June 1974: Daring Hunger Strikes and Devastating Attacks
Escalation of Violence and Political Tensions
In June 1974 a new Instrument of Government was promulgated making Sweden a parliamentary monarchy. It grants the power to commission a Prime Minister to the Riksdag, at the nomination of the Speaker of the Riksdag, who following a vote in the Riksdag signs the letter of commission on behalf of the Riksdag. A lot of Riksdag’s there! Why am I mentioning this? Well, in Northern Ireland, following the fall of the Executive, political moves were being made to a very similar extent.
Political Developments in June 1974
June 1974 started with the news that Michael Gaughan, a member of the IRA who had been on hunger strike in Parkhurst Prison, England, died after refusing food for 64 days. On the 31st of March 1974, Gaughan and fellow Mayoman Frank Stagg joined the ongoing hunger strike by future Sinn Féin Member of the Legislative Assembly Gerry Kelly, Paul Holme, Hugh Feeney, sisters Dolours and Marian Price and others. The prisoners' primary demand was the right to political status – a de facto prisoner of war status – which would result in the demands being met:
The right to wear their own clothes.
A guarantee that they would not be returned to solitary confinement.
The right to educational facilities and not engage in penal labour.
The setting of a reasonable date for a transfer to an Irish prison.
The Price sisters ended their hunger strike in Brixton Prison, England on the 8th of June. The hunger strike lasted six months because of a policy of force-feeding by the prison authorities.
On the 12th of June, ‘consultative assembly provisions’ were discussed to replace the Assembly. the key take-outs were as follows;
This part of the Bill is intended to provide for the holding of an elected Constitutional conference in Northern Ireland. Although no provision is contained in the Northern Ireland Assembly Act 1973 Qr the Northen1 Ireland Constitution Act 1973 to permit this, it is desired that the conference should, in all relevant respects, be as similar as possible to the Northern Ireland Assembly; and that the conference should so far as possible be established by reference to existing provisions in the two 1973 Acts.
The conference which is to be called a Consultative Assembly should have terms of reference requiring it “to consider proposals for the government of Northern Ireland which will command the consent of the people of Northern Ireland, and to make recommendations including recommendations on the testing of opinion in Northern Ireland on its report”
To this end, the existing Northern Ireland Assembly should be dissolved (as already requested in the first part of the instructions) and should be dissolved in such a way as if it had been dissolved by means of an order under Section 27(5) of the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973. In particular, the way should be left open to make a further order under Section 27(7) appointing a day for a fresh general election to the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Pending the making of any such order, there is to be no general election to the Northern Ireland Assembly; although there would be a presentational advantage in regarding the elections to the Consultative Assembly as being elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly, there appear to be sufficient differences between the Consultative Assembly and the Northern Ireland Assembly (in particular the length of term served by each Assembly, and the distinct functions ascribed to each Assembly) to preclude this.
The assembly is to serve for a fixed term of six months from the date of its first meeting, or until such earlier date as a final report of its work and recommendations is presented to parliament Her Majesty.
Her Majesty should be empowered to make an Order in Council, after taking into account any views expressed by the Assembly, extending its term up to six months. The order should be subject to the affirmative resolution procedure.
Staff of the Assembly are to be provided by the Secretary of State. He should be required in the Bill to provide (from Northern Ireland monies) such officers (inc]uding Secretariat, Secretarial Staff and., possibly, Constitutional Advisers), accommodation and services as he considers necessary for the Assembly. In practice it is likely that the building already used by the Northern Ireland Assembly will be used for the Consultative Assembly; and that a large part of the staff will be composed of members of the staff of the Northern Ireland Assembly; the Assembly building vests in the Northern Ireland Department of Finance which will, under the provisions of part 1 of this Bill, act subject to the directions of the Secretary of State. But the Clerk to the Assembly, and the other members of the Assembly staff, do not come under the direct control of the Secretary of State; it may therefore be necessary to include in the Bill some provision enabling the Secretary of State to make their services available to the Consultative Assembly.
This might be most simply achieved by placing the facilities of the Northern Ireland Assembly at the disposal of the Consultative Assembly, but this involves an issue of principle which has not yet been resolved.
The freedom for delegates to say and write what they like acting in their official capacity.
Representatives of Loyalist paramilitaries held a 'conference' on the 19th of June which announced their support for the negotiated independence of Northern Ireland. In 1976 an article in The Irish Times suggested that at some date in June 1974, the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) had proposed, to other Loyalist groups, that a three-month ceasefire be agreed upon with Republican paramilitaries (The Irish Times, 26th June 1976; p.5). The suggestion was rejected by the other Loyalist groups.
The following day, there was a Northern Ireland Assembly by-election in the constituency of North Antrim. Clifford Smyth was elected.
That same day, the first meeting of the Gardiner Committee was held at Stormont. At a time when hunger strikes were beginning to take place, the terms of reference of the Committee were outlined.
"to consider what provisions and powers, consistent to the maximum extent practicable in the circumstances with the preservation of civil liberties and human rights, are required to deal with terrorism and subversion in Northern Ireland, including provisions for the administration of justice, and to examine the working of the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1973; and to make recommendations".
On the 29th of June, Irish Prime Minister Liam Cosgrave made a statement to the Dail regarding the collapse of the Northern Ireland Executive and the ongoing conflict in the North. There’s a lot to unpack within his statement, but one piece that stood out for me, that resonated, was when he discussed the toll the troubles had taken on people and places.
We have seen the effects over five long years of this type of intransigence. We have seen violence kill and maim the people of the North and destroy the hearts of their towns and cities, and to a far lesser extent, we have seen this happening in some of our own streets and in the cities of Britain. We have heard of more than 1,000 dead and more than 10,000 injured in the bombings and shootings in the North. We have heard of the destruction of property there to the extent of some £120 million.
Shootings in June 1974
01/06/74 - The OIRA claimed responsibility for shots fired at the British Army at River Street, Newry.
02/06/74 - Paul Tinnelly (34) a former OIRA Volunteer and founder of the short-lived paramilitary group "Tinnelly's Brigade" was shot dead by the OIRA in Rostrevor, Down.
03/06/74 - Civilian John McLaughlin (19) was found shot dead in a quarry on Hightown Road, between Belfast and Newtownabbey. Although most of his relatives were Catholic, he self-identified as Protestant. It is believed the UDA were responsible.
03/06/74 - Civilian John McLaughlin (19) was found shot dead in a quarry on Hightown Road, between Belfast and Newtownabbey. Although most of his relatives were Catholic, he self-identified as Protestant. It is believed the UDA were responsible.
05/06/74 - An IRA sniper shot dead patrolling British soldier Frederick Dicks (21) on Irish Street, Dungannon, County Tyrone.
14/06/74 - The UFF claimed responsibility for shooting dead Catholic civilian Peter Meaghan (37) from a passing car on Divis Street, Belfast.
22/06/74 - RUC officer Daniel O'Connor ( 35) was shot dead from a passing car driven by IRA volunteers while on foot patrol at the junction of Crumlin Road and Clifton Park Avenue, Belfast.
22/06/74 - An IRA sniper shot dead patrolling British soldier Kim Ian McCunn (18), New Lodge Road, Belfast.
22/06/74 - Catholic civilian Hugh Devine (30) was shot dead by a British soldier following an altercation in Olympic Drive, Strabane, County Tyrone. The following day the soldier involved in the shooting was charged with murder. This was the first British soldier to be charged with murder during the conflict. The charge was later reduced to manslaughter and the soldier involved was acquitted.
29/06/74 - An IRA sniper shot patrolling British soldier David Smith (26) on Whiterock Road, Ballymurphy, Belfast. He died on the 4th of July.
Bombings in June 1974
07/06/74 - The UVF-linked group the Red Hand Commandos, bombed a Catholic church, three people were mildly injured in the attack. On the same day, they tried to bomb a Catholic pub but failed. Both attacks happened in Belfast City Centre.
09/06/74 - Catholic child Michelle Osborne (13) was killed when a UDA/UFF bomb exploded prematurely at Ballymacaward Kennel Club, Hannahstown, County Antrim.
09/06/74 - Catholic child Michelle Osborne (13) was killed when a UDA/UFF bomb exploded prematurely at Ballymacaward Kennel Club, Hannahstown, County Antrim.
11/06/74 - The IRA exploded a bomb at Queen Elizabeth Barracks in Strensall, North Yorkshire causing extensive damage but no injuries or deaths.
17/06/74 - The Provisional IRA bombed the British Houses of Parliament causing extensive damage, a large fire and ended up injuring 11 civilians. The IRA said it had planted a 20lb (9.1 kg) device that exploded at about 08:28 am in a corner of Westminster Hall. The explosion was suspected to have fractured a gas main, with a fierce fire spreading quickly through the centuries-old hall in one of Britain's most closely guarded buildings.
18/06/74 - The IRA detonated a 600 lb van bomb in the town centre of Dungannon, County Tyrone, destroying & badly damaging many buildings. On the same day, three other IRA car bombs exploded outside RUC stations in Coagh & Stewartstown, County Tyrone as well as Ballymena in County Antrim.
24/06/74 - IRA volunteers, Gerard Craig (17) and David Russell (18), died when the bomb they were planting at a supermarket, Greenhaw Road, Shantallow, Derry, exploded prematurely.
Thanks very much for reading. I hope you found it a little interesting, and will come back on Tuesday!
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Some recommended reading based on research for this instalment.
The Provisional IRA in England: The Bombing Campaign 1973-1997 by Gary McGladdery.