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Violence - Chronology of Major Violent Incidents, 1969-1998



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Text and Research: Fionnuala McKenna and Martin Melaugh
Material is added to this site on a regular basis - information on this page may change

Chronology of Major Violent Incidents, 1969-1998

Introduction
This web page provides a chronology containing brief details on the major violent incidents that occurred during the period 1969 to 1998.

Sources
The following information is based on Sutton (1994) An Index of Deaths from the Conflict in Ireland 1969-1993, Bew and Gillespie (1993) Northern Ireland A Chronology of the Troubles 1968-1993, and other sources.

See also:
a list of significant violent incidents, including:

  • a list of 'first' violent incidents
  • a list of major incidents
  • a list of other 'landmark' incidents


    Chronology of Major Violent Incidents, 1969-1994

    1971

    Monday 9 August 1971
    14 people were killed in separate shooting incidents in Belfast (13 civilians - 10 Catholics and 3 Protestant - and 1 member of the Irish Republican Army, IRA). 13 were killed by members of the British Army and one killed by a Republican group.

    Saturday 4 December 1971
    15 Catholic civilians were killed in a bomb attack on McGurk's Bar, North Queen Street, Belfast. The attack was carried out by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF).

    1972

    Sunday 30 January 1972
    ‘Bloody Sunday’: 14 Catholic civilians were killed at a civil rights march in Derry. They were shot by members of the British Army.

    Friday 21 July 1972
    ‘Bloody Friday’: 9 people were killed in 2 separate explosions in Belfast, at Cavehill Road and Oxford Street bus station. The attacks were carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Of those killed there were 7 civilians - 5 Protestants and 2 Catholics - and 2 members of the British Army.

    Monday 31 July 1972
    9 civilians - 5 Protestant and 4 Catholic - were killed (3 died the following week) as a result of 3 car bombs in Claudy, County Derry. The attacks were carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

    1974

    Monday 4 February 1974
    12 people were killed in a bomb attack on a British Army coach travelling along the M62 in Yorkshire, England. The attack was carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Of those killed 9 were members of the British Army and 3 were civilians.

    Friday 17 May 1974
    33 civilians were killed (some died in the following weeks) in car bomb explosions in Dublin city centre and in Monaghan, County Monaghan. The attacks were carried out by Loyalist paramilitaries. In Dublin 26 were killed while in Monaghan there were 7 killed. These related incidents represent the greatest loss of life in a single day as a result of the conflict.

    Thursday 21 November 1974
    20 civilians were killed in two explosions in public houses in Birmingham, England. The attacks were carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

    1976

    Monday 5 January 1976
    10 Protestant civilians were killed when the minibus in which they were travelling was ambushed near Bessbrook in County Armagh. The attack was carried out by the Republican Action Force (RAF).

    1978

    Tuesday 17 January 1978
    12 Protestant civilians were killed in an incendiary bomb attack on the ‘La Mon’ House Restaurant in County Down. The attack was carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

    1979

    Monday 27 August 1979
    18 members of the British Army were killed in two remote-controlled bomb attacks near Warrenpoint, County Down. The attack was carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

    1982

    Tuesday 20 July 1982
    11 members of the British Army were killed in two remote-controlled bomb attacks in London, England. The attacks were carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

    Monday 6 December 1982
    17 people were killed when a bomb exploded at the ‘Droppin Well’ Bar in Ballykelly, County Derry. The attack was carried out by the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA). Of those killed 11 were members of the British Army and 6 were civilians - 4 Protestant; 1 Catholic (1 born outside Northern Ireland).

    1985

    Thursday 28 February 1985
    9 members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) were killed in a mortar bomb attack on an RUC base in Newry, County Down. The attack was carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

    1987

    Friday 8 May 1987
    8 members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and one Catholic civilian were killed as the IRA attempted to carried out a gun and bomb attack on Loughgall Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) base in County Armagh. The 9 people were killed by undercover members of the British Army, believed to be the Special Air Service (SAS).

    Sunday 8 November 1987
    11 people - 10 Protestant civilians and 1 member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) - were killed in a bomb attack in Enniskillen during the Remembrance Day Ceremony. The attack was carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

    1989

    Friday 22 September 1989
    11 members of the British Army were killed in a bomb attack on a British Army base in Kent, England. The attack was carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

    1993

    Thursday 21 October 1993
    10 people - 9 Protestant civilians and 1 member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) - were killed in a premature explosion at a fish shop on the Shankill Road in Belfast. The attack was carried out by the IRA.

    Saturday 30 October 1993
    7 civilians - 6 Catholic and 1 Protestant - were killed in a gun attack at the Rising Sun bar in Greysteel, County Derry. The attack was carried out by the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF).

    1994

    Saturday 18 June 1994
    6 Catholic civilians were killed in a gun attack on a bar in Loughinisland, County Down. The attack was carried out by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF).

    1998

    Saturday 15 August 1998
    29 civilians were killed as a result of a bomb attack in the centre of Omagh, County Tyrone. This attack was the work of a Republican splinter group calling itself the "real" IRA.


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