Charlemont pub attacks
Charlemont pub attacks | |
---|---|
Part of bombing | |
Deaths | 4 |
Injured | 18 |
Perpetrators | Ulster Volunteer Force and members of the British security forces as part of the Glenanne gang |
The Charlemont pub attacks were co-ordinated militant
Background
Since late 1975 there had been a number of deadly sectarian attacks carried out by both
Attacks
Locals claimed that the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) had been patrolling the village for a number of nights beforehand, but were absent the night of the attacks.
On the night of the 15 May 1976 at around 10:50 pm the Eagles Bar in Charlemont in Armagh was sprayed with gunfire from a Sten submachine gun, four people had been hit and injured in the attack. Probably more would have been injured but the owner of the bar placed security shutters on the windows in case of an attack. One of those who was injured was Fred McLoughlin (47) who died two weeks later in hospital from his injuries. Almost instantly after the gunfire had stopped a loud bang was heard, this was the bomb that had gone off at Clancy's bar only a short distance away.[8] The bomb had been placed at the front of the pubs door by the UVF unit and exploded right after the attack on the other pub had ended. The force of the blast brought the ceiling crashing down on the people inside the pub. Three people were killed in this bomb attack including Sean O'Hagan (22), Robert McCullough (41) and the pubs owner Felix "Vincy" Clancy (54) the pubs owner who had only just returned from the Eagle Bar a few minutes earlier. About 15 people had been injured in the attack, some of them seriously.[9][10]
On the same day as the Charlemont attacks the members of the UVF's Belfast Brigade carried out another bomb attack on a public house, called the Avenue Bar, on Union Street in the city center of Belfast killing two more Catholic civilians in the process. This brought the total to six dead Catholic civilians killed by the UVF for the day.[11]
Aftermath
A member of the British
Two days after the Charlemont attacks the
See also
- Donnelly's Bar and Kay's Tavern attacks
- Reavey and O'Dowd killings
- Castleblayney bombing
- Hillcrest Bar bombing
- Glenanne gang
- Loughinisland massacre
- Timeline of Ulster Volunteer Force actions
References
- ^ Former Policeman blows the whistle on murderous Glenanne Gang in new documentary The Irish News, 15 June 2018
- ^ "Son speaks out on anniversary of Glenanne gang pub killings". The Irish News. 17 May 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
- ^ "CAIN: Chronology of the Conflict 1976". cain.ulst.ac.uk. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
- ^ Young, Connla (24 January 2020). "MoD documents link Robert Nairac to Miami Showband massacre". The Irish News. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
- ^ Malcolm Sutton. "CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths". cain.ulst.ac.uk. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
- ^ Malcolm Sutton. "CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths". cain.ulst.ac.uk. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
- ^ "CAIN: Chronology of the Conflict 1976". cain.ulst.ac.uk. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
- ^ Anne Cadwallader - Lethal Allies: British Collusion In Ireland pp.173
- ^ Anne Cadwallader - Lethal Allies: British Collusion In Ireland pp.174
- ^ "NORTHERN IRELAND (Hansard, 17 May 1976)". api.parliament.uk. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
- ^ Sutton, Malcolm. "One bomb killed two people at the Avenue Bar, Union Street, Belfast". A Chronology of the Conflict - 1976. CAIN: Web Service. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
- ^ "'The police were there to protect you. Not shoot you' - Benburb family speaks out 40 years after father's murder". Tyrone Times. Archived from the original on 4 November 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
- ^ Anne Cadwallader - Lethal Allies: British Collusion In Ireland pp.178-179
- ^ "CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths". cain.ulster.ac.uk. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
- ^ Anne Cadwallader - Lethal Allies: British Collusion In Ireland pp.14