1997 Coalisland attack
1997 Coalisland attack | |||||||
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Part of the Troubles and Operation Banner | |||||||
Coalisland approaching from the east, with the former RUC base's radio masts in the background | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Provisional IRA Coalisland residents | |||||||
Strength | |||||||
2 IRA members[1] | 12 SAS soldiers | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
1 suspect wounded | None | ||||||
2 civilians wounded by the RUC | |||||||
On the evening of 26 March 1997, the
Previous incidents
Coalisland is a town in County Tyrone that had a tradition of militant republicanism; five residents had been killed by British security forces before the first IRA ceasefire in 1994.[3] In February 1992, four IRA volunteers were killed in a gun battle with the SAS during their escape after a machine gun attack on the RUC/British Army barracks there.[4] Three months later, an IRA bomb attack on a British Army patrol at Cappagh, in which a paratrooper lost his legs, triggered a series of clashes between local residents and British troops on 12 and 17 May. A number of civilians and soldiers were injured, a soldier's backpack radio destroyed and two British weapons stolen.[5] The meleé was followed by a 500-strong protest in the town and bitter exchanges between Republic of Ireland and British officials.[6] Further scuffles between civilians and soldiers were reported in the town on 6 March 1994.[7]
Incident at the RUC base
Bomb attack
At 9:40 pm on Wednesday 26 March 1997, a grenade[1] was thrown at the joint British Army/RUC base at Coalisland, blowing a hole in the perimeter fence. The RUC reported that a 1 kg device hit the fence 10 feet (3.0 m) off the ground.[2] Another source claimed that the device was a coffee-jar bomb filled with Semtex.[8] The grenade was thrown or fired[9] by two unidentified men.[1] At the time of the attack, there was an art exhibition at Coalisland Heritage Hall, also known as The Mill, from where the explosion and the gunshots that followed were clearly heard. The incident lasted one to two minutes.[10]
Undercover operation
Just one minute after the IRA attack, bypassers heard high-velocity rounds buzzing around them.
Three minutes after the blast, hundreds of angry residents gathered at the scene and confronted the undercover soldiers. The soldiers fired live rounds at the ground[10] and into the air to keep people back.[2] The crowd kept drawing back and moving forward again[10] until 9:50, when the RUC arrived and began firing plastic bullets at the protesters. Two women were wounded by plastic bullets[2] and the undercover soldiers then fled in unmarked cars, setting off crackers or fireworks at the same time.[2][10] Sinn Féin councillor Francie Molloy claimed that the protesters forced the SAS to withdraw, saving Doris's life in the process. Witnesses allegedly feared an undercover soldier brandishing a pistol would have killed the wounded Doris with a shot to his head.[11]
Afterward, hundreds of residents were forced to leave their homes as security forces searched the area near the base.
Aftermath
The attack—along with two large bombings the same day in
Gareth Doris was admitted to South Tyrone Hospital in Dungannon,[9] where he was arrested after undergoing surgery. He was later transferred to Musgrave Park military hospital in Belfast.[1] Doris was later convicted for involvement in the bombing and sentenced to ten years in jail, before being released in 2000 under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.[18] Gareth was the cousin of Tony Doris, an IRA member killed in an SAS ambush in the nearby village of Coagh on 3 June 1991 and a cousin of Sinn Féin leader Michelle O'Neill.[19] According to Sinn Féin councillor Brendan Doris, another cousin of Gareth, "He absolutely denies being involved in terrorist activity of any description". Amnesty International raised its concerns over the shooting[10] and the fact that no warning was given beforehand.[20]
On 5 July 1997, on the eve of the
See also
- Chronology of Provisional Irish Republican Army actions (1990–1999)
- Provisional IRA East Tyrone Brigade
- 1992 Coalisland riots
- Clonoe ambush
Notes
- ^ a b c d e Cousin of bomb suspect was top provo; But gun victim denies being a terrorist by Conor Hanna. Daily Mirror, 28 March 1997
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "How Elite Squad Pounced" by Conor Hanna. Daily Mirror, 28 March 1997
- ISBN 0-312-15632-4
- ISBN 1-84018-227-X
- ^ Fortnight issues 302-12, Fortnight Publications, 1992, pg. 6
- ^ The Irish Emigrant Archived 12 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine, "Paratroopers remain in North". Issue No.277, 25 May 1992
- Fortnight Magazine, Issues 324-334, p. 29. Fortnight Publications, 1994.
- ^ BBC Politics 97 Retrieved on 30 October 2011
- ^ a b Explosions raise fears of IRA bomb campaign Associated Press, 27 March 1997
- ^ ISBN 0-7881-8107-6
- ^ a b An Phoblacht, 3 April 1997
- ^ Communist League candidate says: "Include Sinn Féin in talks now" by Marcella Fitzgerald. The Militant, 28 March 1997.
- ^ The need for new and acceptable policy in Northern Ireland: hearing before the Committee on International Relations, House of Representatives, One Hundred Sixth Congress, first session, 22 April 1999, Volumen 4
- ^ CAIN – 1997 chronology of events
- ^ CAIN – Listing of Programmes for the Year: 1997 – ITV news, 27 March 1997
- ^ Blasts light fuse to fears of IRA bomb campaign by Ron Kampeas. Associated Press, 27 March 1997
- ^ CAIN – Listing of Programmes for the Year: 1997 – ITV news, 28 March 1997
- ^ Republicans The Daily Telegraph, 27 July 2000
- ^ Murtagh, Peter. "Michelle O'Neill speaks her mind at tribute to slain IRA gunmen". The Irish Times. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
- ^ Amnesty International Report, 1998
- ^ "Man jailed for Tyrone police station bombing". BBC News. 26 February 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
- ^ Militants Angry About Police's Defense Of Protestant March by Shawn Pogatchnik. Associated Press, 7 July 1997
- ^ IRA engages Crown ForcesAn Phoblacht, 10 July 1997
- ^ "Northern Ireland Policy Board, 6 September 2006" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 December 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
- ^ "Norman Devlin property consultants & surveyors". Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2011.