Events during the year 1972 in Northern Ireland.

Incumbents

* Governor – The Lord Grey of Naunton * Prime Minister – Brian Faulkner (until 30 March) * Secretary of State – William Whitelaw (from 24 March)

Events

*17 January – The "West Belfast Seven" Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA)

internee A civilian internee is a civilian detained by a party to a war for security reasons. Internees are usually forced to reside in internment camps. Historical examples include Japanese American internment and internment of German Americans in the Unit ...

s escape from prison ship '' Maidstone'' moored in Belfast Lough by swimming ashore. *30 January - Bloody Sunday: Thirteen unarmed civilians are shot dead in

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

as British paratroopers open fire on a banned civil rights march. A fourteenth, John Johnston, is also to die some months later after having been shot by a paratrooper. *9 February – A day of disruption takes place in Northern Ireland as people take to the streets in protest. *12 February – William Craig launches the

Ulster Vanguard The Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party (VUPP), informally known as Ulster Vanguard, was a unionist political party which existed in Northern Ireland between 1972 and 1978. Led by William Craig, the party emerged from a split in the Ulster Unio ...

movement in

Lisburn Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with ...

. *22 February –

1972 Aldershot Bombing The 1972 Aldershot bombing was a car bomb attack by the Official Irish Republican Army on 22 February 1972 in Aldershot, England. The bomb targeted the headquarters of the British Army's 16th Parachute Brigade (United Kingdom), 16th Parachute B ...

: The Official Irish Republican Army detonates a bomb outside the headquarters of the British Army's

16th Parachute Brigade The 16th Parachute Brigade was an airborne forces brigade of the British Army. It can trace its formation to February 1948, when the 2nd Independent Parachute Brigade left the 6th Airborne Division and moved to Germany, becoming part of the Brit ...

in Aldershot, England, killing 7 and injuring 17. *22 March – Bomb explodes near

Europa Hotel, Belfast The Europa Hotel is a four-star hotel in Great Victoria Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is known as the "most bombed hotel in Europe" and the "most bombed hotel in the world" after having suffered 36 bomb attacks during the Troubles. Hi ...

. *28 March – Northern Ireland Parliament suspended after Prime Minister Brian Faulkner resigns. Direct rule introduced. *19 April – A report by the Lord Chief Justice,

Lord Widgery John Passmore Widgery, Baron Widgery, (24 July 1911 – 26 July 1981) was an English judge who served as Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales from 1971 to 1980. He is principally noted for presiding over the Widgery Tribunal on the events ...

, into the Bloody Sunday shootings exonerates the British troops of blame because the demonstration had been illegal. *30 May – The Official Irish Republican Army declares a ceasefire in Northern Ireland. *3 June – A Protestant demonstration in

against the creation of "no-go" areas in the city ends in violence. *13–14 June – The Provisional Irish Republican Army proposes a ceasefire. The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), as intermediaries, make offer to British, who accept terms. *9 July – End of British–IRA ceasefire. *19 July – A five-month-old boy, Alan Jack, was killed when an IRA car bomb exploded on Canal Street in Strabane. He was the youngest victim of the Troubles up to that point. *21 July – Bloody Friday: Nine people die and over one hundred are injured in a series of Provisional IRA explosions in Belfast city centre. *31 July ** Operation Motorman, 4:00 AM: British Army begins to regain control of the " no-go areas" established by

Irish republican Irish republicanism ( ga, poblachtánachas Éireannach) is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate. The develop ...

paramilitaries in Belfast, Derry (" Free Derry") and Newry.CAIN: Chronology of the Conflict – 1972
/ref> ** Claudy bombing ("Bloody Monday"), 10:00 AM: Three car bombs in Claudy, County Londonderry, kill six immediately with three dying later in hospital. It becomes public knowledge only in 2010 that a local Catholic priest was an IRA officer believed to be involved in the bombings but his role was covered up by the authorities. *July – Shankill Butchers begin killing Catholics. *10 September – Three British soldiers are killed and four injured when the IRA blows up their Saracen armoured personnel carrier at Sanaghanroe near

Dungannon Dungannon () is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the second-largest town in the county (after Omagh) and had a population of 14,340 at the 2011 Census. The Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council had its headquarters in the ...

. *25 September -

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

conference on the future of Northern Ireland opens. * 28 December - Belturbet Co Cavan Geraldine O'Reilly 15 from Cavan and Patrick Stanley 16 from Offaly murdered by an unclaimed bomb. *1972 is the worst year for casualties in The Troubles, with 479 people killed (including 130 British soldiers) and 4,876 injured.

Arts and literature

*The Planning (Northern Ireland) Order first provides for

listed buildings in Northern Ireland This is a list of listed buildings in Northern Ireland, which are among the listed buildings of the United Kingdom. Key The organization of the lists in this series is on the same basis as the statutory register. The county names are thos ...

. * Seamus Deane's poetry ''Gradual Wars'' is published.

Sport

Athletics

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

( Munich) ::

Pentathlon A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) ( gr, πένταθλον). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of t ...

: Mary Peters becomes the first Irish woman to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games.

Football

* Irish League ::Winners: Glentoran * Irish Cup ::Winners:

Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from ga, Cúil Rathain , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern I ...

2 – 1 Portadown *On 13 October 1972

Derry City Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

withdraws from senior football in the Irish League due to security problems in the Brandywell Stadium area.

Motorcycling

* Ulster Grand Prix cancelled due to the political situation.

Snooker

* Alex Higgins wins the World Professional Snooker Championship.

Births

*15 January –

Derek Heasley Derek Heasley (born 15 January 1972 in Lisburn, Northern Ireland) is an Irish cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and right arm medium pace bowler. He made his debut for Ireland against Surrey on 14 May 1996 and has played for them 60 time ...

, cricketer. *24 January – Éamonn Burns, Gaelic footballer. *12 February –

Owen Nolan Owen Liam Nolan (born 12 February 1972) is a Northern Irish-born, Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He was drafted first overall by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft. During his 18-year NHL career, he played for t ...

, ice hockey player. *6 March – Terry Murphy, snooker player. *24 April – Sinéad Morrissey, poet. *27 May – Maggie O'Farrell, novelist. *21 June –

Neil Doak Neil George Doak (born 21 June 1972) is a Northern Irish former cricketer and rugby union player. He currently works as a rugby union coach, and has served as attack and backs coach with English club side Worcester Warriors, and Georgia during t ...

, cricketer and rugby player. *9 July – Darren Corbett, boxer. *6 September – Gary Arbuthnot, flautist. *1 November **

Kevin Horlock Kevin Horlock (born 1 November 1972) is a football manager and former professional footballer. He is the manager of Needham Market and assistant manager of the Northern Ireland under-21 team. As a player he was a midfielder who notably played ...

, soccer player. **

Gillian Sewell Gillian Sewell (born November 1, 1972, in Belfast, Northern Ireland) is a former Irish Canadian field hockey player who earned 36 international caps for the Canada during her career. On national level Sewell, a resident of Hamilton, Ontario, has ...

, field hockey player in Canada. *24 November – Iain Jenkins, soccer player. *28 November – Bronagh Gallagher, actress and singer.

Deaths

*22 February –

Eva McGown Eva McGown (née Montgomery) (1883–1972), the "hostess of Fairbanks," was best known for her three decades helping newcomers, military wives, construction workers, students, and visitors to find shelter in Fairbanks, Alaska during periods of ti ...

, Official Hostess of

Fairbanks Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the po ...

and Honorary Hostess of Alaska (born 1883). *15 April – Joe McCann, Official Irish Republican Army volunteer killed by British soldiers (born 1947).

References

{{reflist Northern Ireland