February 1970 had seen the birth of the famous English actor Simon Pegg. Pegg starred in Mission Impossible, and coincidently that seemed to be a fitting strapline to describe the efforts of both the Northern Ireland and British Governments as they tried to find a solution to the ongoing conflict.
February began with a meeting on the 1st of the month between Chichester-Clark, Northern Ireland Prime Minister, Brian Faulkner, Minister of Development and James Callaghan, British Home Secretary, on matters relating to the Northern Ireland economy, as well as many other topics. They covered the following 12 areas;
Law and order.
Economic development plan and employment situation.
Housing.
Aldergrove.
Royal Ulster Constabulary.
Ulster Defence Regiment.
Gallagher Case.
Special Power Act.
Director of public prosecutions or procurator fiscal system.
Urban programme.
Joint RUC and Army application.
Army tactics.
It’s clear that it was a pretty full agenda, with each topic intertwined with one another. To me, the point that stands out was the issue of unemployment in Northern Ireland. Studies all over the world have shown a correlation between unemployment and crime rates, and given the escalating violence in Northern Ireland, this surely was a contributing factor. The Prime Minister stressed the need for drastic action to tackle the unemployment problem, asking for the Home Secretary's full support for the development plan. The Home Secretary promised his support but thought it possible that some alterations in the plan might mean the creation of more jobs and possibly additional Treasury finance. He, therefore, proposed to invite an eminent economist process for more than a couple of weeks. You can read the full notes of the meeting here.
On the 2nd of February, we had two bombings;
A UVF bomb caused minor damage at Drumaness Catholic church near Ballymena, County Antrim.
The Provisional IRA threw a Gelignite bomb from a passing car at a British Army building on the Shankill Road, Belfast where 50 troops were stationed. There were no injuries but the blast blew a hole in the side of the wall. There is some confusion over who threw the bomb, as the UVF was initially not happy with the British Army on the Shankill Road & had been thrown other bombs. However, the Provisional IRA, who were formed in December 1969, wanted to make their presence felt with these kinds of bombs according to Belfast Commander Billy McKee. British Pathé footage shows the damage the bomb made.
The UVF meant business in February, and their bombing campaign continued on the 3rd of February, bombing the offices of the New Ulster Movement, a moderate Unionist pressure group from which the Alliance Party later emerged. Neighbouring shops on Botanic Avenue were also damaged.
Just 5 days later, on the 8th of February, it’s believed that the UVF was responsible for exploding a bomb at the home of Sheelagh Murnaghan, a staunchly anti-physical force and anti-republican Roman Catholic Ulster Liberal Party MP. A hole was blown in the side of the house and windows were shattered, but Miss Murnaghan was not at home. This was seen as the beginning of a campaign against critics of militant loyalism.
The 16th of February saw the trial begin of the five men accused of conspiring to cause an explosion at a water pipeline at Dunadry, County Antrim on 24 April 1969. The trial took place at Crumlin Road Courthouse, Belfast. At the time, it was believed that the explosion was carried out by Loyalists who were looking to destabilise Terence O'Neill (Northern Ireland Prime Minister). The main prosecution witness was Samuel Stevenson, 31, who was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment last November after having pleaded guilty to a part in the explosion. In his testimony at the trial, he implicated the five men and repeatedly introduced the name of Ian Paisley.
The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) exploded a bomb at a 240-foot radio mast on Mongary Hill, near Raphoe, County Donegal on the 18th of February. The explosion put the transmitter out of action. The mast had allowed Radio Éireann programmes to be received over a greater area of Northern Ireland. The UVF claimed responsibility for this bomb in a statement issued on 19 February 1970.
On the same day, there was a small bomb explosion inside the Crumlin Road Courthouse, Belfast. The explosion occurred in a corridor outside the courtroom where the five men were on trial for causing the explosion at the water pipeline at Dunadry. It was reported that the UVF were responsible.
Politicians were back around the table at Stormont Castle on the 19th of February, where one of the many topics discussed was the shooting of John Gallagher in Armagh back in August 1969. An extract of the notes from that meeting went as follows;
The Prime Minister recalled the Home Secretary's suggestion (made at the meeting in London on 4th February) that consideration should be given to the calling in of Scotland Yard in this case. The decision was really one for the Inspector General to make but in view of the political overtones, Sir Arthur Young had felt he should ascertain the views of Ministers. The Minister of Home Affairs and the Attorney-General outlined the main considerations involved: insufficient evidence to justify a prosecution for manslaughter or murder against any member of the Tynan Platoon of 'BI Specials’ who were suspected of being responsible; further and more recent evidence to suggest that a case of unlawful shooting could possibly be Substantiated; the Inspector-General completely satisfied that the R.U.C. had investigated the case thoroughly and impartially. The argument for seeking assistance from Scotland Yard was in essence that as their efforts were unlikely to take the case any further, the R.U.C. would be vindicated and an answer given to Roman Catholic allegations that the local police were at fault for not pressing the case with sufficient vigour.
On the 20th of February, the five men who had been accused of conspiring to cause an explosion at a water pipeline at Dunadry, County Antrim on 24 April 1969, were acquitted by the jury which took four and a half hours to reach its verdict. Cheering greeted the verdict by the 12‐man jury. One of the acquitted men, John McKeague, was carried shoulder‐high from the courtroom by supporters and was hugged by women who had sat through the five‐day trial. Outside the grey brick courthouse, more than 300 people waited four and a half hours in torrential rain for the verdict. After it was announced, a cheer went up, and the crowd sang, “For They Are Jolly Good Fellows” and chanted, “Easy, Easy.”
Recommended reading based on research for this instalment of our journey through The Troubles.
UVF - The Endgame by Henry McDonald & Jim Cusack.
Henry MacDonald and Jim Cusack provide a fascinating insight into the UVF’s origins, growth and decline. They follow the careers of some of the key players in the UVF, including Gusty Spence, Billy Wright and David Ervine. They catalogue the atrocities in which the UVF were involved, including the Dublin and Monaghan bombings; the emergence of the notorious renegade Shankill Butchers; and the various bloody feuds that have infected loyalism. They trace the paramilitary organisation from the violent margins, through the horrors of the 1970s and 1980s, to its shaky 1994 ceasefire and its crucial (if sometimes reluctant) role in the peace process that led up to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.