotted the bomb and was later defused by the army. and the area was quickly evacuated. Saturday 17th November 1973 Shots fired in Belfast and Derry Six to eight shots were fired into a Protestant occupied house at Gosford Place in the Ormeau Saturday 17th November 1973 area but no one inside was hurt. Six shots were UDR man fights for his life heard in the Westland Street area of the Bogside A UDR man fought of a 10 strong group who in Derry. Security forces were not involved and drove up to the farmhouse where he lived near nothing was found during a follow up operation. Fivemiletown. As he heard the car approaching Troops fired rubber bullets to disperse 15-20 the UDR man shouted a warning to this son and youths who stoned a mobile patrol at Racecourse rushed inside the house and grabbed a gun. The Road. gunmen fired into the hose and the UDR man returned fire. The gunmen left leaving behind a Saturday 17th November 1973 car packed with explosives which was dealt with Blast bomb by the army. A blast bomb was thrown into the front garden of a Catholic home at Wheatfield Gardens off the Crumlin Road. No one was hurt and little damage Saturday 17th November 1973 Murder bid charge was caused. A 20-year-old man from Turf Lodge was remanded in custody charged with the attempted murder of a soldier in Norglen Parade. The man Saturday 17th November 1973 Men questioned after Carrick blasts pleaded not guilty. Several men were questioned by the police in connection with bomb attacks on two Carrickfergus bars in which three people were Monday 19th November 1973 injured. The first blast was packed into a stolen Shot man ‘serious’ Ford Anglia and exploded outside the Harbour A 35-year-old Protestant man is seriously ill after bar opposite Carrick Castle. Three people were an assassination attempt near his home in West treated for cuts and shock after the blast. A beer Belfast. The man was walking along Woodvale keg bomb was found outside the door of the Parade off Twaddell Avenue when two youths Central Bar’s Marine Lounge about 100 yards up approached and fired two shots at him. He was the street from the Harbour Bar and the area was wounded in the back and taken to hospital where evacuated. The army detonated the 30lb bomb his condition was described as ill but and the blast caused some damage to the interior satisfactory’. The man is from the Ballygomartin of the bar but no one was hurt. area. the entrance to the station it was challenged by the sentry and the driver then told him about the bomb. The bomb completely destroyed the station.
Monday 19th November 1973 Hoax bombs on rail Three hoax bombs were planted on the Belfast to Larne railway line near Carrickfergus. Three cylinders with wires attacked were found near Clipperstown Halt. The army carried out controlled explosions on them and found that they were empty. Monday 19th November 1973 UVF ceasefire A ceasefire by the UVF came into effect today. Although the government banned the UFF and Red Hand Commandos last Monday it is believed that UVF men were behind the upsurge in violence from loyalist sources. A statement from the organisation claimed that it was responsible for 97% of loyalist violence excluding sectarian murders. The UVF in their statement of ceasefire said they would cease bombing and other acts of terrorism throughout Ireland from midnight until the New Year. The UVF warned that any of its officers or men who broke the 43-day truce would be physically punished or executed depending on the circumstances. During the cease-fire the UVF says it will assist the Ulster Loyalist Front in working for a political solution to the problems of Northern Ireland and will bring
pressure to bear upon the politicians’. Significantly the UVF referred to violence carried out by both men and women members of the organisation. The RUC have for some time been aware that women and girls are being recruited in increasing numbers to loyalist extremist organisations. Monday 19th November 1973 Sniper attack on patrol in Derry A soldier was slightly injured when a sniper opened fire on an army patrol in the Bogside, Derry. The snipers bullet struck the butt of the solders rifle and fragments from the butt were thrown in to his face but he was not seriously hurt. Monday 19th November 1973 Three hurt in blast A former Unionist councillor, his wife and their 35-year-old niece were injured in a massive blast in Derry. The explosion was at the farm where the family lived and a charge estimated at 200lb exploded in an outhouse about 40 yards from the house. The family were detained in the Mid Ulster hospital and treated for minor injuries. BELOW LEFT - The remains of Lurgan RUC Barracks. BELOW - Guardsman David Roberts, the 200th British soldier to die in the Northern Irish conflict.
Monday 19th November 1973 Chip shop blast One policeman was treated for an eye injured by flying glass after a blast at the chip shop in Atlantic Avenue. A warning was received and the shop was evacuated along with dozens of nearby houses. The car involved had been stolen from the Grove baths and the building was only slightly damaged.
Monday 19th November 1973 South Belfast blasts A bomb exploded after being thrown from a car at Blacks off licence in Agincourt Avenue off the Ormeau Road. The building was only slightly damaged. In the same area a man and woman who were walking past had to be treated for shock when a 100-200lb car bomb exploded outside the Rose and Crown bar at Farnham Street. The blast in the car, stolen from Derryvolgie Avenue, caused extensive damage to the car and to several houses in the street. A third person was treated for minor cuts and shock. RIGHT - Car bomb attack on the Rose and Crown Bar on the Ormeau Road. BELOW - Francis Benson
Monday 19th November 1973 Shots fired Two shots were fired at an army Saracen by an IRA sniper in the Clonard area, a single shot was fired at a patrol in Leeson Street and shots were also fired at troops at Essex Street, off the Ormeau Road and near the Queens Bridge. A single shot was fired at the RUC station in Glengormley but there were no casualties and fire was not returned. At Rathcoole, seven shots were fired at a Roman Catholic occupied house in Lenaderg Terrace but no one was injured. Monday 19th November 1973 Bombs explode in many areas A bomb extensively damaged a Catholic occupied house at Mountainview Park off the Crumlin Road and a short time later a nail bomb was thrown at a Catholic family’s home in Twadell Avenue but there were no casualties in either attack.
Tuesday 20th November 1973 IRA apology The IRA issued a statement ‘regretting’ damage caused to a Lurgan church by a bomb in a post office van, which wrecked A gas cylinder bomb believed to have been the police station. planted by two men on a motorcycle caused extensive damage to O’Sullivans petrol station in Templepatrick. No warning had been given Tuesday 20th November 1973 but no one was hurt. Army blow up car Slight damage was caused to the Catholic owned The army blew up a suspect car abandoned on Cabin sweet shop in Donaghadee when a cylinder the road between Clogher and Fintona. The car bomb exploded outside the buildings was left across the road a short time after a bomb attack on Clogher post office and the army feared In Warrenpoint a petrol bomb was thrown from a the vehicle might be booby-trapped. No car at a house in Seaview but it fell short and the explosives were found. blaze was put out by firemen. A controlled explosion was carried out on a stolen car found abandoned by a RUC patrol at the rear of the Bellevue Arms pub on the Antrim Road but the vehicle did not contain explosives.
Three milk churns full of explosive substances and a detonator were found in a haystack in Plumbridge by troops during a routine search. In Glenarm children playing at Mark Street found a 15-20lb bomb, which was later blown up by an army expert. Near Monkstown two men ditched a gas cylinder bomb from a car at Old Carrickfergus Road when a police car pursued them.
Tuesday 20th November 1973 Shankill man charged A 24-year-old bricklayer from the Shankill area was charged with possessing pistol and 60 round of ammunition. BELOW AND FACING PAGE - The coffin of UVF member Charles Logan in the West Belfast Orange Hall, Shankill Road
Tuesday 20th November 1973 200lb bomb wrecks post office A 72-year-old bedridden woman was carried to safety shortly before a 200lb milk churn bomb wrecked the post office in Clogher, Co Tyrone. The blast shattered windows and blew in he doors of shops and houses up to 100 yards away but there were no casualties. After the blast a hijacked car was found abandoned at Killyfaddy Crossroads. Tuesday 20th November 1973 Dungannon mine A claymore mine exploded in front of a UDR land rover on the Donaghmore Road, Dungannon. The blast was followed by several bursts of small arms fire, which lasted for about a minute. There were no casualties and the UDR men returned fire. Tuesday 20th November 1973 Shots fired in Belfast A woman was admitted to the Royal Victoria Hospital with a gunshot wound to the leg received in the Iveagh area. Earlier two shots were fired at an army observation post in Broadway but there were no casualties. Four shots were fired at a mill a Flax Street but no one was hurt.
Tuesday 20th November 1973 Belfast arms find A pistol and seven rounds of ammunition were found in the back of a house at Ravenhill Avenue. The RUC believe the gun and ammunition were dumped there. Tuesday 20th November 1973 Gortin bomb Three milk churns found by a farmer near Gortin, Co Tyrone, were discovered to contain 500lb of explosives, which were blown up in a controlled explosion. Tuesday 20th November 1973 Cylinder bomb explodes A 20-50lb cylinder bomb farmhouse at Red Hall and extensively damaged the building.
Tuesday 20th November 1973 Bomb smashes windows of church Three stained glass windows 100 years old were lost when a bomb went off at Lurgan police station. The windows of the Church of Ireland Shankill Parish Church were put in 1873 and the damage caused comes to ÂŁ250,000.
Tuesday 20th November 1973 UDA major jailed A self-confessed UDA major told a court that he bought the gun for ÂŁ20 and did not know how to use it. He had bought it for the sole use of protecting himself and his family as he felt that as a member of the UDA he was not safe anywhere in Belfast. The gun was found by the RUC and army during a search of the mans house. It was hidden on top of a cupboard in the kitchen and was not ready to fire. It was in a safety position. Tuesday 20th November 1973 3 years for having pistol A 31-year-old shipyard worker was jailed for three years after he was found guilty of possessing a pistol under suspicious circumstances.
Wednesday 21st November 1973 Dead UVF man form East Belfast Charles Logan aged 33; the UVF officer who died at a blast at a farm near Desertmartin was from East Belfast. Described as a quiet man and married with two young sons Logan was a steeplejack by trade. In a statement the UVF claimed that Logan had died accidentally in the blast. His death notices stated that he died in active service. The RUC have accepted that Logan was killed in the explosion but he has not yet been formally identified. The UVF claimed that the owner of the farmhouse at Desertmartin, a former Unionist councillor, was being held captive by them when the bomb exploded prematurely injuring the owner, his wife and young niece. Soldiers found two pistols, ammunition and a hijacked van after the explosion.
They hijacked a CIE bus and planted a bomb in it and the customs caravan. A bomb was also planted in a cattle lorry loaded with calves both of which exploded a short time later, however the calves had been released.
Wednesday 21st November 1973 Shopkeeper acquitted A Belfast judge instructed the jury to acquit a New Lodge Road shopkeeper and his wife of having three rifles, a sawn off shotgun and nearly 700 rounds of ammunition. The weapons and ammunition were found in an upstairs store above the shop and were wrapped in a quilt and hidden behind a fire. The couple denied all knowledge of the arsenal. Access to the shop could be easily obtained through different windows, which were not secured.
Thursday 22nd November 1973 Shooting incidents in Belfast There were exchanges of fire between troops and gunmen in Short Strand and in the Divismore area. There were also shots in Ballymurphy and near the City Cemetery. Two buses were hijacked and used as barricades at the Whiterock Road, Falls Road junction.
Wednesday 21st November 1973 Youths on arms charge Two youths were in court charged with having a loaded armalite in the Ballymurphy area. Both were also charged with intent to endanger life.
Wednesday 21st November 1973 Troops stoned Soldiers searching a car in the Glencairn area of Belfast after they had detained three men were attacked ay a hostile crowd throwing stones and bottles. Later the army found explosive substances, bullets and machine gun magazines in the car. The three men were then charged with Wednesday 21st November 1973 possessing two detonators, six feet of fuse wire, Funeral crowd flee shots two magazines and 43 rounds of ammunition at Mourners fled from Belfast City Cemetery in the Glencairn Road. Falls are after shots were fired over their heads at a funeral service. The shots came from nearby Thursday 22nd November 1973 Whiterock flats and were fired just after the coffin 4 accused of town hall blast containing the body of a person from the Four men from Warrenpoint were charged with Ravenhill area had been lowered into the grave. leaving bombs at the local Town Hall and golf About a dozen people attended the funeral. club, which caused minor damage.
Thursday 22nd November 1973 Derry incidents A booby trap was discovered by troops in a hedge in Derry’s Creggan estate. The bomb estimated Wednesday 21st November 1973 at 2lb of explosives exploded when being Customs post targeted remotely dealt with by the army. No one was A group of men held up two customs officers at hurt and there was little damage. At Racecourse the Mullan post near Kinawley, Co Fermanagh. Road in the Shantallow area a blast bomb was
thrown at an army mobile patrol. This was followed by four shots. An army patrol came under attack by a large crowd and a soldier was admitted to hospital with slight concussion after being hit by a stone at Lonemoor RoadLimewood Street in the Bogside.
Thursday 22nd November 1973 Two men jailed in arms case Two Derry men were jailed after being found guilty of possessing five rifles and 110 round of ammunition under suspicious circumstances at Drumard. Both men refused to recognise the court and pleas of not guilty were entered on their behalf and they were jailed for five years.
Friday 23rd November 1973 Man shot in Belfast bar A man was a shot through the thigh by gunmen who tried to take him out of a Belfast pub. The two gunmen walked into the Phoenix bar on the Antrim Road shortly after lunchtime when there were a dozen people in the bar. The victim was grabbed and shot and the two gunmen ran out of the bar. The injured man was not seriously injured.
Friday 23rd November 1973 Tunnel found at the Maze A partly dug tunnel was uncovered in a routine search at the Maze prison. It was nine feet long after having been sunk four feet. The mouth was concealed by a wooden lid one and a half feet Thursday 22nd November 1973 wide and led to a considerable wider tunnel. Detonators charge Material dug up was tied up in torn up sleeping A Belfast bar manager was remanded in custody sheets found hidden in the tunnel and apparently charged with possessing two detonators and fuse kept there when digging stopped. The tunnel wire at his home in Battenberg Street. from a hut is believed to have been only started a few days. Thursday 22nd November 1973 Two jailed for attack on army patrol Two Ardoyne men were jailed for three years after being found guilty of causing an explosion in Etna Drive, Belfast. The men had been observed through binoculars by soldiers in an observation post at Flax Street Mill. The men disappeared and were then seen in Etna Drive and at the same time an army patrol was passing. One of the men threw a missile over the top of houses which landed close to the patrol, but the missile did not explode immediately and as the result of a radio message the patrol members scattered and no one was injured when the missile finally exploded.
Friday 23rd November 1973 Postman to be released The kidnapped postman is thought to be released today after a telephone call received by Newry police stated that the postman was alive and well and in a IRA hideout in South Armagh. Mr Kerr was kidnapped by armed men while delivering mail in the Killen area and his van was found in an outhouse at a border farm. Postal services in the Newry area have been disrupted and the other postmen refused to work until Mr Kerr was released.
Thursday 22nd November 1973 Man cleared of arms charges A 55-year-old crane driver from Stanfield Street was cleared of possessing an M1 carbine and 10 rounds of ammunition after he denied all knowledge of the gun and bullets.
Friday 23rd November 1973 Arms haul A 26-year-old man of Henrietta Street was charged with possessing an armalite rifle, another rifle, a pistol, 16 rounds of ammunition and three magazines at his home.
Friday 23rd November 1973 RUC find two guns Two guns were found by police today near Clogher after an anonymous tip off. The guns, a revolver with five rounds of ammunition and a 9mm pistol with seven rounds were wrapped in an anorak and hidden in a hedge on a side road at Carrickfergus. Both guns are in good condition.
Friday 23rd November 1973 UDR man shot A UDR man was shot in the car as he left work in Strabane. Six shots were fired at him as he drove from MCL Plastics a factory on the outskirts of the Ballycolman housing estate.
Friday 23rd November 1973 Crossgar blast Friday 23rd November 1973 Police received a telephone call warning of a Soldiers injured in Tyrone bomb in Macmillan’s timber merchants and Two soldiers were injured after an attempt was sealed off the area before the 50lb of explosives made to blow up their ferret scout car. The vehicle went off causing moderate damage. was the last scout car of three in a joint armyRUC patrol going to investigate a report of two Friday 23rd November 1973 gas cylinders in the road at Mullaslin between Ballykinlar rocket attack Omagh and Carrickmore. As they approached A UDR centre at Ballykinlar was attacked by the spot a massive explosion ripped the road apart rockets. RUC and soldiers in the area found a between two of the scout cars. The last vehicle car near Downpatrick which they thought was plunged in to the 10 feet deep crater and the involved in the attack and at the gates of a primary following car crashed in on top of it. Two soldiers school in Tyrella they found a rocket launcher and two civilians in the car were injured. The and several missiles. bomb which had been placed in a pipe running under the road is believed to have Friday 23rd November 1973 been electrically detonated. Letter bomb An RUD reservist received an incendiary device through his letterbox at his home in Larne. The device exploded and some damage to the ground floor was caused but no one was hurt. Friday 23rd November 1973 Shots fired in South Armagh Around 20 shots were fired t the RUC station in Newtownhamilton. Soldiers who returned fire claimed a hit. Friday 23rd November 1973 Derry incidents An explosion followed by a fire badly damaged a store at the rear of a chemist shop in Racecourse Road in the Shantallow area. The army said that a 2lb charge had been planted at the rear of the shop, a warning was received and the area was LEFT - Clearing up after a no warning bomb attack on the Glen Inn, Glengormley.
evacuated. Earlier an explosion was heard in the Bogside area but the RUC were not involved. Friday 23rd November 1973 Belfast incidents Two girls from Oceanic Avenue were fired on as they walked along the Limestone Road. Neither of the girls were hurt. A search of a house in Westrock Drive, Ballymurphy, produced a revolver, two magazines, and 500 rounds of ammunition.
Friday 23rd November 1973 3 men cleared Three men were cleared of possessing explosive substances and ammunition. Under direction from the judge that there was no evidence of possession the men were acquitted at Belfast City Commission. Saturday 24th November 1973 Bomb defused The army defused a 50lb bomb left at a Tyrone meat processing plant several hours after an explosion at the factory. The bomb was planted near a refrigerated plant at the Moy Meat Products premises. It was discovered after a 20-50lb bomb exploded nearby causing moderate damage.
Saturday 24th November 1973 Two arms find Troops in Derry found a M1 rifle, a pistol and three loaded magazines in a hedge in the Shantallow area. A sten gun, magazine, and 22 rounds of ammunition, wrapped in paper were found by an army patrol in a hedge outside Dungannon. Saturday 24th November 1973 Farmer held on gelignite charge A Co Derry farmer appeared in a special court charged with possessing or having under his control three sticks of gelignite and a length of cortex fuse at Ballynangowan. He was remanded in custody.
Saturday 24th November 1973 Couple on arms charge A Belfast couple arrested by troops after arms were found their home were remanded in custody. The couple were charged with possessing a revolver, two magazines and over 500 rounds of ammunition at their home in Westrock Drive. Saturday 24th November 1973 Tyrone man for trial A man from Stewartstown was charged with collecting information with regard to a motor vehicle belonging to the UDR, which was of a nature likely to be useful to those wishing to attack the UDR. Saturday 24th November 1973 Kidnapped postman released Frank Kerr the Newry postman was released and this led to a full resumption of post office services in the South Armagh and South Down areas. Mr Kerr stated that he was well treated by his captors after being held for over 80 hours. He was dropped from a car near the Flagstaff and was picked up by a passing motorist who took him home.
Saturday 24th November 1973 Falls men jailed Four men from the Falls Road area were jailed for a total of 18 years on firearms charges. The trial, which was one of he longest in N. Ireland, was interrupted almost daily for legal submissions. The case centred on an ambush of an army patrol near the Beehive bar, which was foiled by the army who spotted the gunmen from an observation post in the area. The event started Saturday 24th November 1973 with a hijacking of a bus, which went wrong when Bomb in suitcase A 40-50lb-suitcase bomb was left on the counter the driver refused to stop his vehicle. of Jones’s cafÊ in Maghera Street, Kilrea. A warning was given and the area evacuated however the blast demolished the building and Saturday 24th November 1973 Ammunition find in Derry surrounding area. 100 rounds of .22 ammunition were found in a hedge in the Gobsnacle area of the Waterside Saturday 24th November 1973 district of Derry by a routine army patrol. Co Down arms find In Newtownards police found four sporting rifles and four sten guns when they searched a wooded area in the Clandeboye estate. The weapons, Saturday 24th November 1973 which were wrapped in polythene and paper sacks Man jailed for storing weapons A Belfast man was jailed for two years for appeared to have been there only a short time. possessing weapons without a licence. The judge did not believe his claim that he kept the guns Saturday 24th November 1973 Police found a 9mm automatic pistol and a .22 after being abducted at gunpoint in Sandy Row, revolver hidden in a hedge in the townland of and taken in a car with a coat over his head to a house elsewhere in the city. Carrick.
Monday 26th November 1973 Gunman hit Troops claimed to have hit a gunman in Creggan after 30 shots were fired at them from the roof of a community centre.
Monday 26th November 1973 Bomb found at home of Lord Chief Justice Lowry A policeman on security duty at the home of the Lord Chief Justice raised the alarm after finding a drum with wires attached at one of the entrance Monday 26th November 1973 to the Judges home. Another device was also found and the army defused one device and the Belleek again under attack Seven rockets and three mortars were used to other exploded a short time later shattering attack Belleek police station. Four of the missiles windows. No one was injured. struck the building and one passed straight through it no one was injured. Police and troops returned fire and claimed two hits before the Monday 26th November 1973 attackers fled. Bomb attacks In Ballymena there was moderate damage after a bomb left by two youths exploded beside a wall Monday 26th November 1973 at the Plastic Knitting Factory at Galgorm. Also Two police stations attacked in Castlewellan, a bomb left by two youths in the Six shots were fired at Aghalee police station but doorway extensively damaged the Chestnut bar. two policemen and a civilian inside the building escaped injury. Tuesday 27th November 1973 A rocket was fired at the rear of Greencastle RUC Man fired on at post office station on the Shore Road. It was followed by Gunmen opened fire on an ex UDR man while about eight shots. he stood chatting outside Aghalane Post Office near Derrylin, Fermanagh. The man in his 40’s was hit in the thigh but was not seriously injured.
Tuesday 27th November 1973 Army defuse bombs The army defused two 10lb bombs found near the new Craigavon police station. Security forces believe that the bomb was not primed and in a follow up search a car, which had earlier been stolen in the area, was found nearby. The new station suffered severe damage in a bomb blast in May only months after it was officially opened.
Ivan Charlton
Tuesday 27th November 1973 A Carrickfergus man who claimed that two armed and masked men forced him to keep a shotgun and cartridges in his home was jailed for a year. The accused said that the men had threatened to get him and his family if he didn’t store the weapon but the judge at Belfast City Commission did not believe him.
Tuesday 27th November 1973 Man who carried 3 guns jailed A 20-year-old Andersonstown man whose father was in the RUC for 30 years was jailed for five years when he admitted carrying guns for the IRA. The man pleaded guilty to possessing two M1 carbines, an armalite rifle and 120 rounds of ammunition. The man had been stopped at an army check at Glen Road and he admitted that they were for the use of the IRA. The man said that he had only been a member of the IRA for two weeks and had joined only because a fired had been shot dead at a barricade.
Tuesday 27th November 1973 Strabane bomb defused A 20-minute warning was phoned to local police in Strabane stating that there was a bomb at Buchanans garage in Dock Street. The area was evacuated and the army defused the device, which consisted of 40lbs of explosive mix packed in a suitcase. Tuesday 27th November 1973 Shots fired in Derry One shot was fired on the ground floor of the Rossville Flats in the Bogside where two soldiers were shot dead by gunmen. A single shot was also heard in the Malin Gardens area of Creggan and four bursts of automatic fire were heard in the Carnhill estate at Shantallow but there were no reports of any casualties.
Tuesday 27th November 1973 Belfast arms find Troops reported finding two rifles, seven 12-bore cartridges and eight .38 rounds when they searched a shed at a house in Waterville Street in the Clonard area. Wednesday 28th November 1973 Chaos on the road system More than 90 roads were blocked during disruption of the road and rail network caused by hijacked vehicles being left for the army to
deal with. Three people died during the disruption. The bodies of two men were cut out of their Triumph car in Tyrone after it had crashed into a lorry hijacked by the IRA and placed across the main Dungannon to Omagh road near Ballygawley. Another man died when he was shot by troops as he tried to hijack a car on the Dungannon Road at Coalisland. The hijacking of vehicles and blocking of roads in the Crossmaglen and Silverbridge areas began at 3.30pm, and armed and masked hijackers struck in Newry. Buses, lorries and cars blocked one road after another. Trains were suspended when an Ulsterbus vehicle that had been hijacked was left under the Egyptian Arch on the Newry Camlough Road. In Derry, two buses, a lorry and a van were placed across the Glenshane Pass on the main road from Belfast to Derry. In Derry itself, the main Letterkenny Road was blocked for a time as security forces examined a gas cylinder thought to contain explosives. In Tyrone, five schoolchildren and an adult were ordered out of an Ulsterbus before it was hijacked on the Pomeroy-Carrickmore Road. The driver was forced to drive the bus some distance up the road and then, after ordering him out, they left a container in the bus and made their getaway in a waiting car. The main Tyrone to Monaghan route was blocked by a lorry and a bus was placed across the Omagh-Cookstown route. All routes out of Coalisland were blocked. The Moy Road in Armagh was sealed when a suspect vehicle was discovered abandoned 200 yards for the city and the Cathedral road was blocked at the Skye Bridge. A hijacked vehicle blocked the road near Middletown customs post. In Strabane hijacked vehicles blocked all through traffic in the town and a 50lb bomb left in a bus at Bridge Street was defused by the army. In South Down, the road between Downpatrick and Crossgar was blocked by a car. Two bombs were planted in the vehicle and one exploded as the car was placed across the road. Castlewellan was isolated with suspect cars blocking all the main roads into the village.
Wednesday 28th November 1973 Bombs disrupt power supplies Bombs were planted at three pylons at Islandmagee, which support the lines carrying the main supply from the Ballylumford power station to houses further afield. All three bombs exploded but caused only minor damage to the pylons, which were tilted over. The explosions were heard over a wide area, but it took some time to discover the exact whereabouts of the devices.
Blighs Lane army post but no one was hurt. Six shots were reported in the Rossdowney area of the Waterside and four in Rosemount. Thursday 29th November 1973 Young man jailed A young Portadown man was jailed for four years when he pleaded guilty to arms charges. The 22 year old was found guilty of possession of five rifles, four magazines and 1023 rounds of ammunition under suspicious circumstances.
Thursday 29th November 1973 Two get bail A man who claimed the revolver found in his house in Lenadoon was for his protection was granted bail. He was charged with possession of a revolver and 35 rounds of ammunition. Another man was charged with possession of two rifles, a pistol, 16 rounds of ammunition found in a shed Thursday 29th November 1973 behind his home in the Markets area was also Bomb factory found granted bail. During a routine search in Derry troops uncovered Friday 30th November 1973 a bomb factory in premises at the junction of Moore Two on bomb charge Two Derry teenagers were separately charged Street and Bishops Street in the Brandywell. with possessing a bomb at Boating Club Lane with intent to endanger life or cause serious injury. Thursday 29th November 1973 Buses burned Belfast was hit by hijackers as roads were blocked in the west. Bus services were withdrawn, Friday 30th November 1973 controlled explosions were carried out on suspect Arms in pub vehicles. On the Ormeau Road a motorist was The manager of the Lily pub in the Sandy Row shot at as he accelerated away from a hijacker in area of Belfast was cleared of having a large arms Essex Street. At the Royal Victoria Hospital a haul at the pub on two different occasions. car was stolen from the grounds and left across the La Salle-Falls junction. Another bus was hijacked and abandoned on the Springfield Road Friday 30th November 1973 and most hijacked vehicles were destroyed after Three Belfast men charged with causing an explosion at Glengormley when a sugar being set on fire. warehouse was bombed were remanded in custody. They were charged with causing an explosion with a 100lb bomb, using a .45 revolver Thursday 29th November 1973 to help them place the bomb near the building, Derry incidents An explosion was heard in the Little Diamond and possessing a weapon and six rounds of area of the Bogside and one shot was fired at the ammunition under suspicious circumstances. Thursday 29th November 1973 Troops stoned A patrol of soldiers in Coalisland was stoned by people who gathered at the funeral of the IRA man shot dead by RUC during the hijacking of vehicles.
DECEMBER 1973 Saturday 1st December 1973 Three men questioned RUC were questioning three men in Newry after two rifles were found in a car. Security forces stopped the car outside the town and in a search of the vehicle an M1 carbine and a .303 rifle were found.
When he heard a knock to his front door he stood back and asked who was at the door and almost immediately gunmen shot four times into the house. No one was injured.
Saturday 1st December 1973 Arms charge A 52-year-old Portadown man was charged at a special court in Portadown RUC station with possessing a shotgun without holding a firearms certificate. He was also accused of possessing 17 rounds of .22 ammunition, 340 .22 slugs and Saturday 1st December 1973 one round of 7.9 ammunition without a firearms RUC appeal Police investigating an attempt to shoot a 27-year- certificate. old Roman Catholic at Carnmoney have appealed to anyone who may have seen a white car in the Saturday 1st December 1973 area. The man was shot at while in his car at the Man freed in gun case junction of Ravelstone Avenue and Ballyduff A man who claimed that he was stopped and searched by soldiers on his way to the police Road. station to hand over a gun was acquitted by a Belfast court. The 31-year-old man from Forth Saturday 1st December 1973 River Crescent told the court that his 14-yearTeenager escapes attack The teenage son of Mr Cecil Walker, the unsuccessful Unionist candidate in the Assembly BELOW - Car bomb attack at the Market Square in elections was the victim of an attempted shooting. Lisburn
old son found a loaded Browning semi-automatic revolver lying under a car near the Salisbury Bar, Shankill Road. He told the court that his son brought it to him and he was taking it to Tennent Street police station when he was stopped by soldiers who found the weapon wrapped in cloth in his pocket. The court accepted his story.
revealed no other bombs. Part of the main Enniskillen –Belturbet road was closed after a bridge at Aghalane near the border, was blown up.
Monday 3rd December 1973 High court drama A 22-year-old Belfast barman accused of Saturday 1st December 1973 attempting to murder a policeman, made a Lisburn car bombs dramatic bid for freedom at the High court. The Gas board workers were trying to repair the man tried to escape by racing up the hall of the fracture caused to one of the mains when two car court where a policeman confronted him, when bombs exploded in Market Square, Lisburn. The centre of the town was evacuated when 25 feet of the gas main burst into flames after the cars exploded within seconds of each other, causing severe damage to Napier’s Bar and the Provincial Bank. One of the cars used in the attack was hijacked in Stanley Street, off the Grosvenor Road, Belfast and the driver was held prisoner in an Andersonstown house for five hours until the bombs had gone off. The other car was stolen from outside the Whitefort Inn on the Andersonstown Road.
Saturday 1st December 1973 Arms find in Derry Troops found a Garrand rifle, 13 rounds of ammunition, several magazines, two detonators and other bomb-making equipment in a house at Lisfannon Park in the Bogside. During the search a crowd of 60 youths stoned the troops but were dispersed after a rubber bullet was fired. In a stoning incident in the Creggan Estate one soldier received minor injuries but returned to duty after treatment. Monday 3rd December 1973 Troops defuse railway bomb The Belfast-Lisburn train service was halted after a phone call to a newspaper saying three bombs had been placed the tracks. A search of the line revealed the 24lb bomb which had been left on the track near the Finaghy Road North bridge. The army defused the device and a further search
he immediately backtracked and ran up and down Monday 3rd December 1973 before being overpowered by warders. Arms find In various searched the RUC found two pistols Monday 3rd December 1973 assorted ammunition and fuse wire. The guns Policeman killed were found in a derelict house at Aughaleck, A policeman died after gunmen ambushed an Hillsborough and another search of an empty RUC patrol in Lurgan. Constable Robert Megaw house at Upper Dunmurry Lane revealed 64 died in the Craigavon Hospital; he was married rounds, starter pistol caps, empty cartridge cases, and lived in Portadown. The shooting took place fuse wire and one detonator. The third find at when the Land Rover, which the constable was Moltke Street in Belfast was of 18 rounds of travelling in, stopped at Sloan Srtreet before ammunition, an empty pistol magazine and an turning into Edward Street. Gunmen operating empty SLR magazine. from a vacant house in Edward Street fired at the vehicle and the constable was wounded in the Monday 3rd December 1973 chests. The vehicle was hit 10 times and another Landmine discovered policeman had a lucky escape when a bullet A landmine made from 150lb of explosives was grazed his neck. discovered by security forces yesterday by the In another attack later, a soldier was shot in the roadside of the Flowbog Road, Hannahstown. shoulder while on check point duty. His condition The army destroyed some of the explosives, was reported as not serious. which had been placed in a dustbin, the rest were blown up at a nearby quarry. Monday 3rd December 1973 RUC attacked A police land rover in Dungiven came under machinegun fire as it was passing the Castle Ballroom in the Co Derry town. Between 15 to 20 rounds were fired and three hit the drivers door. Fire was not returned and police reported that the gunfire came from the Castle grounds but this was later denied. Monday 3rd December 1973 Shots fired in Newry and Strabane One shot was fired at a joint police and army patrol on the Camlough Road, near the Derrybeg estate. The shooting came from a passing car and fire was returned but no hits were claimed. Five shots were fired at the army checkpoint on the Lifford Road. There were no casualties but the troops returned fire. Two shots were fired at a mobile patrol in the Ballycolman estate in Strabane but there were no casualties. RIGHT - Constable Robert Megaw
Monday 3rd December 1973 Ballymena car bomb A car bomb estimated at 100-150lb of explosives ripped through a garage showroom in a residential area of Ballymena. A 10-minute warning was
given and the bomb exploded 15 minutes later. No one was injured. The bomb was in a white Cortina, which had been stolen in Antrim. The front of the garage and showroom of General Motor Works in the Ballymoney Road was extensively damaged and several cars were wrecked. Monday 3rd December 1973 Derry bomb A small bomb at the rear of the Abercorn Garage at Abercorn Road in Derry caused slight damage. The bomb was only 1-2lb and there was a 10 minute warning. Shots were also reported in the Brandywell area but RUC were not involved. One shot was also heard in the Creggan in the Rathkeele Way area and a single shot was fired at a mobile patrol in the Rathlin Drive-Rathkeele Way. Four shots were heard in the Shantallow area. Tuesday 4th December 1973 4 soldiers injured Four soldiers were injured when a landmine exploded at Killeen on the Belfast-Dublin road, 400 yards north of the border. The explosion in the culvert at the junction of the Dublin Road and the Kinney’s Mill Road lifted the two armoured vehicles, a Saracen and another vehicle into the air and threw them back from the junction. It tore a crater across more than 12 yards of the roadway closing it to traffic. The vehicles went on fire and those who were travelling in the other vehicles helped out the soldiers in the leading Saracen. The injured soldiers were removed to the Welsh Guards headquarters at Bessbrook and flown to a Belfast hospital. None of the soldiers injured were seriously hurt. The landmine was thought to be a very big one made up of several bombs placed at intervals along the culvert under the road. Tuesday 4th December 1973 Youth shot dead in Derry The Derry teenager shot dead by the army was 18-year-old Joseph Walker. The youth from Cremore Gardens was taken to hospital with two
girls who were also hit in the exchange of fire. One of the girls was described by the hospital as ill and the other was satisfactory. An army spokesman said that a hijacked taxi was used to attack a foot patrol near the Rath roundabout and a gunman opened up as the vehicle drove down the street spraying 10-15 shots at the patrol. The youth and the two girls were caught up in the fire. Wednesday 5th December 1973 Department store destroyed A large department store in Strabane was destroyed in a triple explosion and fire. The bombs in suitcases were planted by armed men and blew up 25 minutes later. Three hours later firemen from Strabane and Derry were still fighting the blaze. The bombs were planted inside the store and the shoppers were evacuated before the blasts. Wednesday 5th December 1973 Slieve Donard Blast Guests were evacuated from the Slieve Donard hotel in Newcastle after two gunmen left a 30lb bomb in a box on the reception desk. The men shouted that it was a bomb and fired one shot into the ceiling before running off. The blast extensively damaged the front entrance, lounges on either side, the reception desk and the main staircase.
Castlewellan. The pub was cleared before the blast, which demolished the premises and 30 lb of explosives was used. Wednesday 5th December 1973 In Fermanagh at Corragunt on the Bellanaleck Derrylin Road an explosion damaged Murphy’s lock up shop. There was no warning of the blast and no one was hurt. The road was closed and diversion set up because of the fear of a second bomb. Magherafelt police received a call saying there was a bomb on the Gulladuff-Bellaghy Road. A creamery van was found later in the middle of the road, which was closed while the army examined it. The army used a controlled explosion to open a suspect car found abandoned under the railway bridge at Glenville Road. There were no explosives in the car and the bridge was not damaged. Wednesday 5th December 1973 Man jailed on arms charge A 22-year-old man was sent to jail for three years after admitting to possessing an M1 carbine, a magazine and 19 rounds of ammunition at Whitewell Road.
Thursday 6th December 1973 Blast charge An 18-year-old Belfast youth who is charged with causing an explosion in York Street was further Wednesday 5th December 1973 Castlewellan bomb charged on three counts in connection with the Armed men left a bomb in the Forest Park Inn, a alleged offence. Protestant owned bar in Main Street, BELOW LEFT - A road leading to the Irish Republic in South Armagh is blocked by the British army BELOW - Fire fighters at a blaze following a bomb attack on the Wellworth’s store in Strabane
Thursday 6th December 1973 Arms charge A 37-year-old Lurgan man was charged with possessing a revolver and that he forced a man to surrender to him a motor car. He was further charged that he had in a public place at Levin Road in Lurgan a .45 revolver together with ammunition, and also a .70 Winchester rifle and a .45 colt revolver with ammunition. He was returned for trial.
Friday 7th December 1973 Bombs and hoaxes cause chaos Nearly 30 roads in and around Belfast were blocked during a rush hour full of bombs, hoaxes and scares. Traffic was thrown into chaos as security forces worked full out to check abandoned lorries and vans. There were six bombs, four of which exploded or were set off by the army. The other two were defused. The first bomb was planted in Upper Library Street. Two youths abandoned the car; after a bag Thursday 6th December 1973 containing a white substance was seen inside and the army was called in. A controlled explosion Shots fired at home of Protestant Shots were fired into a Protestant home in Belfast set off part of the charge, which damaged the at the Tyndale estate off Ballysillan Park. A interior of the building, but no one was hurt. gunman fired five bullets at the house and four of them smashed through the living room A second car bomb was left outside a furniture store at the junction of Curtis Street and York window, but the family were not at home. Street and a telephone warning was received. The bomb, about 30lb of explosives, caused extensive Thursday 6th December 1973 damage but the area had been cleared and no one Belfast incidents An explosion heard in Belfast was a controlled was hurt. one carried out by the army on a suspect car at the junction of Cullingtree Road and Quadrant Street. A search of a vacant house in Kyle Street, East Belfast, uncovered two pistols and 85 rounds of ammunition. At the Twinbrook estate a single shot was fired at an RUC land rover being used by two constables making inquiries in the district. The bullets hit the land rover but no one was injured and no fire was returned. Thursday 6th December 1973 Downpatrick shots Passers-by threw themselves to the ground when a dozen low velocity shots were fired at the police station in Irish Street. No one was hurt in the shooting and fire was not returned. Thursday 6th December 1973 Newry shooting An army patrol exchanged shots with a gunman in the town but no one was injured. A petrol bomb thrown at a paint and paper shop in Hill Street caused only scorch damage.
At the junction of Blacks Road and Lisburn Road the army defused a 20lb van. It brought down some overhead cables, which were later, cleared away. The army set off another bomb in a van at the M1 motorway at Blacks Road, but only slight damage was caused. Bombs at Finaghy Road North and at Whitwell were defused. Widespread chaos was caused by hijacked vehicles left all over Belfast especially in the Antrim and Cliftonville Road areas of North Belfast.
Saturday 8th December 1973 2 RUC and 2 Army wounded Two policemen and two soldiers were injured in separate shooting incidents. The policemen were hit by a gunman in a parked car as they were on foot patrol in the Merchants Quay area of Newry. One was hit in the hand and the other a reserve constable was hit in the body. The gunmen escaped in a car. Two soldiers were wounded, not seriously, when a gunman opened fire on an army lorry in Derry. The incident happened as the lorry and a land rover approached the junction of Lonemoore Road and Eastway. The gunman fired four or five shots at the lorry, and although fire was returned the army claim no hits.
Friday 7th December 1973 Shots heard in Derry Two bursts of automatic fire, 15 shots in all, were heard in the St Columbs Wells area of the Saturday 8th December 1973 Bogside. Derry shooting There were two shooting incidents in Derry. In Friday 7th December 1973 the first six shots in two bursts were heard in the Remand for council worker area of Westland Street but there were no RUC A Belfast Council worker was charged with possessing two guns at his home in the BELOW LEFT - The reception area of the Slieve Donard Albertbridge Road area and also of having 80 Hotel in Newcastle following an IRA bomb attack. rounds of ammunition in the councils yard in the BELOW - Ivan Johnston same area.
or army in the area at the time. Later a single papers and BBC and claimed there were 20 shot was fired at a mobile patrol at Lone Moore mortars on Aldergrove. Nothing was found. Road and struck a wing mirror of a land rover. No fire was returned. Monday 10th December 1973 Hotel blasted in Cookstown Saturday 8th December 1973 Four armed men left a bomb in a creamery van inside the Glenavon House Hotel and shot a Troops find bomb factory A homemade mortar bomb and bomb making customer in the leg before making their getaway. equipment were found by troops in Cupar Street, The man, who comes from Dungannon, was not Belfast. A routine patrol of the 2nd Battalion Scots seriously hurt and customers and staff were able Guards, with a sniffer dog, made the find in a to evacuate the building before the bomb went derelict house. The bomb was in two parts, and off. The raiders escaped in a red BMC 1100, also found were a quantity of safety fuse, four hijacked earlier in the day. sticks of gelignite a small quantity of home made Monday 10th December 1973 explosive and a walkie-talkie. Soldier injured Saturday 8th December 1973 A soldier was slightly injured when shots and a Gun charge blast bomb were aimed at an army foot patrol at A 23-year-old scaffolder was remanded charged Rossnareen Avenue-Culmore Gardens. The with possessing a .45 revolver and 491 rounds of ammunition and with intent to endanger life or cause serious injury to property. Monday 10th December 1973 IRA attack The RUC were trying to establish whether an IRA missile attack was mounted against Aldergrove Airport. A thorough search of the airport area was carried out after four explosions were heard in the vicinity but nothing was found. A short time later, an anonymous caller rang the local BELOW - Fire fighters hosing down a car after a controlled explosion close to the Belfast Telegraph offices
soldiers returned one shot, but the gunmen escaped. Six shots were fired at the army post at Vere Foster School in Ballymurphy, but there were no casualties. And no one was hurt when a foot patrol came under fire at the Leeson StreetGrosvenor Road junction. Two more shots were fired at a guard tower of the Crumlin Road jail but the sentry was unhurt. The RUC found a 12 bore shotgun and a sub machinegun in a field at Ballymurphy. Shots were fired at Barrow Street apparently at a house, but no one was hurt.
Monday 10th December 1973 Soldier injured in Derry A soldier was slightly injured in a stoning incident in the Creggan. A single shot was fired at the Blighs Lane post but no one was hurt and several shooting incidents were reported in the Bogside but the RUC were not involved. Cross border traffic on the Derry-Buncrana Road was halted for several hours following a bomb alert at a pub at Coshquin. Three shooting incidents were reported in the Bogside and in the Creggan a patrol returned fire at a gunman who fired a shot at them but there were no casualties.
Tuesday 11th December 1973 Army blocks border roads Army engineers have built reinforced concrete walls across four unapproved roads in the Middletown-Caledon area in an effort to stop IRA attacks in the area. The operation took several days and army helicopters were used to keep a close watch on the countryside in case of ambush.
Tuesday 11th December 1973 Scot jailed A Scot who liked N Ireland so much that after a holiday he stayed on was jailed for three years on a gun charge. The 32 year old man of Crimea Street, Belfast, was found guilty of having a home made shotgun, 25 cartridges and 11,122 rounds of ammunition under suspicious circumstances and without a firearms certificate.
Tuesday 11th December 1973 Scottish soldier killed A Scottish soldier was killed by a single bullet from a snipers gun in the Lower Falls area. The 21 year old who died was Private James Hesketh of the Queens Own Highlanders. He died instantly when a shot was fired at this patrol at the Leeson Street-Falls Road junction from a Monday 10th December 1973 derelict house. Private Hesketh had been in N. Newtownabbey shots Ireland for one week. Six shots were fired at an army mobile patrol at Two shots were also fired at an army patrol at Mill Road in Whitehouse but there were not Wolfhill Avenue but there were no casualties. injuries and fire wasn’t returned.
Monday 10th December 1973 IRA escaper still on run The search continues for a top IRA man who escaped from the maze prison hidden under a refuse lorry. The man from the Falls Road is the third man to escape from the prison. He was described as a brigade officer when he was captured in a house in the Upper Falls area. He made his escape while visiting detainees in another compound.
Tuesday 11th December 1973 Shots fired in Derry A shot was fired at a foot patrol in the Shantallow estate but there were no casualties. An elderly man received minor injuries when a soldier on duty in a sandbagged observation post at Rosemount police station dropped his rifle and it went off. The bullet struck a doorstep on the opposite side of the street and pieces of masonry hit the man in the leg and shoulder. He was discharged from hospital after treatment.
Tuesday 11th December 1973 RIR held on arms charge Two member of the RIR were refused bail after being charged with arms offences. Both men claimed to be members of the RIR, the UDA and the North Irish Militia.
The detective, from Special Branch, died after he got into his booby-trapped car outside his home in Newcastle. The bomb exploded when he turned the key in the ignition and he died almost instantly. He had been a policeman for 17 years and was married with two children. The part time policeman was badly hurt when he got into his car, which was parked at Irish Street, Tuesday 11th December 1973 Newcastle. A local surgeon who heard the blast 2 on gun charge A housewife and a 16-year-old girl appeared in came to help and amputated one of the mans legs, court charged with possessing an armalite rifle probably saving his life. Another reservist with the first man was just getting into his car when ammunition in the Lower Falls area. the bomb exploded and when he checked under th his car he also found it had been boobytrapped. Wednesday 12 December 1973 The army defused the bomb. Booby trap killing The RUC stated there was a great deal of anger th among its ranks after booby trap attacks in which Wednesday 12 December 1973 Belcoo gunfire a detective died and a reservist was badly hurt. Two other RUC men, one of them seriously ill, Villagers fled to the back of their houses for cover as bullets raked along the streets of the village were also booby trap targets. and a blast from exploding rockets smashed windows in buildings along the Main Street. Four BELOW - The remains of a bus after two bombs were Russian RPG missiles were fired at the RUC placed on it and the driver forced to drive it to Donegall station. Three of the rockets missed but the fourth Place behind the city centre security cordon struck the front gate and a shrapnel fragment
injured one policeman on the shoulder. The missiles were accompanied by machinegun fire from the border bridge and the shooting lasted for 15 minutes. RUC and UDR returned fire using heavy machine guns and tracer bullets and flares to illuminate the gunmen.
Wednesday 12th December 1973 Cookstown A UDR member escaped seriously injury when he was shot at 15 times as he was doing his bread round. He was hit by one of the bullets but not seriously.
Wednesday 12th December 1973 Dungannon Four soldiers were injured, one seriously, when a bomb exploded between two army land rovers near Donaghmore. The leading vehicle escaped virtually undamaged but the 200-500lb bomb wrecked the other. Three of the soldiers escaped with cuts and bruises but the fourth was seriously hurt.
Wednesday 12th December 1973 Dungiven The RUC station and a garage were badly damaged in a car bomb attack. Two armed men stopped a motorist outside the town and put an 80-100lb bomb in the back seat and told the man, who was with his wife, to take it to the garage which is alongside the police station. The military operations room in the police station and the garage were badly damaged but the area had been evacuated before the blast and no one was hurt.
LEFT - A British army vehicle which they called a ‘Paddy Pusher’ is used to stop a Peoples’ Democracy protest at Belfast’s Castle Street. BELOW - The remains of the car in which Constable Rolston died after a booby trap bomb was placed underneath it
Wednesday 12th December 1973 Derry incidents The army claimed a possible hit on a gunman seen aiming a rifle at troops in the Bogside. An army spokesman said a sentry on the city walls saw the gunman aiming a rifle at a patrol in the Cable Street area. The sentry fired one shot and the man was seen to fall. He got to his feet again, a number of people gathered around him and he was taken from the scene. Around the same time a shot was fired at a patrol in Blighs Lane from the city cemetery. Wednesday 12th December 1973 Belfast incidents A man told police that shots were fired at him from the direction of Manor Street as he was walking along the Cliftonville Road, but he escaped injury.
Wednesday 12th December 1973 Four on ammunition charge Four men were charged with explosives and ammunition charges. They are charged with possessing 33 rounds of ammunition, five detonators and fuse wire said to found in a van at Upper James Street. Wednesday 12th December 1973 Three found with gun Three youths were jailed for three years for the illegal possession of a loaded revolver. The youths admitted having a loaded revolver with intent. Thursday 13th December 1973 7 years for bomber A 20-year-old Dungannon man who used his girlfriend to provide him with cover while he planted a bomb outside an electricity showroom in Dungannon was jailed for seven years. The man left the bomb concealed in the lining of a jacket at the front of the EBNI showroom in Thomas Street as he courted the girl in a nearby entry. The bomb failed to go off.
A petrol bomb thrown through a window of a doctors surgery on the Woodstock Road burned itself out and caused some smoke damage. A joint police-army search team found about 1000 rounds of ammunition, a home made pistol, a radio receiver, an army flak jacket and other items. Thursday 13th December 1973 Another police station bombed Wednesday 12th December 1973 The IRA continued their attacks on the RUC when Newry man jailed for 8 years a bomb exploded outside Newtownhamilton A Newry man who refused to recognise the court barracked in Co Armagh. Armed men grabbed was jailed for 8 years for possessing two armalite the driver of a laundry van on the Cullyhannarifles and two magazines and 18 rounds of Tullyvallon Road and held him at a house while ammunition with intent. A detective told the court they loaded the bomb into the vehicle. They then that during a search of the mans home two small forced him to drive the van and park it outside black bags were found under a bed. The bags the station but he raised the alarm before the bomb contained the weapons. exploded. No one was injured. Wednesday 12th December 1973 UDA backs loyalist plan The UDA confirmed that it supported the United Loyalist front in its effort to restore democracy to Ulster. But the UDA warned that they would keep a close eye on events to ensure that their decision to remain a defensive organisation was right in view of the current political situation.
Thursday 13th December 1973 Omagh bomb Extensive damage was caused to the police station and to scores of houses on Mountjoy Road when the bomb exploded. The 300-500lb bomb was one of the biggest in the area. The police station is about 200 yards from Lisanelly military camp and the bomb which exploded near the main
entrance door, left a big crater and burst a water main. The explosives were packed into a van which had been hijacked at Sixmilecross earlier. The driver was in his home when two armed men called and ordered him outside. They made him drive in the direction of the Ballygawley Road where something was put in the vehicle. He then was told to drive towards Omagh and on the outskirts of the town he was ordered to park the vehicle in front of the police station and he was given an envelope to give to the police. His captors then drove off. The driver had been told the bomb was radio-controlled and that it would be detonated if he did not do as he was told. When he alerted police the area was evacuated and the bomb went off a short time later. At least 20 cars were destroyed, electricity wires were severed and one man standing 100 years from the blast was hit in the neck by debris.
Thursday 13th December 1973 Acquitted on arms charge A 54-year-old Belfast man was acquitted of having three rifles, 2044 rounds of ammunition and 37 cartridges as the prosecution had not proven possession. Thursday 13th December 1973 Bomb at church The army neutralised a 10lb bomb left on the pavement outside Strand Road Presbyterian Church in Derry. The police received a warning of a bomb at a shoe shop on Strand Road but the plastic bag containing the explosives was found outside the church. The area was cleared while a small controlled explosion was used to defuse the bomb. No one was injured and no damage was caused.
Friday 14th December 1973 Cross border fire A shot was fired across the border near Clady at Thursday 13th December 1973 an army patrol. No one was injured and soldiers Suitcase bomb A large bomb in a suitcase wrecked offices of who returned fire did not claim a hit. Patterson and Taylor in Main Street, Lisnaskea and badly damaged a number of other houses and Friday 14th December 1973 offices. A man leaving the office spotted the Bomb scare halts trains suitcase and he warned the staff inside. The area There were no trains on the commuter rail link was evacuated and later a warning was telephoned between Lisburn and Belfast due to bomb scares. to the police. The bomb went off about an hour There were long queues at many bus stops as later. Several people were slightly injured by regular rail travellers had to find an alternative means of transport. Road traffic was slightly flying glass. higher than usual. Thursday 13th December 1973 Shots heard Ten shots were fired across the border at an army working party. The party were locking off minor roads at Mullenvale, Fivemiletown.
Friday 14th December 1973 BBC man in court A BBC engineer was charged with possessing a rifle, two revolvers and 1300 rounds of ammunition at his home in Ladybrook Drive.
Thursday 13th December 1973 Belfast arms find In a search of a house in Ladybrook Drive, security forces found two pistols, ten mortar bombs, 2 R/T sets, a crossbow, almost 1400 rounds of assorted ammunition and a quantity of explosives and an electric detonator.
Friday 14th December 1973 Lisburn pub bomb A 600lb car bomb was left outside the Corner House bar at Bow Street Lisburn. A civilian had seen the bomb car outside the bar and raised the alarm. The area was evacuated and the army carried out a controlled explosion, which failed
to detonate the charge. A few minutes later the bomb went off causing moderate damage to the pub and surrounding buildings. No one was injured but some elderly people were treated for shock.
break up a stone-throwing crowd during the search and later a total of 16 shots were fired in two incidents in the same area.
Saturday 15th December 1973 Two men on ammunition charge Friday 14th December 1973 Two east Antrim men were charged with having 15 rifles, and 2000 rounds of ammunition and RUC stations attacked The police station at Dungiven was again attacked were remanded to Larne court. by gunmen who fired 30 shots at the building but there were no casualties and the sentry on duty Saturday 15th December 1973 returned the fire. Body found on Armagh border A man was forced to drive to Newtownhamilton A mans body was found close to the Co Armagh RUC station when gunmen threatened to kill him border and was thought to belong to the missing if he did not deliver the bomb. The man raised former RUC Special Branch detective kidnapped the alarm and the device went off after the area two days ago. Mr Ivan Johnston was abducted had been evacuated. from his lorry at the Armagh-Monaghan border; he had become a haulier after leaving the RUC. Friday 14th December 1973 The man was married with three young children. Derry arms find A haul including a RPG 7 rocket, 16lb of home Saturday 15th December 1973 made explosives, 12 detonators and 50 feet of Policeman shot in back Cortex, was found in premises at Malin Gardens A policeman was shot in the back while on foot during an army search after a gunman fired one patrol in Newcastle. The shooting came only shot at a patrol. Troops used rubber bullets to hours after the funeral of another policeman who died in a booby trap bomb. The attack came as BELOW - Clearing up in Lisburn following an IRA the policeman and a colleague were on patrol near the old Roman Catholic Church in Main Street. car bomb attack
Monday 17th December 1973 Man killed in border shoot out 20-year-old James McGinn, claimed as an IRA staff sergeant, and from Strabane, died as a cross border investigation was underway into a blast Saturday 15th December 1973 at Claudy Bridge. The RUC and Garda came under fire on the bridge and the body of Mr Bomb on bus Thousands of Christmas shoppers were evacuated McGinn was found at the scene of the blast. from Belfast as two bombs were planted on the Another man was seriously injured in the blast. number 13 bus and forced the driver to take it into Donegall Place. Two hours later the bombs of between 100-200lb exploded, setting fire to Monday 17th December 1973 Jax’s fashion shop and damaging the fronts on Shots fired in Strabane nearby premises. No one was injured though Six or seven shots were fired at the police station several people were treated for shock. in Strabane and some of the bullets struck the building but no one was injured. A further six Monday 17th December 1973 shots were fired at an army vehicle checkpoint Trial opens in murder bid case in the town but again there were no casualties. A young unemployed TV engineer went on trial at Belfast City commission charged with attempting to murder two soldiers in Newry. One Monday 17th December 1973 of the soldiers was struck in the head when Incendiary devices in Derry gunmen opened fire on two land rovers and in a Two incendiary devices were found in different incident the soldier on vehicle check Woolworths store in Ferryquay Street. One duty was shot in the arm. The accused denied ignited on the handbag counter, destroying two the charges but pleaded guilty to wounding them holdalls, and the second was found before it went with intent, and having firearms and ammunition off. with intent to endanger life. Two shots were fired at them from a passing car and the man was shot. The car sped off and was later found abandoned in Castlewellan. The policeman was said to be comfortable in hospital.
Monday 17th December 1973 Three bombs shatter border village Three bombs were planted in Newtownbutler damaging many houses, a factory and the courthouse. The 500 people living in the village had been moved from their homes before the explosions and no one was hurt. A warning had been telephoned to the Enniskillen exchange that the devices had been planted and the RUC and army evacuated the village. Most serious damage was to the courthouse where one of the bombs demolished a porch and scattered debris over a wide area. The blast wrecked roofs and windows of several houses across the street. RIGHT - Mrs Pearl Rolston is comforted by friends as the funeral of her husband, Constable Maurice Rolston, passes the family home.
Monday 17th December 1973 Customs car hijacked The customs car was hijacked at Meigh near Newry, and six men armed with rifles ordered the three customs officers out of their vehicle and leaving them standing on the road the hijackers drove off towards the border.
Tuesday 18th December 1973 Bomb rebounds A bomb attack on a Derry pub was averted when the batman picked up the bomb and threw it back at the men who had planted it. Four masked gunmen planted the bomb at the Galleon Club on the Rock Road and as they were about to make their getaway the barman coolly picked it up and threw it after them. The bomb bounced off the Monday 17th December 1973 getaway car but did not explode. The gunmen then fired six shots towards the man but did not Belfast incidents The army set fire to a car with wires leading to it, hit him. The army later defused the bomb. which was abandoned outside Celtic Park on the Donegall Road. The car did not contain Tuesday 18th December 1973 explosives. Belfast incidents An explosion was heard in the New Lodge area The windscreen of a military police patrol car and it was not known what caused the blast. was shattered on the Antrim Road but none of the soldiers were hurt. Later a man was admitted to hospital with bullet wounds to the head and right arm. Monday 17th December 1973 A man was shot as he and his girlfriend stood in Woman gets bail Ava Avenue off the Ormeau Road. The man dived A 47-year-old woman from Agnes Street was through a glass door to avoid the bullets and granted bail on a charge of possessing 1030 though he was not shot he was taken to hospital rounds of ammunition and a home made pistol, with cuts caused by broken glass. which were found in an upstairs room in her shop. The woman denied the charges stating that she had not been in the room for over three years and was a monthly tenant of the shop.
Tuesday 18th December 1973 Bomb rocks London Fifty-two people were hurt when a bomb in a car exploded outside a Home Office building in London. The morning rush hour was at its height when the bomb went off at the Thorney Road in Westminster. A fleet of ambulances rushed to the scene and thirty-eight people had to be treated and were discharged on the same day. Dozens of windows in surrounding shops and offices were shattered by the blast. Most of the injuries to the public were minor, from cuts and shock. Wreckage from the bomb was thrown 160 ft and the blast was just over a quarter of a mile from the Houses of Parliament.
Tuesday 18th December 1973 Landmine in Dungannon A big landmine was found in a culvert under the Dungannon-Caledon road and was defused by the army. It had been intended as a booby trap for the army. A man aged 19 walked into the Crown buildings at Thomas Street and left leaving behind a blue bag, which was found to contain 10lb of explosives. It was later defused.
Tuesday 18th December 1973 Newry bomb scare There was a bomb scare on board a collier in the Albert Basin when a suspect parcel was found on board. A member of the crew dumped it overboard but it did not explode and it is not known if it contained explosives.
Tuesday 18th December 1973 Soldier charged A 30-year-old soldier with the Grenadier Guards Tuesday 18th December 1973 was returned for trial charged with assaulting two Derry incidents men on the Shankill Road. The soldier was one Troops in Derry came under fire in three separate of a number of soldiers who jumped out of land incidents. Four shots were fired at a foot patrol rovers and assaulted the two men. on Racecourse Road. A blast bomb was also thrown. Fire was returned but no hits were Tuesday 18th December 1973 claimed. Three accused A single shot was fired by a gunman at the Three young Belfast men appeared in court Letterkenny Road checkpoint but fire was not charged with attempted murder of an RUC returned. sergeant. They were accused of attempting to On the outskirts of the Creggan a single shot was murder Sergeant John Phoenix in the Duncairn fired at an army patrol. Gardens area and the three accused made written Two more incendiary devices were found in the statements denying the charges. city making nine in 24 hours. They were found in a menswear shop and bookshop in Waterloo BELOW - IRA bomb attack on the Home Office in Place and were made harmless. London
Wednesday 19th December 1973 Two accused of murder Two men were in court charged with the murder of 42-year-old James Gibson at his Stranmillis Road greengrocer shop. Both men denied the charges. Wednesday 19th December 1973 UDR man saved A UDR man was making his way along Clardenon Street in Derry when he was shot and badly injured but an emergency operation saved his life. An attempt to murder a UDR member happened at a factory at Lake Street, Lurgan, as the man got into his car to drive home from work. Four shots were fired at the vehicle but they missed their target and struck a nearby car instead.
Wednesday 19th December 1973 Belfast incidents A petrol bomb was thrown through the front window of a Catholic family’s home in Roddens Crescent. No one was hurt in the attack and it was reported that there were children sleeping upstairs in the house at the time. There was an explosion in Bignian Drive in Andersonstown but there were no reports of casualties. Wires were found leading several yards from the seat of the blast but it was not known what the intended target was. Troops fired at a gunman seen in Bernagh Drive but did not hit him. Two shots were fired at soldiers in the Commedagh Drive area. Two shots were heard in the Dunville Park area but there were no reports of injuries.
Thursday 20th December 1973 Freedom The Secretary of State Mr Pym ordered the release of 65 detainees from the Maze. 63 of them were Republican and 2 Loyalist. He stated that it was his desire to phase out detention and announced a parole scheme to be introduced in the New Year.
Thursday 20th December 1973 Fire bomb An incendiary device exploded in Derry in a shop but little damage was caused. The device went off at McKinley’s in the Diamond. Thursday 20th December 1973 Shots fired at RUC stations in Belfast Two high velocity shots were fired at a policeman outside Lisburn Road police station but they missed him. The shots came from a passing car and the policeman fired five shots in response. Another station came under in Andersonstown. Two shots were fired and came from the grounds of Milltown cemetery. No one was hurt and fire was not returned. A burst of fire was heard in Lavinia Street off the Ormeau Road and the army blew up a suspect box outside a shop in Clifton Street.
Thursday 20th December 1973 Derry shots heard The army is investigating five shots in the Glenowen Estate followed by piercing screams. Earlier in the Creggan two shots were heard in the Central Drive area and a car was hijacked in the Shantallow area but was recovered by troops. Thursday 20th December 1973 Red bay blast A small explosion damaged the wall of lavatories on the caravan site between Red Bay and Cushendall. No one was hurt.
Thursday 20th December 1973 Housewife on gun charges A Belfast housewife was charged with possessing six guns and 600 rounds of ammunition at her home in Dermott Hill. Thursday 20th December 1973 Girl on rifle charge An 18-year-old girl of Suffolk was charged with possessing an armalite rifle at Englishtown. The girl remains in hospital.
Friday 21st December 1973 Hotel fire A night watchman’s condition was described as satisfactory after he received burns to his head, face and hands while trying to rescue his dog from the Town and Country Inn in Cloughey. A bomb was thrown through a ground floor window of the inn and the building was engulfed in fire. The dog died in the fire.
Friday 21st December 1973 Shots fired Four shots were fired at a vehicle checkpoint on a bridge from nearby fields in Strabane. Two shots were fired at the police station in Claudy but there were no casualties.
Friday 21st December 1973 Arms finds In a series of searches in Lurgan troops found an Friday 21st December 1973 M1 carbine, an armalite and a garrand rifle, two Nail bomb radio sets and a bag of assorted ammunition. A nail bomb was thrown at soldiers at Horn Drive Troops stopped a car in Newry and the man sped in the Lenadoon area but there were no casualties. off but the vehicle was found a short time later in a ditch and it was found to contain 200lb of explosives and 24 detonators. Friday 21st December 1973 Dungannon attack Two gunmen walked into the Haven bar at Friday 21st December 1973 Shambles Brae and placed a box on the counter Farmer granted bail and walked out without saying anything. The A 63-year-old Magherafelt farmer was granted staff and customers evacuated the bar and the bail after being charged with possessing bomb went off 10 minutes later wrecking the pub. explosives, arms and ammunition arising out of There were no casualties. an explosion at his farm when a man died.
Saturday 22nd December 1973 UDA road blocks Belfast traffic was halted for an hour as the UDA blocked roads in protest against alleged Army brutality of loyalist prisoners at the Maze. 40 roads were blocked, sealing off the city centre and other tons affected were Lisburn, Lurgan and Portadown.
Monday 24th December 1973 Three men killed Three men died and at lest 36 people were injured when a bomb exploded prematurely in a Newry pub. A least two of the bombers died in the blast at Clarkes bar in Monaghan Street. Ten of the injured were detained in hospital with one critical and 26 others were allowed home after treatment. There was widespread chaos in the town after the Monday 24th December 1973 blast. The bomb was brought to the bar by three armed men in a hijacked van and two of the men Troops claim a hit Soldiers claim to have hit a gunman in a cross got out of the van, at least one of them carrying a border exchange of shots at Claudy. A mobile rifle and walked into the bar. There were around patrol, which was fired on, believes they hit one 40 people in the bar at the time and the barman told the men that they could not leave the bomb man in returning fire. in the bar but then the bomb exploded. BELOW & FACING PAGE - Belfast’s High Street in flames following a massive IRA bomb attack Monday 24th December 1973 UDR man injured in landmine A UDR man was slightly injured when a 300lb landmine was detonated in front of an armoured car on a border road. The car was blown over by the blast near Clogher. The vehicles commander was cut on the hands and face but there were no other injuries. The armoured car had been parked beside a crater in which the bomb, packed in a milk churn was concealed. Six shots were also fired at the UDR men and a short time later in the same area about 150 people tried to build a temporary road past a concrete border obstruction blocking the road.
Monday 24th December 1973 An incendiary device ignited in the Belfast Telegraph canteen but was put out by the sprinkler system. The building was searched and the army defused a second device. A third device ignited in another part of the building but little damage was caused. Four low velocity shots were fired towards the police station in North Queen Street form Unity Flats and there were no casualties. A routine army patrol found 650 rounds of ammunition in a house in Kane Street in the Clonard area.
Thursday 27th December 1973 Troops seize guns in 2 raids Troops made two arms finds in Belfast. During a routine search of a derelict house at Glenalpin, four sub machineguns with magazines, a .38 pistol, holster and a quantity of ammunition was found. In a planned search of the Ligoneil Road, troops found two Lee Enfield rifles, a magazine and 12 rounds of ammunition in an alleyway.
Thursday 27th December 1973 Derry attacks A bomb disposal team were dealing with a bomb in a dry cleaners on the Strand Road when it exploded. One soldier was injured but his condition was not serious. Two other devices exploded and a fourth bomb was found in the building and made safe. The explosions damaged a photographers premises above the dry cleaners and the bombs were each 10-15lb. Thursday 27th December 1973 Three soldiers were slightly injured in the Creggan after chasing a man into a house. Two Culvert bomb exploded The army dealt with a massive bomb in a culvert shots were fired at the army post at Creggan and under a road near Kinawley in Co Fermanagh. a single shot was fired at a mobile patrol but no Only 15lb exploded and no damage was caused. one was injured. The bomb was estimated at 850lb and was one of the largest ever found. Thursday 27th December 1973 Blast prevented The owner of a fancy goods store in George’s Street, Dungannon prevented serious damage to his premises when he carried out a bomb planted by two armed men. The men told the owner that the bomb would explode in two minutes but he lifted the bomb and threw it over the back wall where it exploded, causing only minor damage. Two incendiary devices went off in Woolworth’s store in the Square but only slight scorching was caused. Thursday 27th December 1973 Belfast incidents Two incendiary devices were discovered in Newells drapery store in Royal Avenue. Both were defused by the army who then went to Pricerites to dismantle two other incendiaries. A fire thought to be caused by an incendiary destroyed wings boutique in Ann Street, and High Street Fashions at Donegall Place was slightly damaged by another fire. A 63 year old woman was shot in the mouth during a gunfight with troops. The army observation post on the New Lodge Road came under fire and five shots were fired and the woman was hit in the mouth and her husband received a flesh wound.
Alex Howell
Thursday 27th December 1973 Portaferry RUC station attacked The police station at Portaferry came under gunfire when eight shots were fire at the building followed by six more. The police returned nine shots and no one was injured.
Friday 28th December 1973 Bomb found Troops discovered an 850lb bomb in a culvert at Kinawley. The area was sealed off for a time while the bomb was neutralised by the army.
Saturday 29th December 1973 Ardoyne shooting Thursday 27th December 1973 Two men appeared in court charged with Unexploded bomb found possessing an SLR rifle magazine and seven The army dismantled an unexploded bomb found rounds of ammunition. They were arrested by at the Glenariff CafĂŠ. troops after gunfire in the Ardoyne area. Troops discovered 19 lb of explosives and some fuse in undergrowth at Chancellor Road in Newry. A pub in Clogher was demolished by a suitcase bomb planted by a masked man just seven minutes before it exploded. Severe damage was caused to nearby buildings in the Main Street. In Newtownabbey the RUC found an armalite rifle in good condition lying on waste ground on Church Road.
Friday 28th December 1973 Soldier hit by gunfire A soldier was shot in the Leeson Street area. Five shots were fired at the patrol but no fire was returned. During the shooting a soldier was hit and sustained minor head injuries. A routine patrol found an unprimed hand grenade in the rear of a house in Donegall Road and shots were heard in the Donegall Park Avenue area but security forces were not involved.
Friday 28th December 1973 An army foot patrol came under fire in the Irish Street area of Dungannon but no injuries were reported. Friday 28th December 1973 In Strabane gunmen fired five times at an RUC patrol and two shots hit the vehicle. One burst a tyre and the other ricocheted around inside the land rover but there were no injuries. In a second incident a RUC vehicle was fired on in Townsend Street.
Saturday 29th December 1973 Soldier questioned A soldier was being questioned in connection with the shooting of a 35-year-old man on the Shankill Road. The man, Alex Howell, a roofer, was married with children, and although the details so far of the incident were unclear, Mr Howell was shot inside the Bayardo Bar by soldiers. The UDA said that they would be carrying out their own inquiries and the Shankill Road remains tense. Trouble developed outside the bar and there was sporadic sniping and over 20 shots were heard in the Tennent Street area. Saturday 29th December 1973 Troops blow up car Troops carried out a controlled explosion on a suspect car in the Antrim Road area of Belfast. The vehicle, which had been abandoned at Alexandra Park Avenue did not contain explosives.
Monday 30th December 1973 Enniskillen blasts A car showroom and a school bus garage in the town were targeted but there were no casualties. The first blast wrecked the garage and car showroom of Joseph Eakin in Quay Lane and destroyed dozens of cars in the premises. Two minutes later a second explosion damaged the school bus depot in Corporation Street. Both blasts caused widespread damage. Monday 30th December 1973 Belfast incidents Troops were shot at in Downing Street in the Shankill Road area and Tennent Street police station came under fire from the direction of Ambleside Street. Soldiers found an armalite rifle with a round in the breech in a derelict house at Aberdeen Street. Shots were fired at troops in Beechfield Street and Tower Street and some automatic fire was aimed at them from the direction of Tower Avenue. Fire was returned but no hits were claimed. Shots were fired at an army patrol in Church Road, Rathcoole, but the bullets missed the target and hit an Ulsterbus. A 13-year-old boy was hit by flying glass and was taken to hospital. A blast bomb was thrown at troops at the Dany Road area but no one was hurt.
Monday 30th December 1973 RUC man shot Constable Joseph Logue was robbed of his pistol as he lay dying in Forthriver Road. The 21 year old constable was shot and fatally wounded in an ambush while on his way to investigate an armed robbery. Another constable wounded in the attack was not seriously injured and the gunmen tried to steal his Monday 30th December 1973 Mine exploded pistol also but he held on to it. A 100lb claymore type mine exploded on the Drumtee Road but no one was hurt. The bomb Monday 30th December 1973 Explosives haul was probably used as a booby trap for soldiers in Troops found 25 lb of homemade explosives the South Armagh area. during a routine search of derelict property in the Lecky Road area of Derry. A sniffer dog led the soldiers to the cache, hidden in a disused house FOR MORE ON OUR SERIES ON THE near Free Derry corner. TROUBLES GO TO OUR WEBSITE AT Monday 30th December 1973 Arms find Troops found three rifles, 200 rounds of ammunition and 50 shotgun cartridges in an unoccupied house in Upper Meadow Street in the New Lodge area of Belfast.
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