The Red Lion Pub bombing was a bomb attack on 2 November 1971 in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

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 ...

. Planted by the

Provisional IRA The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, fa ...

, it exploded in the Red Lion pub on

Ormeau Road Ormeau Road is a road in south Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland. Ormeau Park is adjacent to it. It forms part of the A24. History The road, as currently laid out, dates from the first decades of the 19th century when a bridge was built ...

, killing three people and injuring about 30 others. The IRA members had given customers less than ten seconds to flee the building. Police said the target was the neighbouring

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) station.

Background

Since the introduction of

internment Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

in August 1971,

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 ...

in Northern Ireland intensified. Along with IRA attacks against 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 ...

and

(RUC), attacks on pubs by

republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

and

loyalists 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 Cr ...

began. On 20 September, a bomb exploded outside the Bluebell Bar in the

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

Sandy Row Sandy Row () is a large inner city estate in south Belfast, Northern Ireland. It lends its name to the surrounding residential community, which is predominantly Protestant working-class. The Sandy Row area had a population of 2,153 in 2001; in 2 ...

area of Belfast, injuring 27 people; none of them seriously. On 29 September, an IRA bomb exploded in the Four Step Inn on the Protestant Shankill area of Belfast, killing two men. The

Ulster Volunteer Force The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group. Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former British Army soldier from Northern Ireland. The group undertook an armed campaig ...

(UVF) retaliated a week later, bombing a pub on the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Falls Road in Belfast. The UVF wanted to kill Catholics but instead killed Winifred Maxwell (45), a Protestant woman.Aaron Edwards - UVF: Behind The Mask pp.44

Bombing

At around 4:25pm on Tuesday 2 November, three IRA members entered the Red Lion pub, beside Ballynafeigh RUC station on the

in Belfast. Two of them planted a bomb while the other guarded them with a gun. Before leaving the pub, one of the IRA men shouted "you have ten seconds to get out". Some customers ran out the front door, but others who tried to leave by the side door found it had been locked for security reasons. The bomb exploded only about six seconds after the warning. The walls collapsed and the roof fell in; around thirty people were injured and many of them were buried under rubble. Three

civilians were killed: John Cochrane (67), Mary Gemmell (55), and William Jordan (31), who died two days later. At the same time, another bomb exploded in a shop on the other side of the RUC station. The ''

Belfast Telegraph The ''Belfast Telegraph'' is a daily newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by Independent News & Media. Its editor is Eoin Brannigan. Reflecting its unionist tradition, the paper has historically been "favoured by the Protestant po ...

'' reported: "There is no doubt in the minds of police that the police station was the target ..both bombs were placed against the inner walls of the pub and the shop in an attempt to bring down the station on top of the RUC men inside". An RUC spokesman added: "even if they did miscalculate the fuse of the bomb, ten seconds was certainly not nearly enough to allow everyone to get out".

References

{{The Troubles 1971 in Northern Ireland 1971 murders in the United Kingdom Attacks on bars in Northern Ireland Attacks on buildings and structures in 1971 Attacks on buildings and structures in Belfast Building bombings in Northern Ireland Improvised explosive device bombings in 1971 Murder in Belfast November 1971 crimes November 1971 events in the United Kingdom The Troubles in Belfast Terrorist incidents in Belfast Terrorist incidents in the United Kingdom in 1971 1970s murders in Northern Ireland

Background

Bombing

See also

References