January 1976: Kingsmill Massacre
January 1976 saw Blondie release their debut single "X Offender" with the lyrics of the song containing a line that says, “Walking the line, you were a marksman”. Unfortunately, this lyric resonates with what was going on in the conflict in Northern Ireland, with an increasing number of shootings following the end of the IRA truce.
Political Developments in January 1976
In January 1976, the "National Liberation Army" announced its existence in a press release published in the IRSP newspaper The Starry Plough.
"The National Liberation Army was recently formed with the aim of ending British imperialist rule in Ireland and creating a 32-county Democratic Socialist Republic. As revolutionaries, we recognise the paramount necessity for the existence of an armed anti-imperialist organisation which will play an effective role in the current struggle. After five years of struggle against imperialism, the Irish people have victory within their grasp. We see it as our task, as revolutionaries, that they are not deprived of victory through the acceptance of any compromise solution negotiated without reference to the long-term interests of the Irish working class."
On the 7th of January, a unit of the SAS was moved into the South Armagh area in response to demands for a tougher security response. This was the first occasion when the deployment of SAS troops was officially acknowledged.
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Merlyn Rees gave a speech to the House of Commons on the Convention Report on the 12th of January. He announced that the Constitutional Convention was to be reconvened from the 3rd of February for four weeks. British Prime Minister Harold Wilson stated that a United Ireland was not a solution which any British political party would wish to impose on the region.
The 12th also saw the trial of members of the Maguire family, known as the 'Maguire Seven', begin at the Old Bailey in London. They were arrested on the 3rd of December 1974, and on trial accused of possession of explosives. The case was linked to that of the 'Guildford Four' and the making of the bombs used in the explosions in Guildford on the 5th of October 1974.
As security concerns increased, Harold Wilson held an all-party meeting at Downing Street, London on the 15th of January to consider the security situation in Northern Ireland.
The topic of housing came up in January ‘75, when Government figures showed that 25,000 houses had been damaged in violence related to the conflict. This coincided with SDLP leader Gerry Fitt telling Members of Parliament that some Tenant's Associations in Belfast were under the control of various paramilitary groups.
Friday, the 23rd of January, saw the IRA truce officially brought to an end. It’s reported that indirect contact between the British government and the IRA was maintained for a period after the ending of the truce.
Shootings, Beatings & Stabbings in January 1976
04/01/76 - The UVF shot dead six Catholic civilians in County Armagh. UVF men broke into a Catholic-owned house in Whitecross and shot dead brothers John Reavey (24), Brian Reavey (22) and Anthony Reavey (17). About 20 minutes later, UVF men entered another Catholic-owned house in Ballydougan and shot dead another three men (Barry O’Dowd (24), Declan O’Dowd (19) and Joseph O’Dowd (61)), all of whom were members of the SDLP. At least one officer of the Royal Ulster Constabulary's Special Patrol Group was involved in the attacks, which have been linked to the Glenanne gang.
05/01/76 - Gunmen stopped a minibus carrying eleven Protestant workmen, lined them up alongside it and shot them. Only one victim survived, despite having been shot 18 times. A Catholic man on the minibus was allowed to go free. A group calling itself the South Armagh Republican Action Force, a cover for IRA members, claimed responsibility. Although the Kingsmill massacre was in "direct response" to the killing of six Catholics the night before, the attack was planned before that. Those who died were John McConville (20), Walter Chapman (23), Reginald Chapman (25), Joseph Lemmon (46), James McWhirter (58), Kenneth Worton (24), Robert Chambers (19), John Bryans (46), Robert Freeburn (50) and Robert Walker (46).
05/01/76 - RUC officer on mobile patrol Clifford Evans (30) was shot dead by an IRA sniper near Castledawson, County Londonderry.
07/01/76 - Civilian Michael Dickson (17) was found shot in an entry, off Rockview Street, Belfast. It’s reported that the IRA were responsible.
10/01/76 - The UVF shot dead Catholic civilian Edward McQuaid (25) on Cliftonville Road, Belfast.
14/01/76 - Civilian Samuel Millar (71) was beaten to death at his farm, off Derrynoid Road, near Draperstown, County Derry. His body found, on information supplied to the British authorities, in a disused quarry, Carmean, near Moneymore, County Derry, on the 21st of September 1977. He was a witness to a robbery.
17/01/76 - British soldier Mark Ashford (19) was shot dead in an IRA gun attack on a British checkpoint in Derry City.
17/01/76 - Catholic civilian, Seamus O'Brien (25), was found shot dead by the IRA at junction of Glen Road and Glenside Road, Andersonstown, Belfast. The IRA claimed he was an informer.
22/01/76 - Off-duty UDR soldier, John Arrell (32), was shot dead while driving his firm's minibus home from work, by an IRA sniper in Claudy, County Londonderry.
22/01/76 - Catholic civilian, Kieran McCann (20), was shot dead at his workplace in Eglish, near Dungannon, County Tyrone, by the IRA as an alleged informer.
22/01/76 - The UVF shot dead Protestant civilian John Morrow (36) on Ballyutoag Road, Belfast. They believed he was a Catholic.
22/01/76 - The UDA shot dead Catholic civilian Niall O’Neill (27) at his home at Thirlmere Gardens, Belfast.
24/01/76 - The UDA shot dead Catholic civilian Patrick Quail (37) as he walked along Clifton Street, Belfast. The inquest was told he was shot after "a perfectly chance encounter" outside the Royal Air Force club.
25/01/76 - The UVF shot dead Protestant civilian Samuel Neill (29) as he waled along Union Street, Portadown.
27/01/76 - Protestant civilians Andrew McGilton (22) and Peter Armstrong (22) were shot dead during a gun attack on Farmer's Inn, Dunmurry, near Belfast. The attack was carried out by Republican paramilitaries.
29/01/76 - Civilian Joseph McAlinden (44) was shot at his home, Upper Cavehill Road, Belfast.
29/01/76 - Civilian Martin Crossen (26) was shot during gun and bomb attack on Brady's off licence shop, Antrim Road, Belfast.
30/01/76 - UDA member Samuel Hollywood (34) was stabbed to death, outside North Star Bar, North Queen Street, Tiger's Bay, Belfast. The death was part of the UDA/UVF feud.
31/01/76 - UDA members discovered a woman (Imelda Maxwell) who had been invited to their social club in Sandy Row was Catholic. They attempted to beat her to death with bricks and clubs, leaving her "unrecognisable" to ambulance staff from the Royal Victoria Hospital where she worked. Maxwell suffered permanent brain damage and was "no longer able to lead an independent existence".
31/01/76 - Civilian Hugh Woodside (60) was shot during an altercation between a British Army patrol and local people in Long Bar, Shankill Road, Belfast.
Bombings in January 1976
03/01/76 - Twenty-three people were injured, four seriously, when a bomb exploded at the Golden Hind bar in West Street, Portadown, County Armagh. It’s reported that the INLA were responsible.
13/01/76 - IRA volunteers Rosemary Bleakley (18) and Martin McDonagh (23), along with Catholic civilians Mary Dornan (36) and Ian Gallagher (41) were killed when the bomb they were transporting exploded prematurely in North Street, Belfast.
17/01/76 - The UVF launched a no-warning bomb attack on Sheridan's Bar at New Lodge Road, Belfast. Catholic civilians Sarah O'Dwyer (47) and James Reid (47) were killed and 26 wounded.
22/01/76 - RUC members George Bell (54) and Neville Cummings (37) were killed by a booby-trap bomb in Donegall Pass RUC base, Belfast. No group claimed responsibility.
25/01/76 - The UDA bombed the Ancient Order of Hibernians social club on Conway Street, Lisburn, killing Catholic civilians Raymond Mayes (33) and John Tennyson (27).
29/01/76 - Twelve small bombs exploded overnight in London, starting several fires and injuring one person. Police later found a thirteenth bomb that had failed to go off.
30/01/76 - Civilian John Smiley (55) was killed in an IRA bomb attack on the Klondyke Bar, a pub reportedly frequented by paramilitaries in the loyalist Sandy Row area of Belfast.
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Some recommended reading based on research for this instalment.