American magician and illusionist David Blaine was born in April 1973. Blaine has done some crazy tricks and feats of endurance over the years which have captivated the public. One of his most famous feats was living in a glass box, hanging above the Thames. He lasted 44 days and suffered from symptoms of starvation including depleted organ and bone mass, heart palpitations, breathing problems and loss of skin pigmentation. Over in Northern Ireland, prisoners were living in their own box, which in their case was their cell. It was in one of these cells that an internal feud got settled, resulting in a UVF prisoner being poisoned.
Political developments in April 1973
Based on documents released on the 1st of January 2003, at the beginning of April (2nd), British Prime Minister Edward Heath wrote a telegram to Irish Prime Minister Liam Cosgrave seeking further cooperation between security forces in Northern Ireland and those in the Republic of Ireland. I found the final 2 points in his telegram quite interesting concerning the fragile nature of inter-government cooperation and perception during the ongoing conflict.
What should we do together in practice to improve our security cooperation? Although we have had many reports of members of the Garda on the border who have earned our admiration by the way they did their duty by The Republic, perhaps at some risk, in general cooperation across the border has been extended only cautiously in the past, and we sensed that the local Gardai uncertain whether cooperation with our security forces was politically acceptable. But some system, however discreetly practised, is necessary. May I suggest that as a first step, we arrange for the London-appointed under-secretary responsible to Mr Whitelaw for liaison with the police and the Army to pay a visit to Dublin? He could discuss with your experts, on a basis of absolute confidentiality, what steps we could together profitably take to establish continuing cooperation against violence. it goes without saying that we make no distinction between the IRA and Protestant men of violence who may consider attacking The Republic. I very much hope that this suggestion will commend itself to you.
One final point. I fully understand that regular cooperation between our two governments on security matters could, if it became public knowledge, cause you political embarrassment. On my part, all concerned have been instructed to keep details of such cooperation strictly confidential.
Another letter was sent on the 4th of April. This time from the Head of Defence Secretariat 10 at the Ministry of Defence A.W.Stephens to an official at the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs, W.K.K.White. The letter sought cooperation from the Irish government in clearing an area of wood along the border where attacks by the IRA were carried out against the RUC base in Belleek.
Also released in January 2003 was a report by Frank Steele of a visit to the Bogside and Creggan, Derry on the 4th and 5th of April with Michael Oatley. At this time Steele and Oatley were presented as being officials from William Whitelaw's office. However, both Steele and Oatley were officers in the Secret Intelligence Service ('MI6'). The visit followed the publication of a British government White Paper and the report mentions the reaction to the White Paper in several sections. The report’s assessment of local reaction to the British Army and the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was very over-optimistic and was not borne out by the course of events.
On the 10th of April, the British government introduced the 'Northern Ireland Assembly Bill' in parliament in Westminster. This bill was to pave the way for an assembly at Stormont based on proposals outlined in the White Paper, 'Northern Ireland Constitutional Proposals', which had been published on the 20th of March 1973. The bill became law on the 3rd of May 1973.
A few weeks later, on the 22nd of April, one of the leaders of the IRA, Dáithí Ó Conaill, addressed a public demonstration to commemorate the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin. Following the speech he managed to avoid arrest. It wasn’t uncommon for incidents such as this to go unpunished, given the complexity of maintaining civil discord during such an arrest.
Shootings (and poisonings…) in April 1973
02/04/73 - Civilian David McQueen (28), was found shot at the side of the road, near Ballyhalbert, County Down. It’s believed that loyalist paramilitaries were responsible.
07/04/73 - Member of the Official IRA, James McGerrigan (17), was shot dead near his home in Armagh city.
09/04/73 - British soldier Charles Marchant (18), died ten weeks after being shot by an IRA sniper while on British Army foot patrol, North Street, Lurgan, County Armagh. He was injured on the 26th of January 1973.
09/04/73 - Member of the Official IRA, Anthony Hughes (20), was shot while moving arms from a car outside a house, in Culdee Terrace, Armagh.
11/04/73 - British soldier Keith Evans (20), was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on foot patrol on Westland Street, Bogside, Derry.
12/04/73 - IRA volunteer Edward O'Rawe (27), was shot dead by the British Army at the rear of a house on Cape Street, Lower Falls, Belfast.
14/04/73 - The UVF killed a Protestant Official IRA volunteer Robert Millen (23) in a drive-by shooting on McClure Street, Belfast.
17/04/73 - IRA volunteer Brian Smyth (32), was shot dead by a British Army sniper while standing with a group of men, Etna Drive, Ardoyne, Belfast.
19/04/73 - Catholic civilian Anthony McDowell (12), was shot dead by the British Army during a gun battle between British Army and the IRA, Alliance Avenue, Ardoyne, Belfast.
20/04/73 - A British soldier was shot by an IRA sniper in New Lodge, Belfast, but survived.
22/04/73 - UVF member Mervyn Connor (20), was found dead in his cell at Crumlin Road Prison, Belfast. It is believed he was poisoned by fellow UVF prisoners as part of an internal dispute.
27/04/73 - British soldier Anthony Goodfellow (26), was shot by an IRA sniper while at British Army Vehicle Check Point, Westway, Creggan, Derry.
28/04/73 - British soldier Kerry Venn (23), was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on foot patrol, at Carn Hill, Shantallow, Derry City.
29/04/73 - British soldier Graham Cox (19), was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on mobile patrol, New Lodge Road, New Lodge, Belfast.
Bombings and Rocket Attacks in April 1973
03/04/73 - A bomb exploded at a London sorting office in Paddington. A caller claimed the bombing was carried out by a group called "The Avengers" and said that they were not the IRA, but did belong to the Irish Republican movement.
07/04/73 - Two British soldiers, Terence Brown (26) and Steven Harrison (26) were killed in an IRA landmine attack on a British armoured mobile patrol, Tullyogallaghan, near Newtownhamilton, County Armagh.
20/04/73 - A British post was hit by a rocket and then raked with gunfire in Ballymurphy, Belfast. There were no other casualties.
As always, thanks very much for reading this and I hope you enjoyed it enough to come back on Thursday to read the next instalment. Don’t forget to click on the share button below to send it to any of your family or friends who you think would enjoy reading it.