The Strand Bar Bombing was a bomb attack on a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

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 Kingdom ...

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 ...

on 12 April 1975, 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 " ...

. 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 campaign ...

(UVF), a loyalist paramilitary group, threw an improvised bomb into a pub frequented by Catholics in the

Short Strand The Short Strand ( ga, an Trá Ghearr) is a working class, inner city area of Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is a mainly Catholic and Irish nationalist enclave surrounded by the mainly Protestant and unionist East Belfast. It is on the east ba ...

neighbourhood, killing six civilians and injuring about fifty others. It took place during a spate of tit-for-tat attacks by loyalists and Irish republican paramilitaries. The attack was claimed by the UVF unit known as the

Red Hand Commando The Red Hand Commando (RHC) is a small Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland that is closely linked to the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). Its aim was to combat Irish republicanism – particularly the Irish Republican Army (IR ...

(RHC).

Background

In February 1975, 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) and British government entered into a truce and restarted negotiations. The IRA agreed to halt attacks on the British security forces, and the security forces mostly ended their 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). There was a rise in sectarian killings during the truce, however

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 Cro ...

, fearing they were about to be forsaken by the British government and forced into a

united Ireland United Ireland, also referred to as Irish reunification, is the proposition that all of Ireland should be a single sovereign state. At present, the island is divided politically; the sovereign Republic of Ireland has jurisdiction over the maj ...

,Taylor, Peter (1999). ''Loyalists''. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. p.142 so the UVF, UDA & RHC all increased their attacks on Catholics and Irish nationalists including carrying out more Pub bombings.Taylor, Peter. ''Brits: The War Against the IRA''. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2001. p.182 They hoped to force the IRA to retaliate and thus end the truce. On 5 April, a week before the Strand Bar attack, the UVF bombed McLaughlin's Bar, killing two Catholic civilians. In retaliation, republicans bombed the Mountainview Tavern later that day, killing five Protestants using the name

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 ...

Bombing

The Strand Bar was in the

, a small Catholic enclave in the mainly-Protestant East Belfast. At 8:12pm on 12 April, UVF members threw an improvised bomb into the crowded pub. They stuck a wooden plank through the door handle to prevent anyone escaping, and witnesses said the bombers laughed and jeered as they did so, before speeding off in a car. One man threw a stool through the glass door of the pub but was unable to escape before the bomb exploded. The blast killed four women and a man outright, and another man died of his wounds a week later. The victims were all local Catholic civilians: Mary McAleavey (57), Elizabeth Carson (64), Marie Bennett (42), Agnes McAnoy (62), Arthur Penn (33) and Michael Mulligan (33).

Aftermath

Twenty minutes later, Protestant civilian Stafford Mateer was driving his car nearby when he was shot in an apparent revenge attack. He died of his wounds two days later. The bombing was claimed by the "Ulster Young Militants", a name used by the

Ulster Defence Association The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 as an umbrella group for various loyalist groups and undertook an armed campaign of almost 24 years as one of t ...

(UDA). However, in September 1975, a 31-year-old UVF member was charged with the murders. As he sat in the dock during one hearing, the teenage son of one of the victims "walked up to him and punched him in the face". The teenager was arrested and the magistrate fined him £10. During the trial, the prosecution relied heavily on the evidence of a witness referred to as 'Mr X', who claimed to have seen the accused driving the bombers' getaway car. The UVF member was acquitted of murder, the judge saying that "the certainty required for conviction is missing".

References

{{Authority control Mass murder in 1975 Ulster Volunteer Force actions The Troubles in Belfast Improvised explosive device bombings in Northern Ireland 1975 in Northern Ireland Massacres in Northern Ireland Terrorist incidents in the United Kingdom in 1975 1970s murders in Northern Ireland 1975 crimes in Ireland April 1975 events in the United Kingdom Building bombings in Northern Ireland Attacks on bars in Northern Ireland

Background

Bombing

Aftermath

See also

References