January 1975: 12 Terms to Peace

Balcombe Street Gang strikes again

Jun 25, 2024

January 1975 saw John Lennon release the single ‘#9 Dream’. In his lyrics, he says “Was it just a dream?”. In Northern Ireland a ceasefire allowed people to dream again, if only for a short while…

Political Developments in January 1975

January began with a meeting between British Prime Minister Harold Wilson and the leaders of the main Churches in Northern Ireland on the 1st, following recent developments with meetings with the IRA, and the subsequent ceasefire.

"The Prime Minister said that he had been impressed by the earlier reference to children going out to parties again. Peace created its own dynamic. The Church leaders had planted a fragile tree (which one might call a Christmas tree) in the desert of terrorism and we must consider how this tree could be watered."

The following day, The IRA announced an extension of its ceasefire. This stage of the ceasefire was to last until the 17th of January 1975. Secret talks were held between officials at the Northern Ireland Office and representatives of the IRA and these talks led to a truce between the IRA and the security forces.

On the 7th of January, Representatives of the Democratic Unionist Party held a meeting with Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Merlyn Rees. However, the meeting broke up over arguments about the contacts between government officials and the IRA.

Just 2 days later, a note was prepared for the British government which provided a summary of political events in Northern Ireland for the period 19th of December 1974 to the 9th of January 1975. This note was released to public records on the 1st of January 2006.

"The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Mr Merlyn Rees, issued a statement following the announcement of the [IRA] ceasefire saying that he had seen the churchmen two days previously at their own request. He went on: 'The Government has received from the Churchmen what it understands to be the Provisional IRA´s proposals for a permanent ceasefire. ...' "

The 16th of January saw the IRA announce that it would call off its ceasefire as of midnight on the 16th of January. When the ceasefire ended, Merlyn Rees said that he would not be influenced by arguments supported by the bomb and the bullet.

From documents released on the 1st of January 2006, one entitled 'Terms for Bi-lateral Truce' appears to be a list of 12 terms required by the IRA before a bilateral truce would be entered into with the British government. The date of the document is uncertain but may have been delivered to the British government sometime between the 17th of January 1975 and the 10th of February 1975.

The 12 terms were;

Freedom of movement for all members of the Republican movement.
A cessation of all harassment of the civilian population.
A cessation of all raids on lands, homes and other buildings.
A cessation of arrests of members of the Republican movement.
An end to screening, photography and identity checks.
Members of the Republican movement reserve the right to carry concealed short arms, solely for the purpose of self-defence.
No provocative displays of force by either side.
No reintroduction of RUC and UDR into designated areas.
Agreement of effective liaison system between British and Republican forces.
A progressive withdrawal of troops to barracks to begin with the implementation of the bilateral truce.
Confirmation that discussions between representatives of the Republican movement and HMG will continue towards securing a permanent ceasefire.
In the event of any of these terms being violated, the Republican movement reserves the right of freedom of action.

On the 20th of January, details of a meeting between Irish Prime Minister Liam Cosgrave and a British Embassy official discussing the ongoing contacts between the British government and Provisional Sinn Féin.

"In general conversation, he [The Taoiseach] laid stress on the traumatic effect it would have throughout Ireland if the impression gained ground that we [the British government] were prepared to negotiate in any way with the Provisionals, in any of their manifestations. He expressed appreciation for the way we’re keeping the Irish [government] in the picture ...."

Another document released to the public was a letter from Chief Secretary to the Treasury Joel Barnett to Merlyn Rees dated the 20th of January 1974 about the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast. The British government had decided to bail out the company by including Harland in its plans for the nationalisation of shipbuilding.

"I am perturbed at the latest news about Harland and Wolff´s losses. The picture given in the submission is bad enough, but I understand that it is not the whole story and that there are new indications that Harland's present and prospective losses may be significantly greater ... The government has already put £80 million into this company since 1967, ... "

On the 30th of January, the Gardiner Report, which examined measures to deal with terrorism within the context of human rights and civil liberties, was published. The report recommended that special category status for paramilitary prisoners should be ended. The report also recommended that detention without trial be maintained but under the control of the Secretary of State.

Shootings in January 1975

10/01/75 - The British Army shot dead IRA volunteer John Francis Green (27), in a shed on a farm in Tullynageer, near Castleblaney, County Monaghan.

10/01/75 - The British Army shot dead IRA volunteer John Francis Green (27) in a shed on a farm in Tullynageer, near Castleblaney, County Monaghan.

19/01/75 - The IRA's Balcombe Street unit fired shots into two hotels, first the Carlton Tower Hotel was shot at & then the Portman Hotel. 12 people were injured in total.

20/01/75 - IRA volunteer Kevin Coen (28) was shot dead by the British Army, at Cassidy's Cross near Kinawley, County Fermanagh.

29/01/75 - The UDA shot dead Catholic civilian Robert McCullagh (17) at United Paper Merchants on Downshire Place, Belfast.

31/01/75 - RUC officer George Coulter (43) was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on mobile patrol on Donaghmore Road, Dungannon, County Tyrone.

If you know any other like-minded people who might like this, please share 😀

19/01/75 - Civilian Patrick Toner (7) was killed by an IRA booby trap bomb in a field near his home, Forkhill, County Armagh.

21/01/75 - IRA volunteers John Kelly (26) and John Stone (23), driving along Victoria Street, Belfast, were killed when the bomb they were transporting exploded prematurely. A series of bomb attacks across Belfast later ensued.

23/01/75 - The IRA placed a large time bomb at the Woodford waterworks pumping station in North London. Three people were injured in the explosion and there was substantial damage. It’s believed that it was the work of the Balcombe Street Gang.

24/01/75 - British soldier Thomas Lea (32) died eight months after being injured in an IRA bomb attack, on Colinward Street, off Springfield Road, Belfast. He was wounded on the 5th of May 1974.

26/01/75 - Air Cadet Edward Wilson (16) was killed by an IRA booby trap bomb at the Air Training Corps premises, Old Cavehill Road, Belfast.

27/01/75 - The IRA planted 7 time bombs at locations across London. At 6:30 pm a bomb exploded at Gieves, the military outfitters, in Old Bond Street. At 9:30 pm bombs exploded at the Moreson chemical plant in Ponders End and a disused gas works in Enfield. Only minimal damage was caused by these two bombs. Two further bombs exploded in Kensington High Street and Victoria Street; two people were injured. A warning was given of a bomb in Putney High Street and a British Army bomb-disposal officer was able to defuse the device. A warning was also given for a bomb in Hampstead and it was defused. The IRA also exploded a bomb in Manchester which injured 26 people.

Thanks very much for reading. I hope you found it interesting and will come back on Thursday!

I appreciate everyone who has hit that heart icon ❤️ at the bottom recently. It makes it easier for other people to find this newsletter.

Thanks for the support!

If you’d like to let me know what you thought of today’s instalment, feel free to leave a comment below.

Tales Of The Troubles

Discussion about this post