State Violence and Collusion Timeline 1976

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Events related to state violence and collusion in Northern Ireland in 1976.

January

  • 4 - Three members of the Reavey family are killed in a UVF gun attack on their home at Whitecross, Co. Armagh. Ten minutes later, three members of O'Dowd family are killed in another UVF gun attack at their home at Ballyduggan, Co. Armagh, fifteen miles away. The Sunday Independent claimed in 1993 that the Reavey attacks were carried out by Robert McConnell and planned by Robin Jackson.[1] The Sunday Tribune claimed in January 2011, "The three gunmen who entered the Reaveys' house were Robert McConnell, a UDR member later killed by the IRA; RUC officer James Mitchell who died two years ago; and another RUC man who is still alive and can't be named for legal reasons. The getaway car was driven by Mitchell's young female lover."[2] The Pat Finucane Centre has linked both attacks to the Glennane Gang.[3] The gang's involvement in the Reavey killings was confirmed by the Historical Enquiries Team in 2010.[4]
  • 5 - Ten Protestant workmen are killed by the IRA in the Kingsmills Massacre, thought to be an act of retaliation for the O'Dowd and Reavey killings.[5]

March

  • 8 - Attack on Tully's Bar, Belleek, Co. Armagh. Attributed by the Pat Finucane Centre to the Glennane Gang.[3]
  • 9 - One man, Patrick Mohan, dies after a UVF bomb attack on the center of Castleblaney, Co. Monaghan.[6]The Pat Finucane Centre has linked both the bombing to the Glennane Gang.[3]
  • 17 - Four people are killed and 12 injured in a UVF bomb attack on the HillCrest bar, Dungannon, Co. Tyrone.[7] The Pat Finucane Centre has linked the bombing to the Glennane Gang.[3]
  • 25 - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Merlyn Rees, set out the UK Government's policy of 'police primacy'. This policy in effect gave the RUC the lead responsibility for tackling the threat of terrorism in Northern Ireland.[8]

May

  • May undated - MI5 Director General Michael Hanley undertakes a 3-day visit to Northern Ireland in May 1976, during which he is impressed by the Special Branch and the new Chief Constable Kenneth Newman, and decides to switch MI5's emphasis from supporting the army to supporting the RUC. He concluded that the Provisional IRA was being slowly isolated but that 'the joker in the pack was the politician.'[9]
  • 1 - Murder of Seamus Ludlow near Dundalk, Co. Louth.[10]
  • 5 - Armed SAS men in civilian clothes arrested near Omeath in the Irish Republic.[11]
  • 15 - Three men are killed in a UVF bomb attack on Clancy's Bar in Charlemont, Co. Armagh. As the attackers made their escaped, they opened fire on the Eagle Bar, fatally wounding a fourth man.[12] The Pat Finucane Centre has linked the attacks to the Glennane Gang.[3]

June

  • 5 - Attack on the Rock Bar, Keady, Co. Armagh, attributed by the Pat Finucane Centre to the Glennane Gang.[3]

August

  • 14 - Twelve-year-old Majella O'Hare shot dead by the Army in Co. Armagh.[13]
  • 15 - Attempted bombing of Reneghan's Bar, Co Monaghan, attributed by the Pat Finucane Centre to the Glennane Gang.[3]
  • 16 - two people are killed in a UVF bomb attack on the Step Inn Bar, Keady, Co. Armagh.[14] The Pat Finucane Centre has linked the attack to the Glennane Gang.[3]

Notes

  1. ↑ David McKittrick, Seamus Kelters, Brian Feeney, Chris Thornton and David McVea, Lost Lives, Mainstream Publishing, 2004, p.609.
  2. ↑ Suzanne breen, 'In south Armagh there was no UVF - it was the RUC in a different uniform'; After 35 years, the truth about the triple murder of the Reavey brothers by the UVF's Glenanne gang is coming to light. Suzanne Breen reports on a horrific 24 hours of sectarian murders, Sunday Tribune, 2 January 2011.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Collusion in the south Armagh - mid Ulster area in the mid-1970's, Pat Finucane Centre, accessed 19 June 2012.
  4. ↑ Brónagh Murphy, Call for public apology after HET report exonerates Reavey family, The Examiner (Crossmaglen), 25 May 2010.
  5. ↑ David McKittrick, Seamus Kelters, Brian Feeney, Chris Thornton and David McVea, Lost Lives, Mainstream Publishing, 2004, p.611.
  6. ↑ David McKittrick, Seamus Kelters, Brian Feeney, Chris Thornton and David McVea, Lost Lives, Mainstream Publishing, 2004, p.631.
  7. ↑ David McKittrick, Seamus Kelters, Brian Feeney, Chris Thornton and David McVea, Lost Lives, Mainstream Publishing, 2004, p.634.
  8. ↑ Sir Desmond de Silva, Volume 1 - Chapter 3: Intelligence structures, Pat Finucane Review, 12 December 2012.
  9. ↑ Christopher Andrew, Defence of the Realm, The Authorized History of MI5, Allen Lane, 2009, p.645.
  10. ↑ David McKittrick, Seamus Kelters, Brian Feeney, Chris Thornton and David McVea, Lost Lives, Mainstream Publishing, 2004, pp.642-643.
  11. ↑ David McKittrick, Seamus Kelters, Brian Feeney, Chris Thornton and David McVea, Lost Lives, Mainstream Publishing, 2004, p.643.
  12. ↑ David McKittrick, Seamus Kelters, Brian Feeney, Chris Thornton and David McVea, Lost Lives, Mainstream Publishing 2004, p.634.
  13. ↑ David McKittrick, Seamus Kelters, Brian Feeney, Chris Thornton and David McVea, Lost Lives, Mainstream Publishing, 2004, p.671.
  14. ↑ David McKittrick, Seamus Kelters, Brian Feeney, Chris Thornton and David McVea, Lost Lives, Mainstream Publishing, 2004, p.672.
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