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.
See also
*
Belturbet bombing (1972)
*
1972 and 1973 Dublin bombings
Between 26 November 1972 and 20 January 1973, there were four paramilitary bombings in the centre of Dublin, Ireland. Three civilians were killed and 185 people were injured. No group ever claimed responsibility for the attacks and nobody was ...
(1972/3)
*
Dublin and Monaghan bombings (1974)
*
Donnelly's Bar and Kay's Tavern attacks (1975)
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