August 1978: Attack at Rhine Army HQ
As thousands of mourners filed past the body of Pope Paul VI in August 1978, over ten thousand people also attended a march in Northern Ireland to commemorate the first civil rights march 10 years earlier.
Political Developments in August 1978
August began with Catholic Primate of Ireland Tomás Ó Fiaich, who had paid a visit to Republican prisoners in the Maze Prison on the 30th of July, issuing a statement on the 2nd saying that the prisoners engaged in the 'blanket protest' were living in 'inhuman' conditions. At this stage of the 'blanket protest' over 300 Republican prisoners were refusing to wear prison clothes or follow normal prison regulations. This protest was an attempt to secure a return of special category status for people convicted of politically motivated crimes.
On the 3rd, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Roy Mason announced that a sports car factory would be built in West Belfast, meaning 2,000 new jobs. The new factory was seen as a breakthrough in securing American investment in Northern Ireland. However, the DeLorean factory required a British investment of £56 million out of a total of £65 million. At the time several commentators expressed reservations about the potential success of the venture and indeed the business did fail with the loss of substantial public funds.
On the 9th of August, a letter was written by E Dalzell to a Mr Clothworthy which discussed the situation surrounding the abduction of Thomas Niedermayer.
Mr Clothworthy
RE: THOHAS NIEDERMAYER
I have checked all records held by Special Branch concerning the abduction of the above named from his home on 27 December 1973. On the balance of probabilities,
he was kidnapped by members of the Provisional IRA and murdered by them. There are no reports which would suggest that he either went voluntarily with the PIRA or that he disappeared for any other reason.The most recent report in June 1978 from a reliable informer states that he was kidnapped and murdered by 3 known members of the PIRA and has been buried somewhere in the 1st Battalion area (ie Upper Andersonstown). There have been other reports indicating that he was buried in places such as the Glens of Antrim or Co Monaghan but the police are more inclined to believe this recent report. There is also a report that following the kidnap Mr Niedermayer died of a heart attack and was buried by the PIRA. This report is not considered reliable. There are no reports to suggest that Hr Niedermayer is still alive.
British national newspaper The Daily Mirror announced its support for a British withdrawal from Northern Ireland on the 14th of August.
August finished with approximately 10,000 people taking part in a march from Coalisland to Dungannon, County Tyrone, on the 27th, to commemorate the first civil rights march 10 years earlier.
Shootings in August 1978
02/08/78 - RUC officer John Lamont (21) was shot dead in an IRA drive-by shooting while on foot patrol in Ballymena, County Antrim.
11/08/78 - Undercover British soldier Alan Swift (25) was shot dead in an IRA ambush on the Letterkenny Road in Derry.
19/08/78 - Former British soldiers Michael Riley (31) and Gilbert Johnston (25) were killed in IRA gun attacks in Belfast and Keady.
21/08/78 - Civilian Patrick Fee (64) was shot by an IRA sniper while travelling to work in his firm’s van. Scribbagh, near Garrison, County Fermanagh. The van driver, an off-duty UDR member, was the intended target.
26/08/78 - The INLA claimed responsibility for seriously injuring a man in an apparent punishment shooting attack in the Whiterock area of Belfast.
The INLA also carried out a series of sniper attacks on British security forces in Belfast in August 1978 using newly acquired AK-47 rifles, wounding four British soldiers in the Market and Whiterock areas of the city.
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Bombings in August 1978
08/08/78 - A Catholic civilian, Mary McCaffrey (65), was critically wounded when a bomb exploded near her home on Forfar Street, off Springfield Road, Belfast. It is thought that it was planted by the IRA and meant for a British Army patrol. She died of her wounds on the 27th of September 1978.
17/08/78 - British soldier Robert Miller (22) was killed in an IRA car bomb attack on a British patrol in Forkill, County Armagh.
18/08/78 - Eight bombs were found or exploded in and near establishments of the British Army of the Rhine in Germany. One person suffered minor injuries. A week later a car bomb was found at Rhine Army HQ.
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I’ve also recently released Tales of The Troubles: Volume 1. The Early Years - 1960s. Check it out. It would be a great addition to your library or a gift for someone for Christmas. Stay tuned for Volume 2, covering the 1970s.
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Some recommended reading based on research for this instalment.
INLA Deadly Divisions by Jack Holland and Henry McDonald.
