In the world of politics, the biggest story in March 1974 was when a jury concluded that US President Richard Nixon was involved in the Watergate cover-up. There must have been something in the water because, back in Northern Ireland, the Littlejohn Affair was once again claiming that there was collusion with British Intelligence (MI6).
Political Developments in March 1974
March 1974 began with Unionists, who were in favour of the Assembly and the Executive, deciding that the Sunningdale Agreement should not be ratified unless Articles 2 and 3 of the Irish Constitution were repealed.
Article 2: The national territory consists of the whole island of Ireland, its islands and the territorial seas.
Article 3: Pending the re-integration of the national territory, and without prejudice to the right of the Parliament and Government established by this Constitution to exercise jurisdiction over the whole of that territory, the laws enacted by that Parliament shall have the like area and extent of application as the laws of Saorstát Éireann and the like extra-territorial effect.
The SDLP continued to argue that there could be no "watering down" of the Agreement.
It later came to light (documents released on the 1st of January 2005) that Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Brian Faulkner met with Northern Ireland Civil Servant Kenneth Bloomfield and Permanent Secretary at the Northern Ireland Office Frank Cooper on the same day. The notes from the meeting highlighted the tensions and determination from Mr Faulkner.
"Mr. Faulkner was somewhat shaken and somewhat fearful ... Everyone was shattered by the extent of the feeling against a Council of Ireland ... Faulkner ended by saying that "he was no quitter". He is clearly, however, a worried man and will need a good deal of comfort during the next few weeks. "
The following day Merlyn Rees was appointed as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. Due to the narrow majority of the Labour government, Rees found that he was tied to Westminster more than he may have wished.
On the 9th of March, the UUUC ramped up their quest to call for an end to the Executive by organising a protest march to Stormont.
The 11th of March saw further developments in the Littlejohn Affair. Kenneth and Keith Littlejohn escaped from Mountjoy Prison in Dublin. Both men had been convicted and sentenced (on the 3rd of August 1973) for an armed robbery in Dublin on the 12th of October 1972. Keith Littlejohn injured an ankle and was re-captured outside the prison. Kenneth Littlejohn escaped in a waiting car before Kenneth Littlejohn was re-captured on the 11th of December 1974 in Birmingham, England.
With the tensions rising in the North, Irish Prime Minister Liam Cosgrave made a statement in the Dáil in which he said that the position of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom could not be changed except with the consent of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland. This would have been music to the ears of Unionists.
On the 23rd of March the Ulster Workers' Council (UWC), a new Loyalist grouping, issued a statement calling for new elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly. The UWC threatened civil disobedience unless the Executive was dissolved.
The new Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Merlyn Rees met with the Northern Ireland Executive on the 26th of March. There was a lot on the agenda, with Mr Rees opening the meeting with the following;
The Secretary of State said that the meeting would be of value to him as there was still a marked lack of knowledge about Northern Ireland among those based in Great Britain, Only those residing in Northern Ireland could make a full assessment of the position and even more important only they could solve the problems of the country. He and his colleagues were reconsidering the Government’s wider policy in relation to Northern Ireland and he would be expected to report to the House of Commons at an early date - possibly on the Thursday of the following week. On the question of security, he had commissioned a full review by the Service Chiefs and indeed he had had a lengthy discussion with them immediately before the meeting. On the general political front, Sunningdale was still the basis for progress, and the House of Commons was firmly behind it. If there was any disagreement, it was from a small group of MPs - few in proportion to the volume of public support behind them - expressing the view that the Government should pull out of Northern Ireland altogether. There was at the moment no real leadership for this movement but there was evidence that there was substantial support among the public. All parties to the Sunningdale Agreement would have to implement their obligations. While the military solution could not be ignored, it was, in his opinion, of less importance than the political solution.
The Littlejohn Affair gained more media attention on the 29th of March when the BBC 'Midweek' programme broadcast a 25-minute interview with Kenneth Littlejohn which had been filmed in an Amsterdam hotel on Wednesday the 28th of March 1974. Littlejohn had escaped from Mountjoy Prison on the 11th of March 1974 where he had been serving a 20-year sentence for armed robbery. During the interview, he repeated the claim he made during his trial that he had been working for British Intelligence (MI6). He also described a meeting he had had with Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Defence Geoffrey Johnson-Smith. Later the British Ministry of Defence said it knew nothing about Littlejohn's allegations.
Shootings in March 1974
11/03/74 - The UVF shot dead Catholic civilian George Keating (47) in an attack on Bunch of Grapes Bar, Belfast.
12/03/74 - Fine Gael senator Billy Fox was kidnapped by the IRA and later found shot dead at the home of Marjorie Coulson, his girlfriend, in the townland of Tircooney, between Clones and Smithborough in County Monaghan.
12/03/74 - Fine Gael senator Billy Fox was kidnapped by the IRA and later found shot dead at the home of Marjorie Coulson, his girlfriend, in the townland of Tircooney, between Clones and Smithborough in County Monaghan.
13/03/74 - The IRA shot dead British soldier David Farrington (23) at a pedestrian checkpoint on Chapel Lane, Belfast.
15/03/74 - The UVF shot dead Catholic civilian Noel McCartan (26) on the Ormeau Road, Belfast
16/03/74 - IRA snipers shot dead patrolling British soldiers Roy Bedford (22) and Philip James (22), at Moybane, near Crossmaglen, County Armagh.
17/03/74 - An IRA sniper shot dead patrolling RUC officer Cyril Wilson (37) in Rathmore, Craigavon, County Armagh.
17/03/74 - An IRA sniper shot dead patrolling British soldier Michael Ryan (23), on Foyle Road, Brandywell, Derry.
20/03/74 - British soldiers Michael Herbert (31) and Michael Cotton (36) were shot dead by mistake by the Royal Ulster Constabulary at Mowhan, near Markethill, County Armagh. The soldiers were believed to be part of an undercover operation but this was denied by Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Merlyn Rees.
20/03/74 - The UFF claimed responsibility for a drive-by shooting attack on a Catholic schoolteacher in Cookstown.
21/03/74 - UDA volunteers opened fire on a lorry carrying about twenty workmen at Duncrue Street, Belfast. Catholic civilian Gerard McCarthy (28) was killed and five wounded. It was regarded as an indiscriminate sectarian attack.
21/03/74 - An IRA sniper shot patrolling British soldier James Macklin (28), on Antrim Road, Belfast. He died on the 28th of March.
23/03/74 - The IRA shot dead former British soldier Donald Farrell (56), while he was sitting in a stationary car near his home, Mountfield, near Omagh, County Tyrone. He had recently retired.
24/03/74 - The UVF shot dead Protestant civilian John Hamilton (46) near his home on Spruce Street, Belfast.
31/03/74 - Civilian Sean McAstocker (28), was found shot dead, at Lagan Street, Markets, Belfast. The IRA was responsible.
Bombings in March 1974
03/03/74 - An IRA landmine exploded and killed UDR soldier Robert Moffett (30) at Dunnamore, near Cookstown, County Tyrone.
05/03/74 - Nine people were injured when the UVF carried out a bomb attack on a house in Mourne Crescent, Coalisland.
10/03/74 - Catholic teenagers Michael McCreesh (15) and Michael Gallagher (18) were killed by an IRA booby-trap bomb near Forkhill, County Armagh. The bomb had been intended for a British Army foot patrol.
14/03/74 - High-ranking UDA volunteer James Redmond was badly injured when a bomb exploded under his car outside his Portadown home. The blast shattered nearby windows.
15/03/74 - IRA volunteers, Patrick McDonald (21) and Kevin Murray (27), were killed when their landmine prematurely exploded on Aughnacloy Road, Dungannon, County Tyrone.
15/03/74 - Civilian Adam Johnston (34) was killed by an IRA lorry bomb on Queen Street in Magherafelt, County Londonderry. The warning sent by the IRA had been inadequate.
19/03/74 - Off-duty RUC officer Frederick Robinson (40), was killed by an IRA booby trap bomb attached to his car outside his home, Glenkeen Avenue, Greenisland, County Antrim.
26/03/74 - Civilian Joseph Hughes (25), was killed when an IRA car bomb exploded on Springfield Road, Ballymurphy, Belfast. He had been driving past at the time.
26/03/74 - An IRA unit used 25 lbs of explosives to bomb the British Army Claro Barracks in North Yorkshire causing large structural damage to the barracks.
29/03/74 - Catholic civilians James Mitchell (38) and Joseph Donnelly (24) were killed when the UVF exploded a bomb at Conway's Bar, Belfast.
30/03/74 - Protestant civilians William Thompson (43) and Howard Mercer (39) were killed in a bomb attack on the Crescent Bar, Sandy Row, Belfast. No group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Thanks very much for reading. I hope you found this interesting enough to come back on Tuesday!
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Some recommended reading based on research for this installment.
The Provisional IRA in England: The Bombing Campaign 1973-1997 by Gary McGladdery.