March 1975 saw the Kurds end their fight against the Iraqi Army. If you read up on the conflict in the region, you’ll find a lot of similar patterns, ideologies and fighting to what we have seen in Northern Ireland during The Troubles. An intriguing rabbit hole to go down…
Political Developments in March 1975
In a month where a feud between the UVF and UDA took many of the headlines, there wasn’t a huge amount to report on politically.
Records released in January 2001 reveal a note from Merlyn Rees that details plans for the Constitutional Convention. British Prime Minister Harold Wilson paid a visit to Stormont on the 25th of March and announced that an election to the Constitutional Convention would be held in Northern Ireland on the 1st of May 1975.
A key takeout of this note stated;
"The Convention is unlikely in the short term to solve the deep divisions in the Northern Ireland body politic. But it is an important step forward to get Northern Irishmen to face up to their own responsibilities. "
On the 18th of March, Marion Price and Dolours Price were transferred from Durham Prison to Armagh Prison following a long protest campaign. The Price sisters had been convicted of causing explosions in London on the 8th of March 1973.
Senior members of the UDA began a three-day 'conference' to consider political options for the future. The meeting was held in Hotel Frommer in Holland. A brief note of the discussions that took place was written by 'independent observers'. You can read the note here, however, an intriguing point was;
The UDA is making a serious attempt to be progressive and remove sectarian politics from Northern Ireland.
As with all the declarations from the many paramilitary organisations in Northern Ireland, the thought of non-sectarian politics seemed like a pipe dream.
Shootings in March 1975
01/03/75 - The INLA shot and critically injured OIRA leader Sean Garland outside his home in the Ballymun area of Dublin. The shooting was part of the ongoing feud.
08/03/75 - The UVF shot dead Catholic civilian Michael Adamson (23) at his home on Clifton Drive, Belfast.
12/03/75 - Civilian Joseph Clarke (18) died eight days after being shot at his home by loyalists.
12/03/75 - Republican gunmen shot dead Protestant civilian Raymond Carrothers (51) at his home in the Cliftonville area of Belfast. Lost Lives by David McKittrick et al alleges INLA members killed him in retaliation for the murder of a Catholic man in the area days earlier.
13/03/75 - INLA gunmen shot and wounded Republican Clubs official Sean Morrisey in Belfast.
13/03/75 - Catholic civilian Robert Skillen (19) died three weeks after being shot by the UDA in Parke's grocery shop on North Queen Street, Belfast.
13/03/75 - Catholic civilian Marie Doyle (38) died after being shot during a gun and bomb attack on Conways Bar, Greencastle, Belfast.
15/03/75 - The UVF shot dead UDA members John Fulton (20) and Stephen Goatley (19) in the Alexandra Bar, York Road, Belfast, as a result of a loyalist feud.
17/03/75 - IRA volunteer Thomas Smith (28), a native of Dublin, was shot dead by the Irish Army while attempting to escape from Portlaoise Prison, County Laois. The funeral took place on the 22nd of March and was subsequently attacked by Gardaí. Three people, including a press photographer, are injured.
21/03/75 - Protestant civilian David Halliday (60) died four months after being shot by the UVF during a bank robbery on Crumlin Road, Belfast.
24/03/75 - Post Office official William Elliott (51) was shot dead when he arrived at the scene of a robbery at the post office in Silverbridge, County Armagh. It is alleged that the IRA was responsible and that the gunmen thought Elliott was an RUC officer.
Bombings in March 1975
09/03/75 - Loyalists firebombed a fleet of fishing trawlers at Greencastle, County Donegal, Republic of Ireland. Fourteen boats were damaged. Both the UVF and UDA claimed responsibility, with the UDA making "the unlikely claim that the fleet had been used to ferry arms ashore for the IRA after a rendezvous with a Soviet submarine".
13/03/75 - Two people died as a result of a UVF gun and bomb attack on Conway's Bar, Greencastle, Belfast. One of those killed was Catholic civilian Marie Doyle (38), and the other was UVF member George Brown (22) who died when the bomb he was planting in the pub exploded prematurely.
16/03/75 - RUC officer Mildred Harrison (26), was killed by a UVF bomb while on foot patrol passing the Ormeau Arms Bar, High Street, Bangor.
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Some recommended reading based on research for this instalment.