The Troubles in Bessbrook recounts incidents during and the effects 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 " ...

Bessbrook Bessbrook is a village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It lies about three miles (5 km) northwest of Newry and near the Newry bypass on the main A1 Belfast-Dublin road and Belfast-Dublin railway line. Today the village of Bessbrook str ...

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 an ...

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 ...

. Bessbrook saw some of the worst violence in the Troubles. 25 British soldiers and local Protestants, all male, lost their lives. Four soldiers died in a non-combat related air accident, but the rest (21 men) were killed by 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). The linen mill was converted by 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 ...

into a major military base. A helicopter landing area was established to supply other military outposts in the area since road-borne movements of troops and supplies were vulnerable to landmine attack. At one stage the little village was reportedly the busiest helicopter airport in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, more so than the major heliports supplying the

North Sea oil North Sea oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons, comprising liquid petroleum and natural gas, produced from petroleum reservoirs beneath the North Sea. In the petroleum industry, the term "North Sea" often includes areas such as the Norwegian Sea ...

rigs. For many years British Army helicopters would take off and land every few minutes. To avoid the risk of

missile In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocke ...

attack they would fly at rooftop level over the village. For a time, direct access to much of the village was sealed off by security barriers to minimise the risk of vehicle-borne bomb attacks on the security forces. Some have claimed that this contributed to the commercial decline of local businesses. Incidents in Bessbrook during the Troubles:

1975

*4 June 1975 - Francis Jordan (21), a member of 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 ...

, was shot dead by the

while planting a bomb at the Pit Bar, Mill Vale, Bessbrook.

1976

*5 January 1976 - John McConville (20), Walter Chapman (23), Reginald Chapman (25), Joseph Lemon (46), James McWhirter (58), Kenneth Wharton (24), Robert Chambers (19), John Bryans (46), Robert Freeburn (50) and Robert Walker (46), all

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

civilian Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not " combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant ...

s, were shot dead by 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 ...

(a cover name used by the IRA) shortly after their firm's minibus was stopped at a bogus vehicle check point at Kingsmills, near Bessbrook and Whitecross, while travelling home from work at the textiles factory in Glenanne. The men were ordered to state their religious denomination. The driver, a

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 ...

, was released, while the passengers, all Protestant, were shot with automatic weapons. Ten died at the scene and one man (Alan Black) survived despite being struck eighteen times. For more information see

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 ...

1979

*17 April 1979 - Paul Gray (25), Robert Lockhart (44), Richard Baird (28) and Noel Webb (30), all Protestant members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), were killed by a Provisional IRA remote-controlled bomb hidden in a parked van, and detonated when their mobile patrol drove past, Bessbrook. The bomb was estimated at 1,000 pound and was believed to be the largest bomb used by the IRA up to that date. In January 1981, Patrick Joseph Traynor (27) from

Crossmaglen Crossmaglen (, ) is a village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,610 in the 2011 Census and is the largest village in South Armagh. The village centre is the site of a large Police Service of Northern Ire ...

was found guilty of the four murders and a range of other charges. He was jailed for life on each of the four murder charges and was sentenced to 12 years for the related crimes.

1981

*19 May 1981 - Andrew Gavin (19), Paul Bulman (19), Michael Bagshaw (25), John King (20) and Grenville Winstone (27), all members of the British Army, were killed in a Provisional Irish Republican Army land mine attack on their

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...

armoured personnel carrier on the Chancellors Road near Bessbrook.

1993

*1 March 1993 - The RUC barracks was struck by a

barrack buster Barrack buster is the colloquial name given to several improvised mortars, developed in the 1990s by the engineering unit of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). The improvised mortar properly called "barrack buster" - known to the British ...

mortar. There were no fatalities, although four people were injured, and extensive damage was caused to some fifty homes and the neighbouring Anglican church.

1997

*12 February 1997 - British Army Lance Bombardier Stephen Restorick (23) was killed by a Provisional Irish Republican Army sniper's bullet while manning a vehicle checkpoint on Green Road, Bessbrook. He was the last British soldier killed in Northern Ireland during The Troubles.

References

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