The Droppin Well bombing or Ballykelly bombing occurred on 6 December 1982, when the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) detonated a time bomb at a

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric p ...

in Ballykelly, County Londonderry,

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

. The disco, known as the Droppin Well, was targeted because it was frequented by

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 Gurkha ...

soldiers from nearby Shackleton Barracks. The bomb killed 17 people: eleven soldiers and six civilians, while dozens more were wounded. It was the deadliest attack during the INLA's paramilitary campaign and one of the deadliest bombings of

The Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...

Attack

The bomb was made by the INLA in nearby Derry. One of those involved later revealed that the INLA unit had carried out

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops ( skirmishe ...

missions to the Droppin Well to see if there were enough soldiers to justify the likelihood of civilian casualties. On the evening of 6 December 1982, an INLA member left a bomb inside the pub. There were about 150 people inside."Emotional reminder of Droppin' Well bombing"
. ''

Irish News 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 ...

''. 5 December 2002. Retrieved 7 April 2011. The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) believed that the bomb, estimated to be of

commercial (Frangex) explosives Gelignite (), also known as blasting gelatin or simply "jelly", is an explosive material consisting of collodion-cotton (a type of nitrocellulose or guncotton) dissolved in either nitroglycerine or nitroglycol and mixed with wood pulp and saltpe ...

, was small enough to fit into a handbag. It had, however, been left beside a support pillar and, when it exploded at about 23:15, the blast brought down the roof. Many of those killed and injured were crushed by fallen masonry.Chronology of the Conflict: December 1982

Conflict Archive on the Internet CAIN (Conflict Archive on the Internet) is a database containing information about Conflict and Politics in Northern Ireland from 1968 to the present. The project began in 1996, with the website launching in 1997. The project is based within ...

(CAIN) Following the blast, it took a few hours to pull survivors from the rubble. The last survivor was freed at 04:00, but it was not until 10:30 that the last of the bodies was recovered. Ultimately, 17 people died (11 soldiers, six civilians) and about 30 were injured, some seriously. Five of the civilians were young women and three (Alan Callaghan, Valerie McIntyre and Angela Maria Hoole) were teenagers. Angela Hoole was celebrating her engagement to one of the soldiers who survived the incident. Of the eleven soldiers who died, eight were from the 1st Battalion Cheshire Regiment, two from the Army Catering Corps and one from the

Light Infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often foug ...

. One of those on the scene was Bob Stewart, then a company commander in the Cheshire Regiment. He lost six soldiers from his company and was deeply affected as he tended to the dead and injured.

Aftermath

Suspicion immediately fell upon 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 reu ...

(IRA), who denied involvement. By 8 December, the British Army was blaming the INLA on grounds that the IRA, in a mixed village, would have made greater efforts not to risk killing civilians. Shortly afterwards, the INLA issued a statement of responsibility:

We believe that it is only attacks of such a nature that bring it home to people in Britain and the British establishment. The shooting of an individual soldier, for the people of Britain, has very little effect in terms of the media or in terms of the British administration.

The INLA also described the civilians killed as " consorts". The attack was criticised by many on both sides of the conflict in Northern Ireland due to the high loss of civilian lives. Soon after the INLA had issued its statement, the government of the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...

banned the INLA, making membership punishable by seven years imprisonment. In an interview after the bombing, INLA leader

Dominic McGlinchey Dominic "Mad Dog" McGlinchey (1954 – 10 February 1994) was an Irish republican paramilitary leader, who moved from the Provisional IRA to become head of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) paramilitary group in the early 1980s. McGlin ...

said that the Droppin Well's owner had been warned six times to stop offering entertainment to British soldiers. McGlinchey added that the owner, and those who socialised with the soldiers, "knew full well that the warnings had been given and that the place was going to be bombed at some stage". It later emerged that the INLA may also have targeted Ballykelly because it believed that the military base was part of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

's radar and communications network."INLA almost called off attack"
. ''

''. 8 December 2007. Retrieved 7 April 2011. Six days after the bombing, RUC officers shot dead INLA members

Seamus Grew Seamus Grew (July 1951 – 12 December 1982) was a volunteer in the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) who, along with Roddy Carroll, was killed in controversial circumstances by police officers from the Special Support Unit E4A of the Royal ...

and Roddie Carroll near a vehicle checkpoint in

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the ...

. The officers said they believed that the two men were ferrying McGlinchey into Northern Ireland. Neither was armed, nor was McGlinchey in their car.

Convictions

In June 1986, four INLA members (sisters Anna Moore and Helena Semple, Eamon Moore (no blood relation) and Patrick Shotter) received

life sentence Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes ...

s for the attack. Anna Moore would later marry loyalist Bobby Corry, whilst both were in prison. Anna's daughter, Jacqueline Moore, was given ten years for manslaughter as the court believed she had been coerced into involvement. She was pregnant during her arrest and later gave birth in jail. All of those convicted were from Derry.

References

{{The Troubles 1982 in Northern Ireland 1982 murders in the United Kingdom 1980s in County Londonderry 1980s trials 20th-century mass murder in Northern Ireland Attacks on buildings and structures in 1982 Attacks on nightclubs Building bombings in Northern Ireland December 1982 crimes December 1982 events in the United Kingdom Explosions in County Londonderry Improvised explosive device bombings in 1982 Irish National Liberation Army actions Mass murder in 1982 Mass murder in County Londonderry Massacres in Northern Ireland Military history of County Londonderry Murder trials Terrorist incidents in County Londonderry Terrorist incidents in the United Kingdom in 1982 1980s murders in Northern Ireland 1982 crimes in Ireland The Troubles in County Londonderry Trials in the United Kingdom

Attack

Aftermath

Convictions

See also

References