The Charlemont pub attacks were co-ordinated militant Loyalist paramilitary attacks on two

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

s in the small village of Charlemont, County Armagh,

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, carried out by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) on the 15 May 1976. The attacks have 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.

which was a coalition of

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...

Loyalist paramilitaries and subversive members inside the

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), the

Ulster Defense Regiment The Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) was an infantry regiment of the British Army established in 1970, with a comparatively short existence ending in 1992. Raised through public appeal, newspaper and television advertisements,Potter p25 their offi ...

(UDR) and the

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 ...

Background

Since late 1975 there had been a number of deadly sectarian attacks carried out by both

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 ...

and

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

paramilitaries in

County Armagh County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and ha ...

. On 15 December, 17 year old Catholic civilian Ronald Trainor, a member of the

Irish Republican Socialist Party The Irish Republican Socialist Party or IRSP ( ga, Páirtí Poblachtach Sóisialach na hÉireann) is a Marxist-Leninist and republican party in Ireland. It is often referred to as the "political wing" of the Irish National Liberation Army (I ...

(believed to be the political wing of the

Irish National Liberation Army The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA, ga, Arm Saoirse Náisiúnta na hÉireann) is an Irish republican socialist paramilitary group formed on 10 December 1974, during the 30-year period of conflict known as "the Troubles". The group seek ...

), was killed by the UVF in Portadown. On the 19 December 1975 the Loyalist

Red Hand Commando The Red Hand Commando (RHC) is a small Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland that is closely linked to the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). Its aim was to combat Irish republicanism – particularly the Irish Republican Army (IRA ...

claimed responsibility for killing three Catholic civilians in a pub in

Silverbridge, County Armagh Silverbridge is a small village in the townland of Legmoylin in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is within the Newry and Mourne District Council area. In the 2011 Census it had a recorded population of 112. The local GAA club is Silverbri ...

. On the 31 December the

using the covername "Armagh People's Republican Army" killed three Protestant civilians when they bombed a pub near Portadown. At the start of January 1976 Loyalists gunmen killed six Catholic civilians in a double attack in

. The next day a group calling itself the

South Armagh Republican Action Force The South Armagh Republican Action Force shortened simply to the Republican Action Force for a small number of attacks in Belfast was an Irish republican paramilitary group that was active from September 1975 to April 1977 during the Troubles in ...

killed 10 Protestant civilian workmen in what became known as the

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 s ...

Attacks

Locals claimed that the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) had been patrolling the village for a number of nights beforehand, but were absent the night of the attacks. On the night of the 15 May 1976 at around 10:50 pm the Eagles Bar in Charlemont in Armagh was sprayed with gunfire from a Sten

submachine gun A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine-fed, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to describe its design concept as an autom ...

, four people had been hit and injured in the attack. Probably more would have been injured but the owner of the bar placed security shutters on the windows in case of an attack. One of those who was injured was Fred McLoughlin (47) who died two weeks later in hospital from his injuries. Almost instantly after the gunfire had stopped a loud bang was heard, this was the bomb that had gone off at Clancy's bar only a short distance away. The bomb had been placed at the front of the pubs door by the UVF unit and exploded right after the attack on the other pub had ended. The force of the blast brought the ceiling crashing down on the people inside the pub. Three people were killed in this bomb attack including Sean O'Hagan (22), Robert McCullough (41) and the pubs owner Felix "Vincy" Clancy (54) the pubs owner who had only just returned from the Eagle Bar a few minutes earlier. About 15 people had been injured in the attack, some of them seriously. On the same day as the Charlemont attacks the members of the UVF's Belfast Brigade carried out another bomb attack on a public house, called the Avenue Bar, on Union Street in the city center of Belfast killing two more Catholic civilians in the process. This brought the total to six dead Catholic civilians killed by the UVF for the day.

Aftermath

A member of the British Territorial Army Gerald Beattie and British UDR soldier David Kane were convicted of the shooting at the Eagle's Bar, and a RUC reservist Joseph Lutton for the bombing at Clancy's Bar, although Lutton named Beattie and Kane as having also taken part in the bombing at Clancy's they were given no further time on to their sentences or even interviewed about the bombing. Two days after the Charlemont attacks the Republican Action Force claimed responsibility for killing Protestant civilians Robert and Thomas Dobson in

Moy, County Tyrone Moy () is a village and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland about southeast of Dungannon and beside the smaller village of Charlemont, County Armagh, Charlemont. Charlemont is on the east bank of the River Blackwater, Northern Ireland, ...

, apparently in retaliation for the 15 May pub attacks.Anne Cadwallader - Lethal Allies: British Collusion In Ireland pp.14

References

{{Ulster Volunteer Force 1976 crimes in the United Kingdom 1976 in Northern Ireland Terrorist incidents in the United Kingdom in 1976 1976 murders in Ireland Mass murder in 1976 May 1976 events in the United Kingdom 1976 mass shootings in Europe 1976 murders in the United Kingdom 1970s murders in Northern Ireland 1976 building bombings 1970s mass shootings in the United Kingdom Terrorist incidents in Ireland in the 1970s 20th-century mass murder in Northern Ireland Building bombings in Northern Ireland Terrorist incidents in Northern Ireland Deaths by firearm in Northern Ireland People killed by security forces during The Troubles (Northern Ireland) People killed by the Ulster Volunteer Force Police misconduct in Northern Ireland Spree shootings in Northern Ireland Attacks on bars in Northern Ireland Royal Ulster Constabulary The Troubles in County Armagh

Background

Attacks

Aftermath

See also

References