On 13 December 1989 the
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 reun ...
(IRA) attacked a
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
permanent vehicle checkpoint complex manned by the
King's Own Scottish Borderers
The King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSBs) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. On 28 March 2006 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Scots, the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's Own ...
(KOSB) near the
Northern Ireland–Republic of Ireland border at Derryard
townland
A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic origi ...
, a few miles north of
Rosslea
Rosslea or Roslea () is a small village in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, near the border with County Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland. It stands on the Finn River and is beset by small natural lakes. Roslea Forest, also known as Sprin ...
,
County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland.
The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 a ...
. The IRA unit, firing from the back of an
armoured dump truck, attacked the small base with heavy machine-guns, grenades, anti-tank rockets and a
flamethrower
A flamethrower is a ranged incendiary device designed to project a controllable jet of fire. First deployed by the Byzantine Empire in the 7th century AD, flamethrowers saw use in modern times during World War I, and more widely in World ...
. A nearby Army patrol arrived at the scene and a fierce firefight erupted. The IRA withdrew after leaving a
van bomb
A car bomb, bus bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles.
Car bombs can be roughly divided ...
inside the complex, but the device did not fully detonate. The assault on the outpost left two soldiers dead and two wounded.
Planning
According to journalist
Ed Moloney
Edmund "Ed" Moloney (born 1948–9) is an Irish journalist and author best known for his coverage of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, and the activities of the Provisional IRA, in particular.
He worked for the ''Hibernia'' magazine and ''Magill ...
, the
IRA Army Council
The IRA Army Council was the decision-making body of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, a paramilitary group dedicated to bringing about independence to the whole island of Ireland and the end of the Union between Northern Ireland and Great B ...
, suspecting a great deal of infiltration by
double agents
In the field of counterintelligence, a double agent is an employee of a secret intelligence service for one country, whose primary purpose is to spy on a target organization of another country, but who is now spying on their own country's organi ...
at the
grassroots
A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...
level of the IRA, decided to form an experimental
flying column
A flying column is a small, independent, military land unit capable of rapid mobility and usually composed of all arms. It is often an ''ad hoc'' unit, formed during the course of operations.
The term is usually, though not necessarily, appli ...
(instead of the usual
active service unit
An active service unit (ASU; ) was a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) cell of four to ten members, tasked with carrying out armed attacks. In 2002, the IRA had about 1,000 active members of which about 300 were in active service units.
T ...
) to mount a large-scale operation against a permanent vehicle checkpoint along the border. It hoped that this would prevent any information leak that could result in another fiasco like the
Loughgall Ambush
The Loughgall ambush took place on 8 May 1987 in the village of Loughgall, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. An eight-man unit of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) launched an attack on the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) base in the vil ...
of 1987.
Moloney maintains that the planning was in the charge of
Thomas Murphy, alleged leader of the
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 Ar ...
, and that the raid was to be led by
East Tyrone Brigade member Michael "Pete" Ryan. Journalist Ian Bruce instead claims that the IRA unit was led by an
Irish citizen
Irish nationality law details the conditions by which a person is a national of the Republic of Ireland. The primary law governing these regulations is the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, 1956, which came into force on 17 July 1956. Reg ...
who had served in the
Parachute Regiment, citing intelligence sources.
[Ex-Para 'led attack by IRA which killed Scots soldiers']
by Ian Bruce, ''Herald Scotland
''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...
'', 2 January 1990 The column was made up of about 20 experienced IRA
volunteers
Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...
from throughout Northern Ireland, 11 of whom would carry out the attack itself.
[Moloney, Ed (2003). ''A secret story of the IRA''. W.W. Norton & co. . p.333] Bruce reported that IRA members from
County Monaghan
County Monaghan ( ; ga, Contae Mhuineacháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County Cou ...
, supported by local Fermanagh militants, carried out the raid.
[
]
Attack
The target was a permanent vehicle checkpoint at Derryard. Described as a "mini base", it included an accommodation block and defensive sangars. It was manned by eight soldiers of the 1st Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers
The King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSBs) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. On 28 March 2006 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Scots, the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's Own ...
and a Royal Ulster Constabulary
The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC)Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the Royal ...
(RUC) officer. The 11 IRA members would be driven to the checkpoint in the back of a makeshift Bedford
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...
armoured dumper truck. They were armed with 7.62mm AK-47
The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas operated, gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian s ...
s, 5.56mm Armalite AR-18
The ArmaLite AR-18 is a gas-operated assault rifle chambered for 5.56×45mm NATO ammunition. The AR-18 was designed at ArmaLite in California by Arthur Miller, Eugene Stoner, George Sullivan, and Charles Dorchester in 1963 as an alternative t ...
s, two 12.7mm DShK
The DShK 1938 ( Cyrillic: ДШК, for russian: Дегтярёва-Шпагина Крупнокалиберный, Degtyaryova-Shpagina Krupnokaliberny, links=no, "Degtyaryov-Shpagin large-calibre") is a Soviet heavy machine gun with a V-shaped bu ...
heavy machine-guns, RPG-7
The RPG-7 (russian: link=no, РПГ-7, Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт, Ruchnoy Protivotankoviy Granatomyot) is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank, rocket-propelled grenade launcher. ...
s, different kinds of grenade
A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade genera ...
s, and a LPO-50 flamethrower
A flamethrower is a ranged incendiary device designed to project a controllable jet of fire. First deployed by the Byzantine Empire in the 7th century AD, flamethrowers saw use in modern times during World War I, and more widely in World ...
. The heavy machine guns and the flamethrower were mounted on a tripod on the lorry bed. To assure widespread destruction, the column would detonate a van bomb
A car bomb, bus bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles.
Car bombs can be roughly divided ...
after the initial assault.
The attack took place shortly after 4PM.[ McKittrick, David (1999). ''Lost lives: the stories of the men, women and children who died through the Northern Ireland troubles''. Mainstream, p. 1187; ] IRA members sealed off roads leading to the checkpoint in an attempt to prevent civilians from getting caught up in the attack. The truck was driven from the border and halted at the checkpoint. As Private James Houston began to check the back of the truck, the IRA opened fire with assault rifles and threw grenades into the compound.[ Two RPG-7s were fired at the observation sangar while the flamethrower stream was directed at the command sangar. Heavy shooting continued as the truck reversed and smashed through the gates of the compound.][ At least three IRA volunteers dismounted inside the checkpoint and sprayed the portacabins with gunfire and the flamethrower's fire stream, while throwing grenades and nail bombs.] The defenders were forced to seek shelter in sangars, from where they fired into their own base.[ A farmer some distance away saw an orange ball of flames and heard gunfire 'raking the fields'.] As the truck drove out of the now wrecked compound, a red transit van loaded with a 400 lb (182 kg) bomb was driven inside and set to detonate once the IRA unit had made its escape. However, only the booster charge exploded.[
The attack was finally repulsed by a four-men Borderers ]section
Section, Sectioning or Sectioned may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea
* Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents
** Section sign ...
from the checkpoint that was patrolling nearby, with the support of a Wessex
la, Regnum Occidentalium Saxonum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the West Saxons
, common_name = Wessex
, image_map = Southern British Isles 9th century.svg
, map_caption = S ...
helicopter. The patrol fired more than 100 rounds at the IRA unit.[ The Wessex received gunfire, and was forced to take evasive action. The IRA column, at risk of being surrounded, fled toward the border in the armoured truck.] It was found abandoned at the border with a bomb on board.[
Two soldiers were killed in the attack: Private James Houston (22) from England and Lance-Corporal Michael Patterson (21) from Scotland.][ Corporal Whitelaw was badly wounded by shrapnel] and later airlifted for treatment.[ Another soldier suffered minor injuries.
]
Aftermath
There was outrage in Westminster and among unionists, as a supposedly well-defended border post had been overrun by the IRA and two soldiers killed. On the other hand, according to Moloney, there was also some disappointment among republicans. Despite the positive propaganda effect, the quick and strong reaction from the outpost's defenders convinced some high-ranking IRA members that the Army Council had been infiltrated by a mole
Mole (or Molé) may refer to:
Animals
* Mole (animal) or "true mole", mammals in the family Talpidae, found in Eurasia and North America
* Golden moles, southern African mammals in the family Chrysochloridae, similar to but unrelated to Talpida ...
.
A senior British military officer, when quizzed about the IRA attack, said:They are murdering bastards, but they are not cowards. This team actually pressed home a ground attack right into the heart of the compound. That takes guts when there are people firing back.
KOSB officers and security sources believed that the IRA unit involved was not locally recruited, putting the blame instead on IRA members from Clogher
Clogher () is a village and civil parish in the border area of south County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Blackwater, 5.8 miles from the border crossing to County Monaghan. It stands on the townlands of Clogher Demesne and ...
(County Tyrone
County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional Counties of Ireland, counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an admini ...
) and South Monaghan (in the Republic).["Calculating, professional enemy that faces KOSB"]
by Ian Bruce. ''Herald Scotland
''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...
'', 15 December 1989 The same sources said that the attack was executed "in true backside-or-bust Para style".[
Major Bob Andrew, the KOSB garrison commander at ]Cookstown
Cookstown ( ga, An Chorr Chríochach, IPA: anˠˈxoːɾˠɾˠˈçɾʲiːxəx is a small town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the fourth largest town in the county and had a population of 11,599 in the 2011 census. It, along with Maghe ...
, went on to say:
The Provos in Belfast or Londonderry tend to stage incidents timed to catch the six o'clock news. The people down here are out to inflict casualties on us. They are a harder breed entirely, and very, very dangerous. This has always been a committed Republican area. The cowboy element was caught or shot years ago. What we have now is an experienced, professional enemy with enormous local support. They should never be underestimated. That can be fatal. Last year, they mortared the unit in our base at 10 minutes to midnight on Hogmanay, hoping to catch them off-guard. That's a measure of their calculating approach.
After the action of Derryard, the British Army in Northern ireland were issued the French designed Luchaire 40mm rifle grenade, fitted on the muzzle of the SA80 rifle. This gave the troops a lightweight armour piercing capability to deal with the threat imposed by improvised armoured vehicles. Permanent checkpoints along the border were also fitted with GPMG machine guns. From 1990 until the end of the IRA campaign in 1997, there were a number of further bloodless, small-scale attacks against permanent vehicle checkpoints along this part of the border using automatic weapons and improvised mortars, particularly in County Fermanagh and against a military outpost at Aughnacloy, County Tyrone.
Two soldiers, Corporal Robert Duncan and Lance Corporal Ian Harvey, were bestowed the Distinguished Conduct Medal
The Distinguished Conduct Medal was a decoration established in 1854 by Queen Victoria for gallantry in the field by other ranks of the British Army. It is the oldest British award for gallantry and was a second level military decoration, ranki ...
(DCM), whilst Lance-Corporal Patterson received a posthumous mention in dispatches
To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...
for his actions during the attack. The checkpoint was dismantled in March 1991, as part of a major border security re-arrangement codenamed Operation Mutilate.
See also
* 1990 British Army Gazelle shootdown
* Attack on Cloghoge checkpoint
* Drummuckavall ambush
* Glasdrumman ambush
The Glasdrumman ambush was an attack by the South Armagh Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) against a British Army observation post in Glasdrumman, County Armagh on 17 July 1981. An attempted ambush by the British Army on I ...
* Operation Conservation
* 1993 Fivemiletown ambush
On 12 December 1993, a unit of the Provisional Irish Republican Army's (IRA) East Tyrone Brigade ambushed a two-men unmarked mobile patrol of the RUC in Fivemiletown, County Tyrone. Two constables (Andrew Beacom and Ernest Smith) were shot and ...
*Improvised tactical vehicles of the Provisional IRA
Throughout the protracted conflict in Northern Ireland (1960s-1998), the Provisional IRA developed a series of improvised mortars to attack British Army and Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) security bases. The organisation also purchased both ...
*List of attacks on British aircraft during The Troubles
This is a list of attacks on British aircraft, both civilian and military, during The Troubles, an armed conflict that took place in Northern Ireland during the late 20th century and also known internationally as the Northern Ireland Conflict. Al ...
References
External links
ITN news report on the attack
{{DEFAULTSORT:Derryard checkpoint attack
1989 in Northern Ireland
Attacks in 1989
British Army in Operation Banner
Checkpoints
Conflicts in 1989
Deaths by firearm in Northern Ireland
Improvised explosive device bombings in Northern Ireland
Military actions and engagements during the Troubles (Northern Ireland)
Military history of County Fermanagh
Military raids
Provisional Irish Republican Army actions
Royal Ulster Constabulary
The Troubles in County Fermanagh
20th century in County Fermanagh
December 1989 events in the United Kingdom
1989 in military history
Attacks on military installations in the 1980s
Terrorist incidents in the United Kingdom in 1989
1980s murders in Northern Ireland
1989 crimes in Ireland
Improvised armoured fighting vehicles
Accidents and incidents involving helicopters