The Warrington bombings were two separate bomb attacks that took place during early 1993 in
Warrington, Cheshire
Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estima ...
, England. The first attack happened on 26 February, when a bomb exploded at a
gas storage facility. This first explosion caused extensive damage, but no injuries. While fleeing the scene, the bombers shot and injured a police officer and two of the bombers were caught following a high-speed car chase. The second attack happened on 20 March, when two smaller bombs exploded in litter bins outside shops and businesses on
Bridge Street. Two children were killed and a total of 56 people were injured.
The attacks were carried out 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 reun ...
(IRA). From the early 1970s, the IRA had been carrying out attacks in both
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 ...
and England with the stated goal of putting pressure on the UK Government to withdraw from Northern Ireland. The IRA is designated a terrorist organisation in the United Kingdom.
First attack
On the night of 25 February 1993, three IRA members planted bombs at the
gas holder
A gas holder or gasholder, also known as a gasometer, is a large container in which natural gas or town gas is stored near atmospheric pressure at ambient temperatures. The volume of the container follows the quantity of stored gas, with pressu ...
s on Winwick Road, Warrington. At 11:45 pm that night, a police officer stopped the three men in a van on Sankey Street. As he was questioning them, the IRA members shot him three times and sped off in the van.
["The gas works bombing – 20 years on"]
''Warrington Guardian
The ''Warrington Guardian'' is a local newspaper that has been published in Warrington, England, since 1853, originally published weekly on Saturdays.''The Literary and Educational Yearbook for 1859'', p. 287 In 1856 it was bought by Alexander Ma ...
'', 26 February 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013. About an hour later they hijacked a car in
Lymm
Lymm is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Warrington, Cheshire, England, which incorporates the hamlets of Booths Hill, Broomedge, Church Green, Deansgreen, Heatley, Heatley Heath, Little Heatley, Oughtrington, Reddish, Rushgreen and ...
, put the driver in the
boot
A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is cle ...
and drove off towards
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
.
[ At about 1 am police spotted the car and chased it along the ]M62 motorway
The M62 is a west–east trans-Pennine motorway in Northern England, connecting Liverpool and Hull via Manchester, Bradford, Leeds and Wakefield; of the route is shared with the M60 orbital motorway around Manchester. The road is part of ...
in the direction of Warrington. Shots were fired during the high-speed chase and two police vehicles were hit. Police stopped the car on the motorway near Croft
Croft may refer to:
Occupations
* Croft (land), a small area of land, often with a crofter's dwelling
* Crofting, small-scale food production
* Bleachfield, an open space used for the bleaching of fabric, also called a croft
Locations In the Uni ...
and arrested two of the IRA members: Páidric MacFhloinn (age 40) and Denis Kinsella (age 25). The third member, Michael Timmins, escaped.[ At 4:10 am on 26 February the bombs exploded at the gas holders, sending a fireball into the sky][ and causing extensive damage to the facility.][Hansard – Terrorist Incidents](_blank)
/ref> The emergency services arrived and evacuated about 100 people from their homes. There was much disruption to transport that morning as police set up roadblocks and trains were diverted away from Warrington.[
In 1994, MacFhloinn was sentenced to 35 years in prison and Kinsella to 25 years for their part in the bombing. John Kinsella (age 49) was sentenced to 20 years for possessing ]Semtex
Semtex is a general-purpose plastic explosive containing RDX and Pentaerythritol tetranitrate, PETN. It is used in commercial blasting, demolition, and in certain military applications.
Semtex was developed and manufactured in Czechoslovakia, or ...
explosives that he had hidden for the IRA unit.[
]
Second attack
Shortly before midday on Saturday, 20 March 1993, The Samaritans
Samaritans is a registered charity aimed at providing emotional support to anyone in emotional distress, struggling to cope or at risk of suicide throughout the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, often through its telephone helpline. ...
in Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
received a bomb warning by telephone. According to police, the caller said only that a bomb had been planted outside a Boots
A boot is a type of footwear.
Boot or Boots may also refer to:
Businesses
* Boot Inn, Chester, Cheshire, England
* Boots (company), a high-street pharmacy chain and manufacturer of pharmaceuticals in the United Kingdom
* The Boot, Cromer St ...
shop.["Rage at I.R.A. Grows in England As Second Boy Dies From a Bomb"]
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', 26 March 1993. Retrieved 19 March 2013.["IRA insists Warrington bomb alerts were given"]
''The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', 23 March 1993. Retrieved 19 March 2013. Merseyside Police
Merseyside Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Merseyside in North West England. The service area is 647 square kilometres with a population of around 1.5 million. As of September 2017 the service has 3,484 police of ...
sent officers to branches of Boots in Liverpool and warned the Cheshire Constabulary
Cheshire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the English unitary authorities of Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Borough of Halton and Borough of Warrington. The force is responsible for policing an are ...
, who patrolled nearby Warrington.[ About 30 minutes later, at about 12:25,]["May God forgive them, because we can't"](_blank)
''The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', 22 March 1993. Retrieved 19 March 2013.["Child, 4, dies in British bombing"](_blank)
''Record-Journal
The ''Record-Journal'' is an American daily newspaper based in Meriden, Connecticut, that dates back to the years immediately following the American Civil War. It is owned by the Record-Journal Publishing Company, a family-owned business enti ...
'' (from the ''Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
''). 21 March 1993. Retrieved 19 March 2013.["Outrage over death of boy in bombing a setback for the IRA"](_blank)
''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...
''. 23 March 1993. Retrieved 19 March 2013. two bombs exploded on Bridge Street in Warrington, about apart.[ The blasts happened within a minute of each other.] One exploded outside Boots and McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
,[ and one outside the ]Argos
Argos most often refers to:
* Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece
** Ancient Argos, the ancient city
* Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland
Argos or ARGOS may also refer to:
Businesses
...
catalogue store.[ The area was crowded with shoppers. Witnesses said that shoppers fled from the first explosion into the path of the second.][ It was later found that the bombs had been placed inside ]cast-iron
Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...
litter bin
A waste container, also known as a dustbin, garbage can, and trash can is a type of container that is usually made out of metal or plastic. The words "rubbish", "basket" and "bin" are more common in British English usage; "trash" and "can" a ...
s, causing large amounts of shrapnel
Shrapnel may refer to:
Military
* Shrapnel shell, explosive artillery munitions, generally for anti-personnel use
* Shrapnel (fragment), a hard loose material
Popular culture
* ''Shrapnel'' (Radical Comics)
* ''Shrapnel'', a game by Adam C ...
. Buses were organised to ferry people away from the scene and 20 paramedics and crews from 17 ambulances were sent to deal with the aftermath.[
Three-year-old Johnathan Ball died at the scene. He had been in town with his babysitter, shopping for a ]Mother's Day
Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in the ...
card.[ The second victim, 12-year-old Tim Parry, was gravely wounded. He died on 25 March 1993 when his life support machine was switched off, after tests had found only minimal brain activity.][ Another 54 people were injured, four of them seriously.] One of the survivors, 32-year-old Bronwen Vickers, the mother of two young daughters, had to have a leg amputated, and died just over a year later from cancer.
The Provisional IRA issued a statement the day after the bombing, acknowledging its involvement but saying:Responsibility for the tragic and deeply regrettable death and injuries caused in Warrington yesterday lies squarely at the door of those in the British authorities who deliberately failed to act on precise and adequate warnings.
A day later, an IRA spokesman said that "two precise warnings" had been given "in adequate time", one to the Samaritans and one to Merseyside Police. He added: "You don't provide warnings if it is your intention to kill". Cheshire's assistant chief constable denied there had been a second warning and said: Yes, a warning was given half-an-hour before, but no mention was made of Warrington. If the IRA think they can pass on their responsibility for this terrible act by issuing such a nonsensical statement, they have sadly underestimated the understanding of the British public.
A piece on BBC North West
BBC North West is the BBC English Region serving Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, North Yorkshire (western Craven), West Yorkshire (western Calderdale), Derbyshire (western High Peak), Cumbria (Barrow-in-Furness ...
's '' Inside Out'' programme in September 2013 speculated that the bombing may have been the work of a "rogue" IRA unit, which was supported by the IRA but operated independently and who used operatives who were from England to avoid suspicion. The programme also examined a possible link between the attack and British leftist political group Red Action
Red Action was a British leftist political group formed in 1981. It became known for violently confronting groups such as the British National Party on the streets, and for being the main organisational force behind Anti-Fascist Action. In 199 ...
, though nothing was ever proven.
Aftermath
The deaths of two young children ensured that the 20 March bombings received major coverage in the media[.] and caused widespread public anger. Shortly after the bombings, a group called "Peace '93" was set up in Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
. The main organiser was Susan McHugh, a Dublin housewife and mother. On 25 March 1993, thousands held a peace rally in Dublin. They signed a condolence book outside the General Post Office
The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Before the Acts of Union 1707, it was the postal system of the Kingdom of England, established by Charles II in 1660. ...
and laid bouquets and wreaths, with messages of sorrow and apology, to be taken to Warrington for the boys' funerals. Some criticised Peace '93 for focusing only on IRA violence and for not responding to the deaths of children in Northern Ireland.
On 24 March 1993, the Ulster Defence Association
The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) is an Ulster loyalism, Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 as an umbrella group for various loyalist groups and Timeline of Ulster Defence Association act ...
(UDA, a loyalist paramilitary group) shot dead a Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...
member 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 ...
. The next day, it shot dead four Catholic men (including an IRA member) in Castlerock
Castlerock is a seaside village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is five miles west of Coleraine, and part of Causeway Coast and Glens district. It is very popular with summer tourists, with numerous apartment blocks and two caravan ...
and hours later shot dead a 17-year-old Catholic civilian in Belfast. Roy Greenslade
Roy Greenslade (born 31 December 1946) is a British author and freelance journalist, and a former professor of journalism. He worked in the UK newspaper industry from the 1960s onwards. As a media commentator, he wrote a daily blog from 2006 to ...
wrote that, compared to the Warrington bombings, these deaths were "virtually ignored" by the media in Great Britain and he accused it of having a "hierarchy" of victims.
On 1 April 1993, the Irish Government
The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland.
The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The governm ...
announced measures designed to make extradition
Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdict ...
easier from the Republic of Ireland to the United Kingdom.
On 19 September 1994, Irish rock band The Cranberries
The Cranberries were an Irish rock band formed in Limerick, Ireland. Originally named the Cranberry Saw Us, the band were formed in 1989 by lead singer Niall Quinn, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler. Quinn was ...
released the song "Zombie
A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...
", which was written in protest at the bombings. The song went on to become their biggest hit.
On 14 November 1996, the Duchess of Kent
Duchess of Kent is the principal courtesy title used by the wife of the Duke of Kent. There have been four titles referring to Kent since the 18th century. The current duchess is Katharine, the wife of Prince Edward. He inherited the dukedom ...
officially inaugurated a memorial called The River of Life, depicting "a symbol of hope for future generations", in Bridge Street. It was developed in the aftermath of the bomb attack and commissioned by the Warrington Borough Council
Warrington Borough Council is the local authority of Warrington, Cheshire, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It provides a full range of local government services in ...
. The project, consisting of a symbolic water sculpture that features a commemorative plaque, was designed by local primary school and Stephen Broadbent.
The parents of Tim Parry set up the Tim Parry Trust Fund to promote greater understanding between Great Britain and Ireland. The Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace
The Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Peace Foundation (which changed its name from 'The Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace' in September 2017) is an educational peace charity based in United Kingdom (charity no.1048990). It was formed in 1995 ...
worked jointly with the NSPCC
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is a British child protection charity.
History
Victorian era
On a trip to New York in 1881, Liverpudlian businessman Thomas Agnew was inspired by a visit to the New Yor ...
to develop The Peace Centre, close to Warrington town centre, which opened on the seventh anniversary of the attack in 2000. Its purpose is to promote peace and understanding amongst all communities affected by conflict and violence. The centre hosts an annual peace lecture, as well as being home to the local NSPCC and Warrington Youth Club.
The bombings received further attention in 2019 after the Brexit Party
Reform UK is a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. It was founded with support from Nigel Farage in November 2018 as the Brexit Party, advocating hard Euroscepticism and a no-deal Brexit, and was bri ...
selected former ''Living Marxism
''Living Marxism'' was a British magazine originally launched in 1988 as the journal of the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP). Rebranded as ''LM'' in 1992, it ceased publication in March 2000 following a successful libel lawsuit brought by ...
'' writer Claire Fox
Claire Regina Fox, Baroness Fox of Buckley (born 5 June 1960), is a British writer, journalist, lecturer and politician who sits in the House of Lords as a non-affiliated life peer. She is the director and founder of the think tank Institute of ...
as their lead candidate in the North West
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
for the 2019 European Parliament election; the Revolutionary Communist Party, of which Fox was a leading member in 1993, defended the IRA's bombing in their party newsletter. Despite the controversy, which saw another Brexit Party candidate resign from the party list in protest at the comments, Fox and the Brexit Party topped the poll across the North West, including in Warrington.
The killing of Ball and Parry is still on Cheshire Police's list of unsolved murders.
Made for TV film
The events around the second bombing, with the killing of two children, and the efforts of the parents of Tim Parry and "Peace '93" and McHugh, were dramatised in the 2018 television film, ''Mother's Day'', starring Vicky McClure
Victoria Lee McClure (born 8 May 1983) is an English actress, model and presenter. She is known for her roles as Detective Inspector Kate Fleming in the BBC series '' Line of Duty'' (2012–present) and Lol Jenkins in Shane Meadows' film ''This ...
, Daniel Mays
Daniel Mays (born 31 March 1978) is an English actor.
Early life
Born in Epping, Essex, the third of four boys, Mays was brought up in Buckhurst Hill, Essex, by his electrician father and bank cashier mother. He attended the Italia Conti Acad ...
and Anna Maxwell Martin
Anna Maxwell Martin (born Anna Charlotte Martin; 27 May 1977),Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1984–2006 listed birth name as ''Anna Charlotte Martin''; Registration year 1977; Registration District Beverley, Yorkshire som ...
.
See also
* Chronology of the Northern Ireland Troubles and peace process
* Chronology of Provisional Irish Republican Army actions
Chronologies of Provisional Irish Republican Army actions detail activities by the Provisional Irish Republican Army, an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland and bring about an independent ...
References
External links
Contemporary news article
detailing the outrage expressed by citizens of Dublin in response to the Warrington bomb attacks
Memorial service in 2008 for the victims
The Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace
BBC: IRA campaign in England
{{Authority control
1993 in England
1993 murders in the United Kingdom
1990s in Cheshire
Explosions in 1993
February 1993 crimes
February 1993 events in Europe
Bomb
A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the Exothermic process, exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-t ...
March 1993 crimes
March 1993 events in the United Kingdom
Murder in Cheshire
Provisional IRA bombings in England
Terrorist incidents in the United Kingdom in 1993
Unsolved murders in England