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Provisional IRA South Armagh Brigade
The South Armagh Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) operated during the Troubles in south County Armagh. It was organised into two battalions, one around Jonesborough and another around Crossmaglen. By the 1990s, the South Armagh Brigade was thought to consist of about 40 members, roughly half of them living south of the border. It has allegedly been commanded since the 1970s by Thomas 'Slab' Murphy who is also alleged to be a member of the IRA's Army Council. Compared to other brigades, the South Armagh IRA was seen as an 'independent republic' within the republican movement, retaining a battalion organizational structure and not adopting the cell structure the rest of the IRA was forced to adopt after repeated intelligence failures. As well as paramilitary activity, the South Armagh Brigade has also been widely accused of smuggling across the Irish border. Between 1970 and 1997 the brigade was responsible for the deaths of 165 members of British security f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reunification and bring about an independent, socialist republic encompassing all of Ireland. It was the most active republican paramilitary group during the Troubles. It saw itself as the army of the all-island Irish Republic and as the sole legitimate successor to the original IRA from the Irish War of Independence. It was designated a terrorist organisation in the United Kingdom and an unlawful organisation in the Republic of Ireland, both of whose authority it rejected. The Provisional IRA emerged in December 1969, due to a split within the previous incarnation of the IRA and the broader Irish republican movement. It was initially the minority faction in the split compared to the Official IRA, but became the dominant faction by 1972. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mayobridge Landmine Attack
Mayobridge () is a village within Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland, lying on the small river Clanrye which divides the townlands of Mayo and Bavan. It is located within the Newry and Mourne District Council area - it had a population of 1,069 people in the 2011 Census. It falls within the parish of Clonallan, and historically within the barony of Upper Iveagh Upper. Demography Mayobridge is classified as a small village or hamlet by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). It had a usually resident population of 1,069 according to the 2011 census. Facilities On 15 August 1859, Dr. Leahy, the co-adjutor bishop of the diocese, blessed the foundation stone of a new Catholic church to replace the existing, more primitive Mass House put up in 1806 (parts of which are still visible in the disused Parochial Hall); and a curate was appointed to live in Mayobridge. The new church, dedicated to St. Patrick, was erected on the site of a former Mass Rock. A fine Gothi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crossmaglen
Crossmaglen (, ) is a village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,610 in the 2011 Census and is the largest village in South Armagh. The village centre is the site of a large Police Service of Northern Ireland base and formerly of an observation tower (known locally as the "look-out post"). The square's name commemorates Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich, a local man who became Primate of All Ireland (head of the Catholic Church in Ireland), and who died in 1990. However, the Cardinal originated from Crossmaglen's close neighbour, Cullyhanna. Crossmaglen has its own GAA team, Crossmaglen Rangers GAC. Travelling by road, Crossmaglen is to the north of Dublin, to the west of Newry, and to the south of Belfast. History On 13 January 1921, during the Irish War of Independence, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) shot dead an Ulster Special Constabulary (USC) constable in Crossmaglen. He was the first member of the USC to be killed whilst on duty. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jonesborough, County Armagh
Jonesborough or Jonesboro (Irish: ''Baile an Chláir'') is a small village and civil parish in the Ring of Gullion in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is about south of Newry and lies from the border with County Louth in the Republic of Ireland. The Catholic parish includes the neighbouring area of Dromintee and crosses the Irish border into Louth. Places of interest * Moyry Castle * Kilnassagart Pillar Stone * The Holy Stone History Roth Jones founded the village in 1706. Jones was the landlord of the area in the early part of the 18th century. The village was previously known as Four Mile House. Kilnasaggart Pillar Stone Kilnasaggart stone stands in a field not far from Kilnasaggart Bridge. It is a tall pillar stone, 2 metres (6') high, and inscribed with some Ogham script, crosses, most within circles, and a Gaelic inscription. The pillar-stone is said to have originally been a pagan site for Druidical worship and sacrifice. It is also believed to commemorate an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Troubles
The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "irregular war" or "Low-intensity conflict, low-level war". The conflict began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed to have ended with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Although the Troubles mostly took place in Northern Ireland, at times violence spilled over into parts of the Republic of Ireland, England and mainland Europe. The conflict was primarily political and nationalistic, fuelled by historical events. It also had an Ethnic group, ethnic or sectarian dimension but despite use of the terms 'Protestant' and 'Catholic' to refer to the two sides, it was not a Religious war, religious conflict. A key issue was the Partition of Ireland, status of Northern Ireland. Unionism in Ireland, Unionists and Ulster loyalism, loyalists, who for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Cleary
Peter Joseph Cleary (18 September 1950 – 15 April 1976) was an Irish republican and a leading member of the 1st Battalion of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA)'s South Armagh Brigade. He held the rank of Staff Officer and served as the unit's treasurer. He was implicated by journalist and author Joe Tiernan in the killing of Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) corporal and alleged Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) member Robert McConnell. Ten days after McConnell's killing, Cleary was shot dead by the Special Air Service (SAS) after being arrested at the home of his girlfriend outside Forkhill. He was the first person in Northern Ireland to be killed by the SAS, following the admission of their deployment there in January 1976. According to the SAS, he was shot after attempting to take the rifle from the officer who was guarding him in a bid to escape.Tony Geraghty (1998). ''The Irish War: The Hidden Conflict Between the IRA and British Intelligence''. London: HarperCollin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Murphy (Irish Republican)
Thomas Murphy ( ga, Tomás Mac Murchaidh: born 26 August 1949), also known as Slab, is an Irish republican, believed to be a former Chief of Staff of the Provisional Irish Republican Army. His farm straddles County Armagh and County Louth on the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. In December 2015, Murphy was found guilty on nine counts of tax evasion following a lengthy investigation by the Criminal Assets Bureau of the Republic of Ireland. In February 2016, Murphy was jailed and sentenced to 18 months in prison. One of three brothers, Murphy is a lifelong bachelor who lived on the Louth side of his farm before his imprisonment. IRA involvement Murphy was allegedly involved with the South Armagh Brigade of the IRA before being elected chief of staff by the IRA Army Council. Toby Harnden (ex-correspondent for the ''Daily Telegraph'') named him as planning the Warrenpoint ambush of 1979, in which 18 British soldiers were killed, and he was also allegedl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1996 Docklands Bombing
The London Docklands bombing (also known as the South Quay bombing or erroneously referred to as the Canary Wharf bombing) occurred on 9 February 1996, when the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) detonated a powerful truck bomb in South Quay (which is outside Canary Wharf). The blast killed two people and devastated a wide area, causing an estimated £150million worth of damage. The IRA had sent warnings 90 minutes beforehand, but the area was not fully evacuated. As well as the two people who were killed, more than 100 were injured, some permanently. The attack marked an end to the IRA's seventeen-month ceasefire, and came just over an hour after its declaration to Irish broadcaster RTÉ. The IRA agreed to the ceasefire in August 1994 on the understanding that Sinn Féin would be allowed to take part in peace negotiations, but resumed its campaign with the Docklands bombing when the British government demanded a full IRA disarmament as a precondition for talks. After the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1994 British Army Lynx Shootdown
On 19 March 1994, a British Army Lynx helicopter was shot down by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) in Northern Ireland. A unit of the IRA's South Armagh Brigade fired a heavy improvised mortar at the British Army base in Crossmaglen, County Armagh. The mortar round hit and shot down the helicopter, serial number ZD275, while it was hovering over the helipad. Three British soldiers and a Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) member were wounded. Background Since the 1970s, the IRA developed a series of home-made mortars. The goal was to produce devices to be used as "stand-off" weapons, capable of being launched from safe ranges upon police or military outposts and easy to conceal on dead-ground. The development by the provisionals of the Mark 10 mortar multiple-launched mortar led the IRA South Armagh Brigade to conceive the idea of using this type of weapon to engage helicopters as they were hovering over border bases. On 22 June 1983, the IRA attempted to shoot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Newry Road
The Battle of Newry Road was a running gun battle between British Army helicopters and Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) armed trucks, fought along the lanes east of Crossmaglen, County Armagh, on 23 September 1993. The engagement began when an IRA motorized team from the South Armagh Brigade attempted to ambush three helicopters lifting off from the British Army base at Crossmaglen, one of them carrying the 3rd Infantry Brigade Commander. Previous actions (1974–1993) According to British Army reports, the IRA carried out 23 attacks on helicopters in south County Armagh during the Troubles.Harnden (2000), p. 358 Until the early 1990s, when the Westland Lynx were fitted with heavy machine guns, all British helicopters in Northern Ireland flew unarmed.Operation Banner: An Analysis of Military Operations in Northern Ireland'. MoD, Army Code 71842. Chapter 6, page 3 Following two attacks with rifles and a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) in 1974 and 1976, the introduction ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Occupation Of Cullaville
The occupation of Cullaville took place on 22 April 1993, when 12 armed members of the South Armagh Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) set up a checkpoint on the main crossroads of Cullaville, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, isolating the small village for a two-hour period, despite the presence of a British Army watchtower some yards away. The IRA men withdrew before the security forces in the area could react. Background Since the mid-1970s, the British Army had ceased using roads in south County Armagh because of the threat of culvert mines and almost all military movement including minor and major operations, especially the resupply of security bases, had to be carried out by helicopter. In February 1974, up to 20 members of the Provisional IRA had briefly set up a checkpoint at Cullaville with the specific purpose of defusing a bomb planted by them eight days before in a local supermarket, that the Welsh Guards had failed to find earlier. British effo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Forensic Science Laboratory Bombing
The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) targeted the Northern Ireland Forensic Science Laboratory (NIFSL) facilities on Newtownbreda Road in the southern outskirts of Belfast with a large 3,000 lb bomb on 23 September 1992. The huge impact of the bomb destroyed the lab and damaged over 1,000 homes within a 1.5 mile radius, including adjacent Belvoir Park, a Protestant housing estate. It was one of the biggest bombs ever detonated during Northern Ireland's Troubles, causing massive damage and being felt from over 10 miles away. Hundreds of residents had to be treated for shock. Several military vehicles were damaged. The lab was a key target because it analysed evidence in cases involving IRA attacks. The IRA had given a warning, and British Army bomb disposal experts were investigating an abandoned van when the explosion occurred. One estimate put the repair damage cost at £20 million at the time. According to journalist and author Toby Harnden, the attack, from beginning to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
