On 7 March 1976 a car bomb exploded outside the Three Star Inn pub, in Castleblayney, County Monaghan, killing one man and injuring 17 other people. The attack has been attributed to the

Glenanne gang The Glenanne gang or Glenanne group was a secret informal alliance of Ulster loyalists who carried out shooting and bombing attacks against Catholics and Irish nationalists in the 1970s, during the Troubles.

Background

Since at least 5 August 1969, Ulster loyalists had been planting bombs across the

Irish border Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

in the

Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

, most of them had been planted by the Ulster Volunteer Force, a few had been planted by the

Ulster Freedom Fighters The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 as an umbrella group for various loyalist groups and undertook an armed campaign of almost 24 years as one of t ...

of the UDA, and at least one by the Ulster Protestant Volunteers (UPV). These early bombs were small and only did small structural damage to a certain target. The worst of these bombings happened in May 1974 when 34 people were killed and 300 injured in the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. On 14 February 1976, a month before the bomb at Castleblayney, a UVF bomb exploded in the main street of the small border town of Swanlinbar in

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is base ...

. There were no injuries.

Bombing

At around 8.20 pm a car bomb, for which no warning had been given, exploded outside the Three Star Inn in Castleblayney, killing 56 year-old Patrick (Packie) Mone instantly. Patrick had a wife called Anna and was a bicycle-mechanic. Despite prompt medical attention, he died on his way to hospital in the ambulance. Additionally, 17 people were injured in the blast which caused much damage in the immediate vicinity. Loyalist and Glenanne gang member John Weir claimed Mone was not the intended target, the 8.20 pm Derry-Dublin bus which usually ran like clock-work was the intended target but it was late by about two minutes. Weir also claimed that the attack was carried out by RUC officer Laurence McClure and UDR soldier Robert McConnell, using explosives provided by UDR Captain John Irwin and stored beforehand at James Mitchell's farmhouse. A memorial to Patrick Mone was erected near the site of the bombing in Castleblayney.

After the bombing

On the 17 March, 10 days after the Castleblaney bombing, the Glenanne gang carried out another car bomb attack in the

Hillcrest Bar bombing The Hillcrest Bar bombing, also known as the "Saint Patrick's Day bombing", took place on 17 March 1976 in Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a loyalist paramilitary group, detonated a car bomb outs ...

which killed four more people (including two 13 year olds) and injured 50.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castleblayney bombing Improvised explosive device bombings in the Republic of Ireland 1976 murders in the Republic of Ireland British military scandals Car and truck bombings in the Republic of Ireland Crime in County Monaghan Explosions in 1976 False flag operations History of County Monaghan 1976 crimes March 1976 events March 1976 events in Europe People killed by security forces during The Troubles (Northern Ireland) Terrorist incidents in Europe in 1976 Terrorist incidents in the Republic of Ireland in the 1970s Ulster Defence Regiment Ulster Volunteer Force actions Attacks on bars in Europe Building bombings in Europe

Background

Bombing

After the bombing

See also

References