A Chronology of the Conflict - 1979

1979

January 1979

Friday 5 January 1979
Two members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) were killed in a car in Ardoyne, Belfast, when the bomb they were transporting exploded prematurely.

Thursday 11 January 1979
[ Political developments; segregation. ]

Wednesday 17 January 1979
[ Political developments. ]

[ NAI Records – January 1979. ]

February 1979

Sunday 4 February 1979
Patrick MacKin (60), a former Prison Officer, and his wife Violet (58), were both shot dead by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) at their home in Oldpark Road, Belfast.

Wednesday 14 February 1979
There was a meeting between Roy Mason, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and M. O'Kennedy, then Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs in London.
[ Political developments. ]

Tuesday 19 February 1979
[ Law Order. ]

Tuesday 20 February 1979
'Shankill Butchers' Sentenced
A group of 11 Loyalists known as the 'Shankill butchers' were sentenced to life imprisonment for 112 offences including 19 murders. The 11 men were given 42 life sentences and received 2,000 years imprisonment, in total, in the form of concurrent sentences. [The Shankill Butchers had begun killing Catholics in July 1972 and were not arrested until May 1977. The Loyalist gang operated out of a number of Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) drinking dens in the Shankill Road area of Belfast. The gang was initially led by Lenny Murphy but it continued to operate following his imprisonment in 1976. The Shankill Butchers got their name because not only did they kill Catholics but they first abducted many of their victims, tortured them, mutilated them with butcher knives and axes, and then finally killed them.]

Saturday 24 February 1979
Two Catholic teenagers, Martin McGuigan (16) and James Keenan (16), were killed by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in a remote controlled bomb explosion at Darkley, near Keady, County Armagh. [It is believed that the two teenagers were mistaken in the dark for a British Army foot patrol.]

Wednesday 28 February 1979
[ Law Order. ]

[ NAI Records – February 1979. ]

March 1979

Wednesday 7 March 1979
[ Employment, De Lorean. ]

Tuesday 13 March 1979
[ Employment, De Lorean. ]

Friday 16 March 1979
Bennett Report (Cmnd 7497)
The committee headed by the English judge Harry Bennett, which was set up to investigate allegations of ill-treatment of people held in interrogation centres in Northern Ireland, published its report (Bennett Report, Cmnd 7497). The report found that there were instances where there was medical evidence of injuries sustained in police custody which were not self-inflicted. [The report made a number of suggestions and the Labour government undertook to implement two major recommendations. The first that closed-circuit television cameras should be installed in interview rooms and the second that those being detained should have access to their solicitor after 48 hours in custody. When the Conservative Party came to power in May 1979 the new government implemented most of the remaining recommendations in the report.]
[ Employment, De Lorean. ]

Tuesday 20 March 1979
[ Law Order. ]

Thursday 22 March 1979
Members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) killed Richard Sykes (58), then British Ambassador to the Netherlands, and also his Dutch valet Krel Straub (19), in a gun attack in Den Haag, Netherlands.

The IRA carried out a series of attacks across Northern Ireland with 24 bombs exploding on same day.

Wednesday 28 March 1979
Labour Government Lost Vote of Confidence
The Labour government is defeated in a vote of confidence by 311 to 310 votes. The votes of Northern Ireland Members of Parliament (MPs) were decisive in bringing down the government. Eight Unionists voted against the government, two Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) MPs voted with the government, and Gerry Fitt, then leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), and Frank Maguire, an independent Nationalist MP, both abstained. [Fitt had decided to withdraw his support from the Labour government over its failure to act on all the recommendations of the Bennett Report. Maguire who had a policy of abstention from Westminster did in fact travel to the House of Commons on this occasion. He later commented, "you could say I came over to London to abstain in person". The loss of the vote of confidence was to trigger a general election on 3 May 1979 which would return a Conservative government with Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister.]

Thursday 29 March 1979
[ Political Developments, Segregation. ]

Friday 30 March 1979
Airey Neave Killed
Airey Neave, then Conservative Party spokesperson on Northern Ireland, was killed by a booby-trap bomb attached to his car as he left the car park at the House of Commons. The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) claimed responsibility for the killing. [If he had lived Neave would have been highly likely to have become the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in the new Conservative government. Neave had been an advocate of a strong security response to counter Republican paramilitaries. Neave had also advocated the setting up of one or more regional councils to take responsibility for local services.]
      [ Employment, De Lorean. ]

[ NAI Records – March 1979. ]

April 1979

Thursday 5 April 1979
Two British soldiers were shot dead by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) while standing outside Andersonstown join Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and British Army base in Belfast.

Friday 6 April 1979
[ Employment, De Lorean. ]

Tuesday 10 April 1979
[ Hunger Strike. ]

Wednesday 11 April 1979
Two British soldiers died as a result of a gun attack carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in Ballymurphy, Belfast.

Monday 16 April 1979
Michael Cassidy (31), a Prison Officer, was shot dead by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) as he left a church in Clogher, County Tyrone, where his sister had just gotten married.

Tuesday 17 April 1979
Four Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers were killed when the Irish Republican Army (IRA) exploded an estimated 1,000 pound van bomb at Bessbrook, County Armagh. [This was believed to be the largest bomb used by the IRA to this date.]

Thursday 19 April 1979
Agnes Wallace (40), a Prison Officer, was shot dead and three of her colleagues injured when the Irish Republican Army (IRA) carried out a gun and grenade attack outside Armagh women's prison.
A member of the British Army was shot dead by the IRA in Belfast.

Sunday 22 April 1979
The body of Martin McConville (25), a Catholic civilian, was found in the Bann River, at Portadown, County Armagh. McConville had been abducted by Loyalists one month earlier and had been beaten to death.

Tuesday 24 April 1979
[ Political Developments, Elections. ]

Wednesday 25 April 1979
[ Political Developments, Elections. ]

[ NAI Records – April 1979. ]

May 1979

Friday 2 May 1979
[ Law Order. ]

Thursday 3 May 1979
General Election
The Conservative Party won the general election and Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister. Humphrey Atkins was appointed as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. In Northern Ireland the turnout was 68.4 per cent and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) led by Ian Paisley gained two seats from the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP).
[ Political Developments, Elections. ]

Sunday 4 May 1979
[ Law Order. ]

Saturday 5 May 1979
Humphrey Atkins succeeded Roy Mason as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. [The appointment prompted the Belfast Telegraph to ask 'Humphrey Who?']

Sunday 6 May 1979
An undercover member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and an undercover member of the British Army were both shot dead by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) at Lisnaskea, County Fermanagh.

Monday 7 May 1979
[ Political Developments, Elections. ]

Wednesday 9 May 1979
[ Hunger Strike. ]

Thursday 10 May 1979
In the United States of America (USA) a judge ruled that a group of men, believed to be members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and also considered to be responsible for bombing the Ripon Barracks in North Yorkshire, should not be extradited to Britain.
[ Hunger Strike. ]

Monday 14 May 1979
[ Political Developments, Elections. ]

[ NAI Records – May 1979. ]

June 1979

Saturday 2 June 1979
An off-duty member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and a Protestant civilian were shot dead by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) at Ballinahome Crescent, Armagh.

Sunday 3 June 1979
Two Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers were killed by a landmine bomb planted by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) at Cullaville, near Crossmaglen, County Armagh.

Thursday 7 June 1979
European Parliament Elections
This was the first election to the European parliament. Northern Ireland was treated as a single constituency with three seats being contested by 13 candidates. The election was by Proportional Representation using the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system while the rest of the United Kingdom (UK) continued to use the 'first past the post' system . Ian Paisley, then leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), topped the poll with 29.8 per cent of the first preference votes and was elected on the first count. John Hume, then deputy leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), got 24.6 per cent of the vote and narrowly missed the quota but was elected on the third count. John Taylor, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), got 11.9 per cent of the first preference vote and was elected on the sixth count.

Tuesday 12 June 1979
[ Political Developments, Elections. ]

Wednesday 13 June 1979
[ Political Developments, Elections. ]

Wednesday 20 June 1979
Francis Sullivan (36), a Catholic civilian, was shot dead at his home in the Falls Road area of Belfast by Loyalist paramilitaries.

Friday 22 June 1979
[ Law Order. ]

Monday 25 June 1979
[ Law Order. ]

Tuesday 26 June 1979
[ Political Developments, Elections. ]

[ NAI Records – June 1979. ]

July 1979

Monday 2 July 1979
The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) was declared illegal across the whole of the United Kingdom (UK). [This followed the killing of Airey Neave on 30 March 1979.]
[ Law Order. ]

Thursday 12 July 1979
Margaret Thatcher, then British Prime Minister, criticised the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) after it had broadcast an interview with a member of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA). [This incident was to set a pattern of confrontation between the media, particularly the broadcast media, and Conservative governments during the 1980s and 1990s.]

Tuesday 17 July 1979
Ian Paisley, then leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), interrupted the opening proceedings of the European parliament to protest that the Union flag was flying the wrong way up on the Parliament Buildings.

Wednesday 18 July 1979
Ian Paisley, then leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), tried to interrupt Jack Lynch, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) and President of the European Council, but was shouted down by other Members of the European Parliament (MEPs).

Thursday 19 July 1979
[ Political Developments. ]

Sturday 21 July 1979
It was announced that Pope John Paul II would pay a visit to Ireland on 29 September 1979. Ian Paisley, then leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), and the Orange Order warned that he should not visit Northern Ireland.

[ NAI Records – July 1979. ]

August 1979

Wednesday 1 August 1979
The United States (US) State Department halted a private firearms shipment to Northern Ireland. The shipment also included firearms that were intended for the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). The RUC later purchased the arms from West Germany instead. [This decision by the US State Department was brought about by a campaign to try to bring pressure on the British government to undertake a new political initiative in Northern Ireland to find a solution to the conflict. The campaign was headed by the so-called 'Four Horsemen' who were: 'Tip' O'Neill, then Speaker of the House of Representatives, Edward Kennedy, then a Senator, Daniel Moynihan, then a Senator, and Hugh Carey, then Governor of New York. Previously the US had been uncritical of British policy in Northern Ireland and these developments were to prove worrying for the British government.]

Thursday 2 August 1979
Two British soldiers were killed by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in a landmine attack at Cathedral Road, Armagh. [These deaths brought the total number of British Army soldiers killed in Northern Ireland since 1969 to 301.]
A Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officer was shot dead by the IRA in Belfast.

Tuesday 7 August 1979
Eamon Ryan (32), a civilian in the Republic of Ireland, was shot dead by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) during a bank robbery in Strand Street, Tramore, County Waterford.

Saturday 11 August 1979
Representatives from the Irish National Caucus paid a visit to Northern Ireland and said that the Caucus intended to make the conflict in the region a major issue during the 1980 United States (US) Presidential election.

Wednesday 22 August 1979
Humphrey Atkins, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, rejected a proposal that Hugh Carey, then Governor of New York, should chair talks in New York between Atkins and Michael O'Kennedy, then Irish Foreign Minister.

Monday 27 August 1979
Warrenpoint Attack and Mountbatten Killing
18 British soldiers were killed in an Irish Republican Army (IRA) attack at Warrenpoint, County Down. This represented the British Army's greatest loss of life in a single incident in Northern Ireland. The attack began when the IRA exploded a 500 pound bomb at Narrow Water, near Warrenpoint, as an army convoy was passing. Six members of the Parachute Regiment were killed in this initial bomb. As other troops moved into the area a second bomb was detonated at a nearby Gate Lodge killing 12 soldiers - 10 members of the Parachute Regiment and 2 members of the Queen's Own Highlanders (one of whom was the Commanding Officer). The explosion also damaged an army helicopter. A gun battle then broke out between the IRA who were positioned in the Irish Republic and British Army soldiers in Northern Ireland. An innocent civilian was killed on the Republic side of the border by soldiers firing from the north.
Earlier in the day Louis Mountbatten (79), a cousin of the Queen, was killed by a bobby-trap bomb left by the IRA on his fishing boat (Shadow V) at Mullaghmore, near Sligo in the Republic of Ireland. Three other people were killed in the explosion, Lady Brabourne (82), Nicholas Knatchbull (14) who was Mountbatten's grandson, and Paul Maxwell (15) who was a crew member on the boat. Mountbatten had been a regular visitor to the Mullaghmore area of County Sligo each August. He was on a fishing trip and was accompanied by a number of people on the boat when the bomb exploded shortly after they left the harbour. [During the Second World War Mountbatten had been supreme commander of allied forces in south-east Asia. He had also been the last British Viceroy of India and oversaw Indian independence. Thomas McMahon was charged with Mountbatten's murder and later sentenced to life imprisonment.]
[The deaths on 27 August 1978 were followed by a series of killings of Catholic civilians by Loyalist paramilitaries.]

Tuesday 28 August 1979
John Hardy (43), a Catholic civilian, was shot dead by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) at his home in Ashton Street, New Lodge, Belfast.

Wednesday 29 August 1979
Margaret Thatcher, then British Prime Minister, paid a visit to Northern Ireland to hold discussions on security. In Rome it was announced that Pope John Paul II would not travel to Armagh during his forthcoming visit to Ireland on 29 September 1979.

Thursday 30 August 1979
A decision was taken by the British government to increase the size of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) by 1,000 officers to 7,500. [This reflected a continuation of the policy of 'Ulsterisation' or 'police primacy'. There was some continuing friction between the British Army (BA) and the RUC over this policy. On 2 October 1979 a new post of security Co-ordinator for Northern Ireland was created to try to improve relations between the BA and the RUC.]

[ NAI Records – August 1979. ]

September 1979

Saturday 1 September 1979
Gerry Lennon (23), a Catholic civilian, was shot dead by Loyalist paramilitaries at his workplace on the Antrim Road, Belfast.

Sunday 2 September 1979
The Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF), a covername used by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), threatened to target members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

Monday 3 September 1979
Henry Corbett (27), a Catholic civilian, was shot dead by the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF), a covername used by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), at his home in Bawnmore Grove, Greencastle, Belfast.

Wednesday 5 September 1979
Margaret Thatcher, then British Prime Minister, and Jack Lynch, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), met in London to discuss security matters.

Friday 7 September 1979
James Molyneaux succeeded Harry West and became the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). [Molyneaux was to remain as leader of the UUP until 28 August 1995.]

Tuesday 11 September 1979
[ Hunger Strike. ]

Thursday 20 September 1979
[ Republican monument. ]

Saturday 29 September 1979
Pope's Visit to Ireland
Pope John Paul II visited Drogheda, County Louth, Republic of Ireland. The Pope spoke to an estimated crowd of 250,000 people and appealed for an end to violence in Northern Ireland, "On my knees I beg of you to turn away from the paths of violence and to return to the ways of peace".

[ NAI Records – September 1979. ]

October 1979

Tuesday 2 October 1979
In a statement the Irish Republican Army (IRA) rejected Pope John Paul II's call for an end to the violence in Northern Ireland. The IRA declared that it had widespread support and that Britain would only withdraw from Northern Ireland if forced to do so: "force is by far the only means of removing the evil of the British presence in Ireland ... we know also that upon victory the Church would have no difficulty in recognising us".
Maurice Oldfield, the former head of MI6, was appointed to a new post of security co-ordinator for Northern Ireland. [This is seen as an attempt to improve relations between the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and the British Army.]

Thursday 4 October 1979
[ Republican monument. ]

Friday 5 October 1979
The British and Irish governments agreed to strengthen the drive against paramilitary groups. The British Labour Party conference voted against a resolution calling for British withdrawal from Northern Ireland.

Tuesday 9 October 1979
[ Republican monument. ]

Monday 15 October 1979
The Economic and Social Research Institute, based in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, published the results of an opinion poll that had been carried out between July and September 1978. One finding in the poll was that 21 per cent of people in the Republic expressed some level of support for the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

Tuesday 16 October 1979
[ Republican monument. ]

Thursday 18 October 1979
[ Hunger Strike. ]

Monday 22 October 1979
[ Political Developments. ]

Tuesday 23 October 1979
[ Republican monument; Political Developments. ]

Thursday 25 October 1979
Humphrey Atkins, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, announced that he was going to invite the four main parties (Ulster Unionist Party, UUP; Democratic Unionist Party, DUP; Social Democratic and Labour Party, SDLP; and Alliance Party, APNI) to a conference held at Stormont to discuss potential political settlements. The UUP rejected the invitation and called on the government to introduce a system of two-tier local government. [At the time of the Atkins initiative there was little support for another round of talks and some commentators believed the initiative was a response to try to ease growing American pressure for action.]

Sunday 28 October 1979
A British Army (BA) soldier and a Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officer died as a result of an Irish Republican Army (IRA) gun attack on a joint BA and RUC mobile patrol at Springfield Road, Belfast.

[ NAI Records – October 1979. ]

November 1979

Thursday 1 November 1979 (or 2 November ?)
The Irish security forces seized a quantity of arms at Dublin docks which were believed to have originated in the United States of America (USA) and to be bound for the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The shipment totalled 156 weapons and included the M-60 machine gun and were worth an estimated £500,000. Jack Lynch, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), stated that he believed that the conflict in Northern Ireland continued to be "as intractable as at any stage in the last ten years".

Saturday 3 November 1979
The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) held its annual conference. The party rejected calls for talks with the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The party also called for a joint approach by the British and Irish governments to finding a solution to the problems in Northern Ireland.

Monday 5 November 1979
[ Political Developments. ]

Tuesday 6 November 1979
[ Hunger Strike. ]

Thursday 8 November 1979
Two Catholic civilians were shot dead by Loyalists paramilitaries while they walked along Thompson Street, Belfast. A Protestant civilian was shot dead by Republican paramilitaries at his workplace in the Short Strand, Belfast.

Tuesday 13 November 1979
[ Hunger Strike. ]

Tuesday 20 November 1979
White Paper Published (Cmnd 7763)
Humphrey Atkins, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, published a consultative document in the form of a White Paper called The Government of Northern Ireland: A Working Paper for a Conference (Cmnd 7763). The stated aim of the conference talks was to achieve "the highest level of agreement ... which will best meet the immediate needs of Northern Ireland". The White Paper however ruled out discussion on a number of possible 'solutions' to the conflict, namely, a United Ireland, confederation, or independence for Northern Ireland. The paper also excludes discussion on the constitutional status of the region. The paper states that 'direct rule' from Westminster is not a satisfactory basis for the government of Northern Ireland. [James Molyneaux, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), rejected the invitation to talks. The fact that an 'Irish dimension' had been ruled out of the talks caused a split in the response of Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) to the invitation (see 22 November 1979). Atkins was later to allow parallel talks which allowed the SDLP to raise the question of an Irish dimension in any solution.]

Thursday 22 November 1979
A split developed within the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) as to its approach to the Humphrey Atkin's, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, invitation to attend a conference on the future of Northern Ireland. Gerry Fitt, then leader of the SDLP, wanted to attend the conference even without an Irish dimension being on the agenda. Others, including John Hume, then deputy leader of the SDLP, did not want to attend unless an Irish dimension was to be discussed. As a result of this dispute Fitt resigned as leader of the SDLP. [Hume became leader on 28 November 1979. Atkins was later to allow parallel talks which allowed the SDLP to attend and raise the question of an Irish dimension in any potential solution.]

Tuesday 27 November 1979
[ Hunger Strike. ]

Wednesday 28 November 1979
John Hume succeeded Gerry Fitt as leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP).

[ NAI Records – November 1979. ]

December 1979

Saturday 1 December 1979
Richard Lawson, then a Lieutenant-General, succeeded Timothy Creasey as General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the British Army in Northern Ireland.

Monday 3 December 1979
[ Employment, De Lorean. ]

Tuesday 4 December 1979
[ Employment, De Lorean. ]

Wednesday 5 December 1979
Jack Lynch resigned as Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister). [He was replaced by Charles Haughey on 7 December 1979.]

Friday 7 December 1979
Charles Haughey replaced Jack Lynch as Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister). The Fiannia Fáil parliamentary party voted by 44 votes to 38 in favour of Haughey.

Monday 10 December 1979
[ Law Order. ]

Wednesay 12 December 1979
In a number of cities across Britain 24 people were arrested on suspicion of being members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). This was an attempt to disrupt an anticipated bombing campaign.

Saturday 15 December 1979
The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), under the new leadership of John Hume, took the decision to attend the Atkins conference.

Sunday 16 December 1979
Four British soldiers were killed by a landmine bomb planted by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) at Ballygawley Road, near Dungannon, County Tyrone. Another soldier was killed by a booby-trap bomb at Forkhill, County Armagh. James Fowler, a former member of the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR), was shot dead by the IRA in Omagh, County Tyrone.

Monday 18 December 1979
[ Political Developments. ]

Tuesday 19 December 1979
[ Hunger Strike. ]

Monday 31 December 1979
Sean Cairns (20), a Catholic civilian, was shot dead by Loyalist paramilitaries at his home in Tralee Street, Belfast.

December 1979
[ Hunger Strike. ]

[ NAI Records – December 1979. ]