The South Armagh Republican Action Force shortened simply to the Republican Action Force for a small number of attacks 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 ...
was an
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 ...
paramilitary group that was active from September 1975 to April 1977 during
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. Its area of activity was mainly the southern part of
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 ...
. According to writers such as Ed Moloney and
Richard English
Richard Ludlow English (born 1963) is a Northern Irish historian and political scientist from Northern Ireland. He was born in Belfast.
He studied as an undergraduate at Keble College, Oxford, and subsequently at Keele University, where he w ...
, it was a
cover name used by some members of the
Provisional IRA South Armagh Brigade
The South Armagh Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) operated during the Troubles in south County Armagh. It was organised into two battalions, one around Jonesborough and another around Crossmaglen. By the 1990s, the South Ar ...
. The journalist
Jack Holland, alleged that members 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 ...
(INLA) were also involved in the group. During the same time that the South Armagh Republican Action Force was active the INLA carried out at least one sectarian attack that killed Protestant civilians using the covername "
Armagh People's Republican Army". According to Malcolm Sutton's database at
CAIN
Cain ''Káïn''; ar, قابيل/قايين, Qābīl/Qāyīn is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He wa ...
, the South Armagh Republican Action Force was responsible for 24 deaths during the conflict, all of whom were classified as civilians.
Background
On 10 February 1975, 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 ...
and British government entered into a truce and restarted negotiations. The IRA agreed to halt attacks on British security forces, and the security forces mostly ended its raids and searches.
[Extracts from ''The Longest War: Northern Ireland and the IRA'' by Kevin J. Kelley]
Zed Books Ltd, 1988. 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 Ul ...
(CAIN) However, there were dissenters on both sides. Some Provisionals wanted no part of the truce, while British commanders resented being told to stop their operations against the IRA just when—they claimed—they had the Provisionals on the run.
[ The security forces boosted their intelligence offensive during the truce and thoroughly infiltrated the IRA.][
There was a rise in sectarian killings during the truce, which 'officially' lasted until early 1976. ]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, fearing they were about to be forsaken by the British government and forced into a united Ireland,[Taylor, Peter (1999). ''Loyalists''. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. p.142] increased their attacks on Catholics. Loyalists killed 120 Catholics in 1975, the vast majority civilians. They hoped to force the IRA to retaliate and thus hasten an end to the truce. Under orders not to engage the security forces, some IRA units concentrated on tackling the loyalists. The fall-off of regular operations had caused serious problems of internal discipline and some IRA members, with or without permission from higher up, engaged in tit-for-tat killings.[ INLA members, and current or former members of the ]Official IRA
The Official Irish Republican Army or Official IRA (OIRA; ) was an Irish republican paramilitary group whose goal was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a "workers' republic" encompassing all of Ireland. It emerged ...
, were also allegedly involved.[
]
Tullyvallen attack
On 1 September 1975, a few days after two Catholic civilians were shot dead a short distance way in Altnamackan, the South Armagh Republican Action Force claimed responsibility for a gun attack on Tullyvallen Orange Hall Orange Hall may refer to:
;in Ireland
* Orange Institution
The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protes ...
near Newtownhamilton
Newtownhamilton is a small town and civil parish in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It lies predominantly within Tullyvallan townland. The civil parish is within the historic barony of Fews Upper. In the 2011 Census it had 2,836 inhabitants.
...
, County Armagh. The attack happened at about 10 pm, when a group of Orangemen were holding a meeting inside.[McKittrick, David. ''Lost Lives''. Mainstream Publishing, 1999. p.572] A number of the Orangemen were members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and British Army and were armed. Two gunmen entered the hall and sprayed it with bullets while another stood outside and shot through a window. One of the Orangemen was an off-duty 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) officer. He returned fire with a pistol and believed he hit one of the attackers. Five of the Orangemen, all civilians, were killed while seven others were wounded. The attackers planted a bomb outside the hall but it failed to detonate. A caller to the BBC claimed responsibility for the attack and said it was in retaliation for "the assassinations of fellow Catholics in Belfast". Shortly after, the Orange Order called for the creation of a legal militia
A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
(or "Home Guard") to deal with republican paramilitaries.
Kingsmill attack
On 5 January 1976, the Force claimed responsibility for 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 ...
. In that attack, its members stopped a minibus
A minibus, microbus, minicoach, or commuter (in Zimbabwe) is a passenger-carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, th ...
near Kingsmill in County Armagh and shot 11 Protestant men who were travelling in it. 10 men died; one survived despite being shot 18 times.[1976: Ten dead in Northern Ireland ambush](_blank)
BBC News. Four of the dead belonged to the Orange Order
The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants, particularly those of Ulster Scots heritage. It also ...
.["In Memory"](_blank)
Armagh County Grand Orange Lodge website. Up to eleven gunmen reportedly took part in the massacre and were led by a man "with a pronounced English accent". The group's spokesman stated that the attack was in retaliation for the killing of six Catholics the night before and that there would be "no further action on our part" if loyalists stopped their attacks. He also claimed the group had no connection with the PIRA.
In contrast, a 2011 Historical Enquiries Team investigation into the incident determined that 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 ...
volunteers were responsible for the attack despite the organisation being on an official ceasefire, and found that the victims had been targeted because of their religion.
List of attacks claimed by the South Armagh Republican Action Force/Republican Action Force
At least 26 known people were killed by the SARAF/RAF between 1975 and 1977.
1975
*1 September: Five Protestant civilians died and seven were injured as a result of an attack on an Orange Hall in Newtownhamilton, County Armagh. Responsibility for the attack was claimed by the South Armagh Republican Action Force.
1976
*5 January: Ten Protestant civilians were killed by the Republican Action Force (RAF), in an attack on their minibus at Kingsmills, near Bessbrook, County Armagh. The men were returning from work when their minibus was stopped by a bogus security checkpoint.
*17 May: The Republican Action Force claimed responsibility for shooting dead two Protestant civilians 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, ...
. They claimed the attack was in response to a Loyalist bombing in a pub named Clancey's Bar in Charlemont in Armagh which killed three Catholic civilians.
*25 June: Three Protestant civilians were shot dead during a gun attack on The Store Bar, Lyle Hill Road, Templepatrick, County Antrim. The attack was carried out by a group called the Republican Action Force (RAF), believed to be a covername for some members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
*30 July: Four Protestant civilians died as a result of a gun attack on the Stag Inn, Belvoir, Belfast. The attack was carried out by the Republican Action Force.
1977
*2 April: Protestant civilian Hughe Clarke was found shot dead in Tullymacreeve near Forkill, County Armagh. The Republican Action Force (RAF) claimed responsibility.
*21 April: Protestant civilian Brian Smith (24) was found shot dead at the corner of Snugville Street and Queensland Street, Shankill, 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 ...
References
{{IRAs
1975 in Northern Ireland
1976 in Northern Ireland
1977 in Northern Ireland
Irish National Liberation Army
Irish republican militant groups
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Troubles in County Armagh