June 1977: Emigrate to New Zealand
In June 1977, The Washington Post reported that the US had developed a neutron bomb. In Northern Ireland, this was the first month in a long time where we didn’t have any bombing incidents.
Political Developments in June 1977
On the 3rd of June, nine members of the UVF who were from the Coleraine, County Derry, area were jailed for a total of 108 years.
Five days later, Secretary of State Roy Mason announced that the strength of the RUC would be increased by 1,200 and that of the UDR increased to 2,500 full-time members. He also announced that troops would have more undercover activity and that the spearhead battalion would be withdrawn.
The Fianna Fáil party won the general election in the Republic of Ireland on the 16th of June. They had a majority of 20 seats, with Jack Lynch becoming the new Irish Prime Minister.
In an interesting development, New Zealand Prime Minister Robert Muldoon held talks with representatives of the Peace People in Belfast on the 19th. One of the items discussed was the possibility of ex-paramilitaries being allowed to emigrate to New Zealand.
Given all that had happened over recent years, it’s no surprise that the unemployment figures showed that the number of people out of work stood at 60,000, the highest June total for 37 years.
Shootings in June 1977
02/06/77 - RUC members Hugh Martin (58), Samuel Davison (24) and Kenneth Lynch (22), whilst on mobile patrol, were shot dead by IRA snipers near Ardboe, County Tyrone.
08/06/77 - UDR soldier Gerald Tucker (35) was shot dead by the IRA after leaving the Victoria Hospital on the Falls Road, Belfast.
19/06/77 - Magistrate Robert Whitten (73) died three months after being shot from a passing car while walking along Thomas Street, Portadown, County Armagh.
22/06/77 - Prison Officer John Millikin (57) was shot dead by the IRA in a drive-by attack outside the Crumlin Road Prison in Belfast.
29/06/77 - British Army members Richard Turnbull (18) and Michael Harrison (19) were shot dead by IRA snipers at the entrance to North Howard Street Army base, Belfast.
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Bombings in June 1977
Surprisingly, there were no bombing incidents in June 1977.
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