1985 Newry mortar attack

Last updated

1985 Newry mortar attack
Part of the Troubles
Relief Map of Northern Ireland.png
Red pog.svg
Location Newry, Northern Ireland
Coordinates 54°10′42″N6°20′29″W / 54.17833°N 6.34139°W / 54.17833; -6.34139
Date28 February 1985
18:32 (GMT)
Target RUC station
Attack type
Mortar
Deaths9
Injured37
Perpetrators Provisional IRA

On 28 February 1985, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) launched a heavy mortar attack on the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) base at Corry Square in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland. The attack killed nine RUC officers and injured almost 40 others; the highest death toll ever suffered by the RUC. Afterwards, a major building scheme was begun to give police and military bases better protection from such attacks.

Contents

Background

In the early 1970s, after the onset of the Troubles, the Provisional IRA launched a campaign aimed at forcing the British to withdraw from Northern Ireland.

The IRA—particularly its South Armagh Brigade—had repeatedly attacked the British Army and RUC with home-made mortars, but with limited success. Between 1973 and early 1978 a total of 71 mortar attacks were recorded, but none caused direct British Army or RUC deaths. [1] There were only two deadly mortar attacks before 1985. The first was on 19 March 1979, when Private Peter Woolmore of the Queen's Regiment was killed in a mortar attack on Newtownhamilton British Army base. [2] The second was on 12 November 1983, when an RUC officer was killed and several hurt in a mortar attack on Carrickmore RUC base. [1] [3]

Attack

The attack was jointly planned by members of the South Armagh Brigade and an IRA unit in Newry. [4] The homemade mortar launcher, dubbed the 'Mark 10', was bolted on to the back of a Ford lorry that had been hijacked in Crossmaglen. [1]

Shortly after 6.30 pm on 28 February, nine shells were launched from the lorry, which had been parked on Monaghan Street, [5] about 250 yards (230 m) from the base. [6] At least one 50 lb (23 kg) shell landed on a portacabin containing a canteen, where many officers were having their evening tea break. [6] Nine police officers were killed and 37 people were hurt, including 25 civilian police employees; [5] [7] the highest death toll inflicted on the RUC in its history. [8] The nine dead officers ranged in age from 19 to 41, seven male and two female, seven Protestants and two Catholics. [9] Another shell hit the observation tower, while the rest landed inside and outside the perimeter of the base. [6]

Aftermath

The day was dubbed "Bloody Thursday" by the British press.[ citation needed ] British prime minister Margaret Thatcher called the attack "barbaric", while the Republic of Ireland's Taoiseach, Garret FitzGerald, said it was "cruel and cynical", and pledged the help of the Irish security forces to catch those responsible. [7] Although not involved in the attack, Newry IRA member Eamon Collins was arrested shortly afterwards and interrogated. After five days of questioning, Collins broke under interrogation and turned supergrass, leading to more than a dozen arrests of other IRA members. [10] The attack prompted calls from unionist politicians to "increase security", and the British government launched a multi-million pound programme of construction to protect bases from similar attacks. This involved installing reinforced roofs and building blast-deflecting walls around the base of buildings. [1]

After the successful attack in Newry, the IRA carried out a further nine mortar attacks in 1985. [11] On 4 September, an RUC training centre in Enniskillen was attacked; 30 cadets narrowly escaped death due to poor intelligence-gathering by the IRA unit responsible. The cadets were expected to be in bed sleeping, but were instead eating breakfast when the bombs landed. [11] [12] In November 1986, the IRA launched another attack on the RUC base in Newry, but the bombs fell short of their target and landed on houses. A four-year-old Catholic girl was badly wounded and another 38 people were hurt, prompting the IRA to admit that "this incident left us open to justified criticism". [11]

Beginning in the 1990s, operations at the Corry Square base were progressively shifted to a new facility on the outskirts of Newry. [13] The base was closed in 2002, [14] and a park occupies the site today.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Provisional IRA East Tyrone Brigade</span> Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army

The East Tyrone Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), also known as the Tyrone/Monaghan Brigade was one of the most active republican paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland during "the Troubles". It is believed to have drawn its membership from across the eastern side of County Tyrone as well as north County Monaghan and south County Londonderry.

This is a chronology of activities by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) from 1970 to 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Provisional Irish Republican Army campaign</span> PIRA paramilitary campaign aimed at ending UK control of Northern Ireland (1969–97)

From 1969 until 1997, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) conducted an armed paramilitary campaign primarily in Northern Ireland and England, aimed at ending British rule in Northern Ireland in order to create a united Ireland.

The Troubles in Crossmaglen recounts incidents during, and the effects of, the Troubles in Crossmaglen, County Armagh, Northern Ireland.

The Troubles in Ballygawley recounts incidents during The Troubles in Ballygawley, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barrack buster</span> Class of improvised mortars from Northern Ireland

Barrack buster is the colloquial name given to several improvised mortars, developed in the 1990s by the engineering unit of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA).

On 7 December 1985 the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) attacked the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) base at Ballygawley, County Tyrone. Two RUC officers were shot dead and the base was raked with gunfire before being destroyed by a bomb, which wounded a further three officers.

This is a timeline of actions by the Irish republican paramilitary groups referred to as the Real Irish Republican Army and New Irish Republican Army. The Real IRA was formed in 1997 by disaffected members of the Provisional IRA. Since July 2012, when Republican Action Against Drugs (RAAD) and other small republican groups merged with it, the group has been called the New IRA; although it continues to call itself simply "the Irish Republican Army".

This is a chronology of activities by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) from 1980 to 1989. For actions before and after this period see Chronology of Provisional Irish Republican Army actions.

This is a chronology of activities by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), from 1992 to 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dissident Irish republican campaign</span> 1998–present insurgency in Northern Ireland by republicans opposed to the Good Friday Agreement

The dissident Irish republican campaign began at the end of the Troubles, a 30-year political conflict in Northern Ireland. Since the Provisional Irish Republican Army called a ceasefire and ended its campaign in 1997, breakaway groups opposed to the ceasefire and to the peace agreements have continued a low-level armed campaign against the security forces in Northern Ireland. The main paramilitaries involved are the Real IRA, Continuity IRA and formerly Óglaigh na hÉireann. They have targeted the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the British Army in gun and bomb attacks as well as with mortars and rockets. They have also carried out bombings that are meant to cause disruption. However, their campaign has not been as intensive as the Provisional IRA's, and political support for groups such as the Real IRA is "tending towards zero".

The Derry Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) operated in the city of Derry, Northern Ireland, and its surroundings during the Troubles. The Derry Brigade was one of the most active groups in the IRA.

The 1987 Rheindahlen bombing was a car bomb attack on 23 March 1987 at JHQ Rheindahlen military barracks, the British Army headquarters in West Germany, injuring thirty-one. The large 300 lb (140 kg) car bomb exploded near the visitors officers' mess of the barracks. The Provisional IRA later stated it had carried out the bombing. It was the second bombing in Rheindahlen, the first being in 1973, and the start of the IRA's campaign on mainland Europe from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. Although British soldiers were targeted, most of the injured were actually German officers and their wives.

The Provisional IRA carried out two separate attacks on the same day on 1 May 1988 against British military personnel in the Netherlands which resulted in the deaths of three RAF members and another three being injured. It was the worst attack suffered by the British security forces during The Troubles from 1969 to 1998 in mainland Europe.

On 11 August 1970, two Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers were killed by a booby-trap bomb planted under a car by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) near Crossmaglen, in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. They were the first RUC officers to be killed by republicans during the Troubles and the first security forces to be killed in South Armagh, an IRA stronghold for much of the conflict.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lichfield gun attack</span> 1990 Provisional IRA shooting

The Lichfield gun attack was an ambush carried out by the Provisional IRA (IRA) on 1 June 1990 against three off-duty British soldiers who were waiting at Lichfield City railway station in Staffordshire. The attack resulted in one soldier being killed and two others badly wounded.

On 11 August 1986, the East Tyrone Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) attacked the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) base at The Birches near Portadown, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The unmanned base was raked with gunfire before being destroyed by a 200 pounds (91 kg) bomb, which was driven through the gate of the base in the bucket of a JCB digger.

This is a timeline of actions by the Official Irish Republican Army, an Irish republican & Marxist-Leninist paramilitary group. Most of these actions took place as part of a Guerrilla campaign against the British Army & Royal Ulster Constabulary and internal Irish Republican feuds with the Provisional IRA & Irish National Liberation Army from the early 1970s - to the mid-1970s during the most violent phase of "the Troubles" in Northern Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Improvised tactical vehicles of the Provisional IRA</span> List of armed vehicles used by the Provisional IRA

Throughout the protracted conflict in Northern Ireland (1960s-1998), the Provisional IRA developed a series of improvised mortars to attack British Army and Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) security bases. The organisation also purchased both light and heavy machine guns in order to hamper the British Army supply of border bases by helicopter. The IRA fitted vehicles, specially vans and trucks, with both types of weapons. Vans, trucks and tractors were modified to transport concealed improvised mortars to a launch area near the intended target and fire them, while light and heavy trucks were employed as firing platforms mounting machine guns, particularly M60s and DShKs. Improvised armoured vehicles and heavy equipment were also used to penetrate the perimeter of fortified security bases. The IRA vehicles were often disguised as belonging to civilian companies or even government agencies.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Urban, Mark (1993). Big Boys' Rules: SAS and the Secret Struggle Against the IRA. Faber and Faber. pp. 206–208. ISBN   0-571-16809-4.
  2. ↑ Malcolm Sutton. "An Index of Deaths from the Conflict in Ireland - 1979". CAIN . Retrieved 21 April 2007.
  3. ↑ Malcolm Sutton. "An Index of Deaths from the Conflict in Ireland - 1983". CAIN. Retrieved 21 April 2007.
  4. ↑ Harnden, Toby (1999). Bandit Country. Hodder & Stoughton. pp. 232–234. ISBN   0-340-71736-X.
  5. 1 2 McKittrick, David. Lost Lives: The Stories of the Men, Women and Children who Died as a Result of the Northern Ireland Troubles. Random House, 2001. pp.1011–1012
  6. 1 2 3 "I.R.A. MORTARS KILL 9 AT ULSTER BASE". The New York Times . 1 March 1985. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  7. 1 2 "Northern Ireland Bloody Day". TIME . 11 March 1985. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2007.
  8. ↑ "The RUC: Lauded and condemned". BBC . 31 October 2001. Retrieved 21 April 2007.
  9. ↑ Malcolm Sutton. "An Index of Deaths from the Conflict in Ireland - 1985". CAIN. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  10. ↑ Kevin Toolis (3 July 1999). "Death foretold". The Guardian . Retrieved 21 April 2007.
  11. 1 2 3 Bishop, Patrick; Mallie, Eamonn (1987). The Provisional IRA. Corgi Books. pp. 420–421. ISBN   0-552-13337-X.
  12. ↑ "A Chronology of the Conflict – 1985". CAIN. Retrieved 20 June 2007.
  13. ↑ "Mortar attack on RUC station". Independent.ie. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  14. ↑ "Only three NI police stations to close". BBC. 2 May 2002. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.