What happened during the early hours of Sunday the 26th of June 1966 on the Shankill Road came at a time when Frank Sinatra was number one in the American charts with ‘Strangers in the Night’. And that’s precisely how I would describe the three innocent men who were shot by the UVF coming out of The Malvern Arms.
The night began with Peter Ward and three other young barmen finishing work at Belfast’s International Hotel, and doing what young men do, they went looking for somewhere they could get a drink at that time of night. They ended up in The Malvern Arms on the Shankill Road, but little did they know what was coming their way a few hours later…
As Peter left the pub via a side door, it’s said that he was confronted by the UVF gunmen and asked where he worked. When Peter informed them that he worked at the International Hotel, that was the green light the gunmen were looking for. Within the loyalist paramilitary group, it had long been perceived that the Hotel’s employees were Catholics. Peter was shot and killed for that reason alone, whilst two of his colleagues were critically wounded.
It had long been alleged that Gusty Spence was responsible for the shootings, a claim that he denied. However, ex-British soldier Spence, and two other UVF members were jailed for life, with a recommended minimum sentence of 20 years, for Peter’s murder and the attempted murder of his two colleagues. After his conviction, Spence appointed Samuel ‘Bo’ McClelland as UVF Chief of Staff in his absence. It’s reported that Spence chose McClelland due to his service in the Royal Ulster Rifles during the Korean War, for which he respected him.
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At the time, the first question on many people’s lips was, why was a group of young catholic men drinking in a bar frequented mainly by the protestant community of the Shankill Road? Well, it turned out that there was a perfectly logical explanation; at least one of the young men knew the bar owner, which is not uncommon in the bar trade.
Following the shootings, on the 28th of June 1966, the Northern Ireland government moved to declare the UVF an illegal organisation.
Sources
A Chronology of Key Events in Irish History 1800-1967 - https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch1800-1967.htm
UVF by Jim Cusack and Henry McDonald - https://amzn.to/3AjRjsq
Belfast Telegraph Report - https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/mum-of-uvf-teen-victim-peter-ward-laid-to-rest-after-52-years-of-grieving-36543597.html
Irish Times Report - https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/the-city-which-lost-its-heart-1.242462
Loyalists by Peter Taylor - https://amzn.to/3g3xvCN