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Reavey And O'Dowd Killings
The Reavey and O'Dowd killings were two co-ordinated gun attacks on 4 January 1976 in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Six Catholic civilians died after members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group, broke into their homes and shot them. Three members of the Reavey family were shot at their home in Whitecross and four members of the O'Dowd family were shot at their home in Ballydougan.A Chronology of the Conflict: January 1976 (CAIN). Two of the Reaveys and three of the O'Dowds were killed outright, with the third Reavey victim dying of |
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] |
Billy McCaughey
William McCaughey (c. 1950 – 8 February 2006) was a member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary's Special Patrol Group (RUC), Special Patrol Group and the illegal Ulster Volunteer Force's Glennane gang in the 1970s. He was imprisoned for 16 years for murder from 1980 to 1996. On his release he worked as a Ulster loyalism, loyalist and Orange Order activist until his death in 2006. Early life Growing up a Presbyterian in a townland outside Ahoghill, County Antrim, McCaughey was given the nickname "The Protestant Boy" which he carried into adulthood.Dillon, Martin (1989). ''The Dirty War''. London: Arrow Books. p.222 His father, Alexander McCaughey was an elder in the local Trinity Presbyterian church, and although he was described by investigative journalist Martin Dillon as a "pillar of respectability". McCaughey served in the Ulster Special Constabulary, the 'B Specials', and when that was disbanded, he joined the regular Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). A former bodyguard to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miami Showband
The Miami Showband were an Irish showband in the 1960s and 1970s led firstly in 1962 by singer Jimmy Harte, followed by Dickie Rock and later by Fran O'Toole. They had seven number one records on the Irish singles chart. Band members Fran O'Toole, Tony Geraghty, and Brian McCoy were killed in the Miami Showband killings in 1975 during the Troubles when returning from a performance in County Down, Northern Ireland to the Republic of Ireland in an attack initially intended to convince the United Kingdom the band had been involved in smuggling explosives across the Irish border. The band reformed in 1976, but would disband in 1982, later reuniting and reforming. The Miami Showband played their final gig in 2015. Career The band was established in Dublin in 1962 by impresario Tom Doherty. He recruited an existing group, the Downbeats Quartet, comprising Joe Tyrell (piano), Tony Bogan (drums), Clem Quinn (guitar), and Martin Phelan (saxophone), and augmented them with singer Jim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miami Showband Killings
The Miami Showband killings (also called the Miami Showband massacre) was an attack on 31 July 1975 by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a loyalist paramilitary group. It took place on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland. Five people were killed, including three members of The Miami Showband, who were one of Ireland's most popular cabaret bands. The band was travelling home to Dublin late at night after a performance in Banbridge. Halfway to Newry, their minibus was stopped at what appeared to be a military checkpoint where gunmen in British Army uniforms ordered them to line up by the roadside. At least four of the gunmen were soldiers from the British Army's Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR), and all were members of the UVF. Two of the gunmen, both soldiers, died when a time bomb they were hiding on the minibus exploded prematurely. The other gunmen then started shooting the dazed band members, killing three and wounding two. It has been suggested that the b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bleary
Bleary (likely ) is a small village and townland in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is near the County Armagh border and the settlements of Craigavon, Lurgan and Portadown. In the 2011 Census its population was counted as part of Craigavon. It lies within the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon area. History The Troubles * 18 June 1972 - Three British soldiers (Arthur McMillan (aged 37), Ian Mutch (aged 31) and Colin Leslie (aged 26)) were killed in an IRA booby-trap bomb attack. The bomb had been left in a derelict house in Bleary. * 27 April 1975 - Loyalists shot dead three people in Bleary Darts Club. See Bleary Darts Club shooting * 28 October 1993 - The UVF shot dead two Catholic brothers (Gerrard Cairns, 22, and Rory Cairns, 18) at their home in front of their eleven-year-old sister in Bleary, County Down. Education *Bleary Primary School Demography 2011 Census On Census day (27 March 2011) there were 1,009 people living in Bleary. * 51.5% belong to or were brou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bleary Darts Club Shooting
The Bleary Darts Club shooting was a mass shooting that took place on 27 April 1975 in the village of Bleary, Northern Ireland. Members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) burst into a darts club frequented by Catholics and opened fire on the crowd, killing three civilians and wounding a fourth. The attack is one of many that has been linked to the Glenanne gang. Attack The 'Bleary Darts Club' was frequented mainly by Catholics but was also visited by Protestants.McKittrick, David. ''Lost Lives: The Stories of the Men, Women and Children who Died as a Result of the Northern Ireland Troubles''. Random House, 2001. p.537 On the night of 27 April 1975, there were about thirty men inside. At about 10:40pm, three masked loyalist gunmen kicked the door open and opened fire on the crowd with a Sterling submachine gun, a Webley Revolver and a shotgun. When the burst of gunfire stopped, a customer switched the lights off so the gunmen could not see. There was then another burst of gunfir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pat Finucane Centre
The Pat Finucane Centre (PFC) is a human rights advocacy and lobbying entity in Northern Ireland. Named in honour of murdered solicitor Pat Finucane, it operates advice centres in Derry and Newry, dealing mainly with complaints from Irish nationalists and republicans. The PFC promotes a nonviolent ethos, believing that the Northern Irish conflict arose mainly due to the government's failure to uphold Article 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal De ...: The PFC also states that the criminal justice system is not conducive to justice regarding crimes during the Northern Irish conflict, and, following a relative's request, one of the core activities of the PFC is to research and document individual cases of death during the co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Ireland
United Ireland, also referred to as Irish reunification, is the proposition that all of Ireland should be a single sovereign state. At present, the island is divided politically; the sovereign Republic of Ireland has jurisdiction over the majority of Ireland, while Northern Ireland, which lies entirely within (but does not constitute the entirety of) the Irish province of Ulster, is part of the United Kingdom. Achieving a united Ireland is a central tenet of Irish nationalism, particularly of both mainstream and dissident Irish republican political and paramilitary organisations. Unionists support Northern Ireland remaining part of the United Kingdom, and therefore oppose Irish unification. Ireland has been partitioned since May 1921, when the implementation of the Government of Ireland Act 1920 created the state of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom. The Anglo-Irish Treaty, which led to the establishment in December 1922 of a dominion called the Irish Free State, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chronology Of Provisional Irish Republican Army Actions (1970-1979)
Chronologies of Provisional Irish Republican Army actions detail activities by the Provisional Irish Republican Army, an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland and bring about an independent republic encompassing all of Ireland. The chronologies are mostly organized by decade. Chronologies *Chronology of Provisional Irish Republican Army actions (1970–1979) *Chronology of Provisional Irish Republican Army actions (1980–1989) *Chronology of Provisional Irish Republican Army actions (1990–1991) *Chronology of Provisional Irish Republican Army actions (1992–1999) * Chronology of Provisional Irish Republican Army actions in the 21st century See also *Timeline of Continuity Irish Republican Army actions *Timeline of Real Irish Republican Army actions *Timeline of Irish National Liberation Army actions *Timeline of Official Irish Republican Army actions *Timeline of Ulster Volunteer Force actions *Timeline of Ulster Defen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Provisional IRA
The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate United Ireland, 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 Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), original IRA from the Irish War of Independence. It was List of designated terrorist groups, 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 Irish Republican Army (1922–1969), the previous incarnation of the IRA and the broader Republic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kingsmill Massacre
The Kingsmill massacre was a mass shooting that took place on 5 January 1976 near the village of Whitecross in south County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Gunmen stopped a minibus carrying eleven Protestant workmen, lined them up alongside it and shot them. Only one victim survived, despite having been shot 18 times. A Catholic man on the minibus was allowed to go free. A group calling itself the South Armagh Republican Action Force claimed responsibility. It said the shooting was retaliation for a string of attacks on Catholic civilians in the area by Loyalists, particularly the killing of six Catholics the night before. The Kingsmill massacre was the climax of a string of tit-for-tat killings in the area during the mid-1970s, and was one of the deadliest mass shootings of the Troubles. A 2011 report by the Historical Enquiries Team (HET) found that members of the Provisional IRA carried out the attack, despite the organisation being on ceasefire. The HET report said that the men ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ulster Protestant
Ulster Protestants ( ga, Protastúnaigh Ultach) are an ethnoreligious group in the Irish province of Ulster, where they make up about 43.5% of the population. Most Ulster Protestants are descendants of settlers who arrived from Britain in the early 17th century Ulster Plantation. This was the settlement of the Gaelic, Catholic province of Ulster by Scots and English speaking Protestants, mostly from the Scottish Lowlands and Northern England. Many more Scottish Protestant migrants arrived in Ulster in the late 17th century. Those who came from Scotland were mostly Presbyterians, while those from England were mostly Anglicans (see Church of Ireland). There is also a small Methodist community and the Methodist Church in Ireland dates to John Wesley's visit to Ulster in 1752. Although most Ulster Protestants descend from Lowland Scottish people (some of whose descendants consider themselves Ulster Scots) and English, some also descend from Irish, Welsh and Huguenots. Since ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
