Captain Nairac - a military intelligence officer based at Bessbrook Mill outside Newry - was shot by the IRA in a field close to the border. He was riddled with guilt. FIVE MEMBERS OF A JOINT RUC and British Army patrol were injured when an IRA unit launched a daring gun and bomb attack on them while they operated a checkpoint in North Belfast late on Friday night 11 July. In the wake of the PIRAs ceasefire, those revolutionaries formed dissident factions such as the Real IRA and the Continuity IRA, and later the New IRA. He became heavily involved in the Civil Rights Movement, and joined Na Fianna ireann while still a teenager. Copyright 2023 Irish Studio LLC All rights reserved. Above them was an armed British Soldier in a guard tower. 22 August 1972 - Joseph Fegan (28), Michael Gilleece (32), Craig Lawrence (33), John McCann (60), Patrick Murphy (45), Francis Quinn (28), all. ", 3 In a search, they found a sawn-off shotgun loaded with two cartridges, a balaclava and a Halloween mask. Though mastermind Larry Marley planned the escape, he stayed behind on the day, because his release date was coming up soon. Alleged IRA murder case sent to Crown Court - The Irish News The judge said the recordings, which included plots to kill, made for "grim and depressing reading". Read about our approach to external linking. 29 February 1972 - Thomas Morrow (28), a member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, shot by Official Irish Republican Army at a factory, Camlough Road, Newry; he died two days later. 30 minutes later, David McLoughlin arrived in the food delivery truck that the prisoners needed for the escape. The group then spent three days walking through fields to an IRA stronghold in South Armagh. The centre was then renamed to Her Majestys Prison Maze, as they were situated in the township of Maze, and in 1976, eight new blocks were added to the prison, known as H Blocks, as they were all shaped like the capital letter H. These would specifically house those convicted of scheduled terrorist offences. Wire service provided by AFP and Press Association. Never thought they get the hell there. Marley was aided by a number of other Nationalists, including Bobby Storey, Gerry Kelly, and Brendan McFarlene. 28 February 1973 - Kevin Heatley (12), shot dead by the British Army as he sat on a wall chatting with friends, Main Avenue, Derrybeg, Newry. In Armagh B-Specials killed a local man. He also concluded that the control room in the centre of the H block was not operational as it should have been. But Nairac had been a boxing blue at Oxford University. Seven men caught in a covert MI5 operation against the Continuity IRA (CIRA) have been sentenced to a total of 33 years. Kelly and McFarlene ended up spending months living in the Republic of Ireland. But he had not given up on escaping the Maze. During the years of blanket protests, dirty protests, and hunger strikes, there had been a deep-seated hatred between prison officers and prisoners. Read about our approach to external linking. The third in the pecking order of the Continuity IRA leadership was Joseph "Tiny" Lynch, said the prosecution. Newry magistrates was given a fresh. How IRA turned south Armagh into a fuel complex Outside of the Maze, the IRA Army Council began to communicate with IRA prisoners who asked them to start assassinating prison officers. A look at the paramilitary organisations history highlights both the fractured nature of dissident groups but also its murderous focus on people, including PSNI officers, who are the living embodiment of what they term crown forces. Bread supplies across Northern Ireland likely to be impacted as Hovis The attack kills nine RUC officers and injures almost 40 others, the highest death toll ever suffered by the RUC. Once the prisoners heard McFarlene shouting for this, then the attempt was on. The prisoners needed the guards to immediately surrender and the only way to do that would be by using guns. 483623. Once they got to a safe house, some IRA members were given the option to move to America and assume new identities, while others were offered the chance to resume paramilitary activity. Saoradh denies the links with the New IRAs violence but a member of its group was charged with the attempted murder of two police officers in a bomb attack in Strabane last November. newry ira members. . 24 December 1973 - Edward Grant (18) and Brendan Quinn (17), both Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteers, and Aubrey Harshaw (18), a civilian, were killed in a premature bomb explosion at Clarke's Bar, Monaghan Street, Newry. As Townson was heading for a life sentence behind bars, his accomplice McCormick left Ireland for ever. Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA) Catholic But it was partly disinterred by an animal and was then was moved at the insistence of the farmer who owned the land. The huts were makeshift structures and not suitable for long term detainment. And with blood bubbling up in his mouth, Nairac was forced further into the field where Townson shot him. Elsewhere there had been rioting in Coalisland, Newry and Dungannon. 2023 BBC. Fox, from the Carewamean Road in Jonesborough, is charged with the murder of Newry postman Frank Kerr, robbing him of 131,000, possessing a pistol and revolver with intent to endanger life on November 10 1994 and three charges of membership of the IRA between June 24 1976 and November 11 1994. , 400px wide To make the escape possible, the IRA had to change that. Three of the others left Ireland shortly after the IRA death threat. IRA attack leaves five casualties | An Phoblacht 15 March 1983 - Frederick Morton (59), a member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, shot by Provisional Irish Republican Army during an ambush driving on the Tandragee Road, Newry. The attack was jointly planned by members of the South Armagh Brigade and an IRA unit in Newry. Outside, there was a plan for an IRA convoy to meet and collect the members, but due to a miscalculation in timing, there was no one there, so the prisoners fled across fields, or hijacked passing cars. At this time, Newry was a key battleground between the British Army and the IRA. August 27th: Provisional IRA members ambush a British Army platoon with two roadside bombs in Warrenpoint, County Down. All five received leg injuries.The attack was carried out at 10.10pm as the crown forces operated a checkpoint near the Hillview Road and Oldpark Road junction when an IRA unit drove through the British roadblock. ), The phone then started ringing in the tally lodge. Seven men caught in a covert MI5 operation against the Continuity IRA (CIRA) have been sentenced to a total of 33 years. (I.R.A) History &Background, 27th February Deaths & Events in Northern IrelandTroubles, 28th February Deaths & Events in Northern Ireland Troubles | Belfast Child. Fox, whose lawyers have said previously he strenuously denies the offences, was charged after detectives from the PSNI's Legacy Investigations Branch investigated. But Captain Nairac died without revealing a single thing to his captors. 6 October 1978 - Charles Henning (50), member of Ulster Defence Regiment, died four days after being shot by Provisional Irish Republican Army at a cattle mart, Patrick Street, Newry. The City manager wants exactly the same level of performance as was. In April 2022, following a Saoradh-organised event at a Derry cemetery, PSNI officers were attacked. One officer was shot in the leg as he chased the prisoners. And they all had to be taken simultaneously, or as close as possible. Bobby Storey then said to him: This block is now in the hands of the IRA. That brings us to 1983. an IRA member who had been recruited as an informer . Luck ran out in Omagh on Wednesday night, leaving a high-ranking PSNI officer badly injured after an attack that took place in front of his son. He even asked one of the women present to dance with the stranger in the hope of finding out if he was armed. Now they just needed to figure out how to take control of it. They were there for over 2 weeks. When McFarlene and the group were leaving, the entire family swore on a bible that they would not call the police until 72 hours after the men left. His rousing versions of The Broad Black Brimmer and The Boys of the Old Brigade went down well with the partisan crowd. There is an old saying often touted at police officers in the North and garda in the South: that IRA activists only need to be lucky once. One of the officers recalls getting captured by the prisoners: "I didn't know what to make of it. Political violence in the Troubles: 1976-79 - Northern Ireland He would later serve as a member of Fianna Fil during the 1930s. Sheehy, who travelled from his home in Listowel, County Kerry, to receive instructions in bomb making, was handed a six-year sentence - half to be spent in custody and half on licence. On February 28, 1985, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) launches a heavy mortar attack on the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) base at Corry Square in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland. Irish Republicans refer to the escape as the Great Escape and it was a major morale boost for the IRA at the time. 23 October 1971 - Sean Ruddy (28), James McLaughlin (26) and Robert Anderson (26), all shot by the British Army, who believed they were robbing a bank. The border campaign (12 December 1956 - 26 February 1962) was a guerrilla warfare campaign (codenamed Operation Harvest) carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) against targets in Northern Ireland, with the aim of overthrowing British rule there and creating a united Ireland. He excelled academically and finished his education in Dublin's Trinity College. newry ira members - Titlepawn.org What's the least exercise we can get away with? They received five years in jail and were also found to pose a danger to the public in the future because of their previous terrorist convictions. The 1985 Newry mortar attack was an attack carried out by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) on a Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) station in Corry Square, Newry, Northern Ireland. 12 January 1978 - Cecil Grills (56), member of the Ulster Defence Regiment, shot by Provisional Irish Republican Army while driving home from work, Talbot Street, Newry. They were eventually arrested in the Netherlands and extradited back to the H Blocks in Northern Ireland in 1986. newry ira members - Muchu.tokyo A number of escapees were later tried for his murder but were eventually acquitted after the judge concluded that it could not be proved that the stabbing caused the heart attack which killed him. The main gate was controlled by people in: ", a rather, flimsy, wooden building, to which anyone could have access from inside the prison.". Each block housed four self-contained prisons, called wings. It was very important to understand the prison officers and build comradery with them, so as to establish their weaknesses. Please check your inbox to verify your details, Now download the free app for all the latest Sunday World News, Crime, Irish Showbiz and Sport. He was bleeding heavily at this point but ultimately survived the attack. While it is difficult to get an absolute figure on membership levels, sources believe there could be upwards of 200 hardcore people involved, with other disparate elements orbiting around it. John Mallon (21), died 15 December 1974 two weeks after being injured in the bomb attack. In court yesterday, the PPS told District Judge Eamon King the PI was scheduled at start at Downpatrick courthouse on November 29. Kevin Braney: The inglorious end of an IRA career - RTE.ie And four times he came within a hair's breadth of escaping. The court on Friday heard that the secret recordings made by MI5 revealed: The men also voiced their frustrations at the lack of weapons, ammunition, low membership numbers and finances to fund their campaign. Change). It is known he had visited the pub the night before, but he failed to meet his man. Take a look inside Dublin's most stylish townhouse, Number 31, JFK's words remind us of the true meaning of St. Patrick's Day. Readers like you keep news free for everyone. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) organized the escape of 38 prisoners from Maze Prison in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, which took place on September 25, 1983. Sign up to IrishCentral's newsletter to stay up-to-date with everything Irish! The undercover bugging operation focused on a house in Newry, County Down, in 2014. The New IRA was formed in 2012 and is said to have about 500 supporters and fewer than 100 prepared to plan and carry out attacks, principally against the police. He is doing 30 years and hell shoot you without hesitation if he has to. The last thing I thought of was the provos. Critical to the investigation into the attempted murder is that the victim is a Detective Chief Inspector someone whose job would routinely involve investigations with intelligence gathered on high-stakes terrorist groups. February 27th: . The judge said neither man had "disavowed their involvement in dissident republican activity", adding that it was evident from the tape recordings that both men played "significant and leading roles" at those meetings of the Continuity IRA. 9 August 1972 - Colm Murtagh (18)a member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, died in premature bomb explosion in a garage on Dublin Road, Newry. advertising. ", Street fighting in Bakhmut but Russia not in control, Sonic boom heard as RAF Typhoon jets escort plane, Kuenssberg: Sunak can't escape past Tory horrors, Echoes of Hillsborough for Arena families. In the wake of the escape, 20 prison officers were injured. Prisoners arriving at Maze prison after March 1976, would not be granted special category status. 10 November 1994 - Frank Kerr (54), civilian, shot during armed robbery at his workplace, a postal sorting office on Clanrye Street, Newry. This article is about members of the Irish Republican Army since 1916/1917. The prisoners eventually focused their efforts on the transport that had been coming in and out of the prison, in particular the prison food truck. While the defendants faced purely conspiracy charges, he said the plots had been "thwarted" when police raided the meeting house in Ardcarn Park in Newry in November 2014. The homemade mortar launcher, dubbed the Mark 10, was bolted on to the back of a Ford lorry that had been hijacked in Crossmaglen. He and another prisoner then produced the guns and pointed them at the heads of the officers, but while also being quiet, so as not to alert other officers outside. In reality, he was brought into provide muscle in the event of the fit-looking suspect proving to be too difficult. Feb 24th 2023, 8:20 AM. Snow, Fire and Lights: Photos of the Week, Cricketers hope new league will inspire young women, 'Massive toll' of living in a leasehold property, The children left behind in Cuba's exodus. Alleged IRA member accused of postman's murder to contest he has case On February 28, 1985, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) launches a heavy mortar attack on the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) base at Corry Square in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland. In this way, the prisoners had no idea where they were positioned in the Maze. Adams responded saying he didn't know. A close friend told the Sunday World last night: "Terry never got over what happened to Captain Nairac. I seen a prisoner I recognised and I said to Keith, keep quiet this is the provos. The young soldier lost his life, but Terry ruined his own life.". It was agreed that a number of prisoners would stay behind to watch the officers until the 38 had escaped. 10 October 1972 - John Ruddy (50), a member of the Ulster Defence Regiment, shot by Provisional Irish Republican Army, Dromalane Park, Newry. He also told the driver that there was a grenade under his seat that would explode if he tried anything. Read about our approach to external linking. The court previously heard that Winters died in August. Newry Corp. Jun 2015 - Present7 years 10 months. To him, 'Danny McErlean' sounded nothing like an Ardoyne man. Patrick Brennan, convicted of social welfare fraud. The PSNI has already arrested three men for the shooting of the Detective Chief Inspector in Omagh. A typed letter - taped to a wall in Derry - has been signed by 'T O'Neill' - the name previously used by the dissident republican group. They stood beside him with guns pointed at him and said, answer the phone. It was incredibly secure, with long high fences and many layers between the inmates and the exit. If you say a wrong word, it will be your last word., The escape made headlines around the world and was a major security embarrassment to the British Army. Alamy Stock Photo. It was the prosecution case that Blair was the leader of the Continuity IRA, while Hannaway was his number two. Security forces have said there has been intelligence circulating that the group was moving to a more aggressive targeting of security forces. Larne-born McCormick was the first to assault the hapless soldier outside the Three Steps Inn near Dromintee. LAST UPDATE While security forces have been lucky more than once in catching the terrorist group before the commission of a terrorist act, all it takes is one operation to get through. However, the Sunday World can today reveal that McCormick was so riddled with guilt about what he had done that he prayed for Nairac every night before he went to sleep. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Once this was shouted, a 90-second countdown began, beginning with the group silently capturing four officers who were gathered in one room. Friends who spoke to the Sunday World this week maintain McCormick - who never spent a minute behind bars for his crimes - suffered a lifetime of guilt over the Nairac murder. (Getty Images), A mural depicting Bobby Sands in the Falls Road on April 10, 2008 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. For more information on cookies please refer to our cookies Explainer: The New IRA and their not-so-new belief in violent republicanism, political leaders and communities joining together in abhorrence. Kasey Correnti - Senior Consultant - Newry Corp | LinkedIn It was here that officers clocked in and out of their shifts. 5 September 1978 - William McAlpine (46), a part-time member of British Army Cadet Force, shot by the Provisional Irish Republican Army while driving his car, near to his home, Chapel Street, Newry. Rumours at the time suggested it has been put through a meat processing plant and fed to animals on a farm. Content copyright Journal Media Ltd. 2023 Registered in Dublin, registration number: ''The gang has a history of criminal activity and intimidation in the Newry area. Colleen McMurray: Police 'could not have prevented' officer's murder James Hennessey went on to say that the key weakness was in the main gate of the prison. Share your favorite stories with other history buffs in the IrishCentral History Facebook group. The horror of the Omagh bombing in 1998 by the Real IRA established a year earlier caused such revulsion among their financial supporters, many of whom are in the United States, that outbreaks of violence were contained for several years. (Note, "the provos" is a slang term for the provisional IRA. Continuity IRA members jailed after MI5 surveillance operation 13 November 2020 Seven men caught in a covert MI5 operation against the Continuity IRA (CIRA) have been sentenced to a total of 33. unless otherwise stated. As a cover story, Nairac claimed to be 'Danny McErlean'. The judge said the recordings, which included plots to kill, made for "grim and depressing reading". 10 October 1983 - Sean McShane (39), mistakenly shot by the Provisional Irish Republican Army while in a bookmaker's shop, Monaghan Street, Newry; a RUC member, was the intended target. The escape made headlines around the world and was a major security embarrassment to the British Army. The PSNI's head of serious crime, Detective Chief Superintendent Raymond Murray, described the sentences as "another significant milestone in our relentless efforts to protect communities and save lives by disrupting and frustrating the efforts of those involved in terrorist activities". 37 prisoners were then loaded into the back of the food truck and Kelly climbed into the footwell beside the driver and kept a gun pointed at him. 31 May 1981 - Michael O'Neill (34), a member of the British Army, killed by a booby trap bomb in an abandoned car, Drumalane Road, Newry. There was no chance of scaling the fences or digging under them. 9 May 1984 - Trevor May (28), member of the British Territorial Army, killed by Provisional Irish Republican Army booby trap bomb while travelling in his car shortly after leaving the Telephone Exchange, Downshire Road, Newry.
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