April 1987: Illegal March
April 1987 sits in that uneasy hinge of history where local violence and global change seemed to move in parallel. As Northern Ireland absorbed another month of tension, reprisals, and political strain, the wider world was shifting too: on the 2nd of April, IBM unveiled its Personal System/2, a machine that helped usher in the modern era of personal computing and reshape how information would be created, shared, and weaponised in the decades to come. In this instalment of Tales of the Troubles, we return to the streets and safe houses of April ’87, an analogue world on the cusp of a digital revolution, where every whispered message, every coded phone call, and every act of violence unfolded just as humanity was unknowingly stepping into a new technological age.
Political Developments in April 1987
April 1987 opened with a sharp display of political defiance in Northern Ireland. On Friday the 10th of April, James Molyneaux of the Ulster Unionist Party, Ian Paisley of the Democratic Unionist Party, and eight other Unionist MPs took part in an illegal march through Belfast, challenging newly introduced Public Order legislation and signalling their refusal to accept what they viewed as restrictive state control. The momentum carried into the next day, when Unionist leaders declared a “Day of Defiance,” though the demonstrations that followed drew notably low turnouts, suggesting a public either fatigued by confrontation or unconvinced by the call to protest.
Later in the month, on the 23rd, attention shifted toward questions of equality and employment when Peter Archer, the British Labour Party’s spokesman on Northern Ireland affairs, publicly expressed his support for the MacBride Principles in a letter, an endorsement that added weight to ongoing debates about corporate responsibility and fair treatment in the workplace. Together, these events marked a month shaped by protest, political signalling, and competing visions for Northern Ireland’s future.
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Shootings in April 1987
April 2nd.
The UVF shot and killed Provisional IRA volunteer Laurence Marley (41) at his home in Ardoyne, Belfast.
April 3rd.
The UVF shot and killed Protestant civilian Lawrence Samuel (60) in a robbery on York Road, Belfast.
Off-duty UDR soldier James Oldman (39) was shot and killed by the IRA outside his shop in Ederney, County Fermanagh.
RUC officer George Shaw (51) was shot and killed by the IRA outside the Ballynahinch RUC base in County Down. Two RUC officers were leaving the base when an IRA unit fired on them from the opposite side of the road, killing one officer and wounding another.
April 6th.
The IRA attacked several security forces bases in Belfast.
April 7th.
Two British soldiers were injured in the Beechmount area of Belfast.
April 11th.
RUC officers Frederick Armstrong (40) and Robert McLean (44) were shot and killed in an IRA ambush while on foot patrol on Main Street in Portrush, County Antrim.
April 12th.
The IRA shot and killed Charles McIlmurray (30) as an alleged informer. His body was found in a van abandoned at the rear of a petrol filling station in Killeen, County Armagh. His hands were tied behind his back, and a plastic bag was placed over his face.
April 20th.
RUC inspector David Ead (38) was killed when an IRA unit opened fire on an RUC foot patrol on Central Promenade in Newcastle, County Down.
April 21st.
Harold Henry (52) was shot near his home, The Loup, near Moneymore in County Londonderry. A security contractor to the British Army, he was shot four times in the head by a five-man IRA unit.
April 23rd.
RUC officer Thomas Cooke (52) was killed after being shot by the IRA while off-duty in Prehen, County Londonderry. He was leaving a local golf club when he was shot ten times at close range by a two-man IRA unit.
April 25th.
Off-duty UDR soldier William Graham (44) was shot and killed by the IRA at his family’s farm, off Gortscraheen Road, near Pomeroy in County Tyrone.
April 28th.
Senior UVF member William “Frenchy” Marchant (39) was shot and killed by the IRA in a drive-by shooting on the Shankill Road in West Belfast. He was leaving the offices of the Progressive Unionist Party when he was shot a number of times at close range with an Armalite rifle and a handgun. The IRA claimed Marchant had been involved in the killing of IRA volunteer Larry Marley. ITV alleged he was involved in the Dublin bombings of 1974 which killed more than 20 civilians.
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Bombings in April 1987
April 12th.
The IRA fired several mortars at an RUC base in County Fermanagh.
April 16th.
Thirteen mortars were fired at the Bessbrook British Army base in County Armagh, injuring two soldiers. According to the IRA report, seven mortar rounds landed inside the base.
April 25th.
Chief Justice Maurice Gibson (74) and his wife, Cecily (67), were assassinated when the IRA detonated a roadside bomb as their car passed in Killeen, County Armagh.
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Some recommended reading based on research for this instalment.
Lost Lives: The Stories of the Men, Women and Children Who Died as a Result of the Northern Ireland Troubles by David McKittrick, Chris Thornton, Seamus Kelters and Brian Feeney.
