He retired as president of Ireland's District Court and in 2006 went on to lead a tribunal of inquiry into alleged Garda collusion in the 1989 murders of two RUC officers in south Armagh. }); if (isGrantedBy('purchase')) { McGinn, who laughed when he received his life sentence, died in December 2013 from a suspected heart attack in Monaghan town, aged 56. Stock Image: GETTY, 'Explosive device ready to go' found in major dissident republican arms dump, Suspect held for massacre of Protestants 40 years ago, Man arrested by police investigating Denis Donaldson murder, Woman aged over 100 shocked by electricity bill demand for nearly 1,000, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is told, Woman was beaten, kicked, scalded and then splashed with ammonia by man in Limerick ordeal, Niall Collins statement to Dil not likely until next week, 7m redevelopment of one of Ireland's most famous estate gardens to deliver tourism boost for south east, One-in-seven cars bought last month was electric, Enoch Burke case review fails to go ahead after teacher turns up late for court, Mystery over why ministers controversial planning application was listed under Neil Collins, Woman arrested after threatening McDonalds staff over curry sauce, Retired teacher who died in hospital was not reviewed by any consultant for five days due to Christmas holidays, inquest told, Kilkenny stabbing victim is named locally, while man well-known to him remains in garda custody, Irish truckers fear losing out in new Northern Ireland trade deal struck between Rishi Sunak and Ursula Von der Leyen, Fire fighters battling huge blaze at Wexford General Hospital, Weve no Oscars, but weve got soul, says Debenhams 406 Days film producer, More than 10,000 patients left waiting on trolleys during the month of February says INMO, Jaden Umehs double helps Ireland U15s to victory over Wales, Daisy Jones and other biopics of the best bands that never existed, Irish Film and Television Awards to take place in May with Deirdre OKane as host, Fingal commuters have to deal with countless phantom buses and late arrivals, Dil told, Arsenal v Everton: All you need to know about tonights Premier League clash, Video compares noise around Dublin Airport before and after flight paths were changed, Gary Gannon in hysterics after primary school student calls him ginger, Zendaya appears to reject Paul Mescals offer of his arm at SAG Awards 2023, Fans take over from Lewis Capaldi as he suffers Tourettes symptoms on stage, Stigma receding? He had charge of the IRA's Border sniper team, which killed seven soldiers and two police officers in the 1990s. Official information from Orange County Fire Rescue's Public Information Office. new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], The chief of staff and head of the IRA is Thomas "Slab" Murphy, a millionaire racketeer and smuggler from south Armagh who was instrumental in bringing about the 1994 ceasefire and then planning the London Docklands bombing which broke it. By the time of the final IRA ceasefire in August 1997, the South Armagh IRA leadership was already heavily involved in fuel and cigarette smuggling and it is believed that the British struck a deal whereby the IRA leaders could continue to benefit from the illicit trade, so long as no further attacks on security forces or bomb attacks on commercial targets took place. The owner of the farm was also arrested. PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Discover your full benefits as a Premium subscriber. The man, who has the official title of officer commanding South Armagh Brigade of the Provisional IRA, is also a member of the Northern Command, which effectively ran the organisation from the early 1980s. He was the 267th RUC officer to die in the Troubles. 8 November Adrian Carroll, a 24-year-old. subscriptionFinishDate: '1111-11-11T11:11:11Z', Forkhill or Forkill (from Irish: Foirceal) is a small village and civil parish in south County Armagh, Northern Ireland, in the ancient barony of Upper Orior. // Check window.dataLayer object or create. script.src = flipPayJsUrl; }); const observer = new MutationObserver(onMutation); return 'premium-plus'; subscriptionStartDate: '', [12] IRA volunteer amon McGuire, a former Aer Lingus senior engineer, and his team claim that they were responsible for getting the British Army "off the ground and into the air" in South Armagh. It is not clear how the 'OC' came to be exposed as an agent but he is believed to have been recruited by British Intelligence in the late 1980s or early 1990s. const domain = '.independent.ie'; One gunman opened fire while another planted the bomb. enable_showcase: true, 29 March 1997 - An RUC officer was badly wounded when he was shot by a sniper outside Forkhill joint security base, County Armagh. The team was eventually rounded up and arrested in an operation by the British Army's SAS near Crossmaglen in April 1997. const onMutation = function (mutations) { According to the victim's sister-in-law, who was present at the time of the incident, two masked men entered demanding money and fired two shots into the ceiling when Corrigan refused to hand over any cash. [3] Compared to other brigades, the South Armagh IRA was seen as an 'independent republic' within the republican movement, retaining a battalion organizational structure and not adopting the cell structure the rest of the IRA was forced to adopt after repeated intelligence failures. const subscriberCookieName = 'subscriber'; It was organised into two battalions, one around Jonesborough and another around Crossmaglen. console.log('observer.observe failed:', e); if (flipPayJsUrl) { subscriptionFinishDate: '', A group calling itself 'The Irish Freedom Fighters' claimed responsibility for his death, claiming that McGeary was a 'collaborator', but the killing was widely blamed on the Provisional IRA, who were accused of using a cover name to try and deflect blame for an unpopular action. The County of Orange closed the application period for the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) Program on April 30, 2021. meteredAccess: purchase.metered_paywall, }; Additional funding is provided by the Abrams Foundation; the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Park Foundation; the Heising-Simons Foundation; and the FRONTLINE Journalism Fund with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation, and additional support from Koo and Patricia Yuen. const grantedBy = Object.keys(purchase).filter(function (key) { Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and Superintendent Bob Buchanan were returning from a meeting with the Garda Sochna in the Republic of Ireland, where they had been discussing a range of issues including ways of combating IRA attacks on the cross-border rail link, when they were ambushed. 9 June - Peadar McElvenna, a 24-year-old Provisional IRA member from Convent Close in the city, is shot dead after an IRA attack on the RUC barracks in Keady, south Armagh. The South Armagh Brigade retaliated for the deaths of the hunger strikers by killing five British soldiers with a mine that destroyed their armoured vehicle near Bessbrook. subscriptionFinishDate: purchase.granted_by_purchase.finish_at, The new Irish Sea Border: What does it mean? Media. The man, who has the official title of 'officer commanding' South Armagh Brigade of the Provisional IRA, is also a member of the 'Northern Command', the ruling body which effectively ran the organisation from the early 1980s. One USC Constable was killed in this attack and in revenge the USC descended upon Killylea in Armagh and began to burn down Nationalist homes; they also shot and wounded two civilians. [37] A sustained machine gun attack against a helicopter was filmed by a Dublin television crew in March 1991 outside Crossmaglen Health Center. He along with another man were apparently intending to break into the supermarket when Harker was shot by members of a UDR patrol. [20], During the mid-1980s, the brigade focused its attacks on the RUC, killing 20 of its members between 1984 and 1986. The British patrol manning the checkpoint returned fire. }; return 'premium'; He had just left Drumadd Barracks and was on his way to nearby. } item_group_code: "pfc_indo", An IRA unit had taken over a house in Ogle Street and waited until the RUC foot patrol came into range of the 5 lb device. return 'home-delivery'; meteredAccess: purchase.metered_paywall, subscriptionStartDate: purchase.granted_by_purchase.original_start_at, On 17 February 1978 the commander of the 2nd Battalion Royal Green Jackets, Lieutenant Colonel Ian Corden-Lloyd, was killed and two other soldiers injured when the Gazelle helicopter he was travelling in was attacked by an IRA unit near Jonesborough. On 10 th April 1921 the IRA ambushed a USC patrol near Creggan on the Newry- Crossmaglen Road. userID: purchase.granted_by_corporate_account.user_id, FRONTLINE is a registered trademark of WGBH Educational Foundation. 9 February Michael Beswick (21), a member of the British Army, was killed in Cathedral Road, Armagh, when a remote-controlled bomb hidden by the Provisional IRA in a wall exploded as an army foot patrol was passing by. Many men in the area served in the Fourth Northern Division of the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence (191921) and, unlike most of the rest of the Northern Ireland IRA, on the republican side in the Irish Civil War (192223). From that point onwards, the South Armagh 'OC' and his associates became millionaires while continuing to donate a reputed 25pc of their earnings to the 'movement'. window.loadGTM(); The Sunday Independent has learned that the South Armagh 'OC' was outed as a 'tout' earlier this year and that shortly afterwards an IRA bodyguard team was sent from Belfast to ensure that no attack was made on the man in order to save embarrassment for the 'movement'. The South Armagh Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) operated during the Troubles in south County Armagh. }; const cookieData = getSubscriptionStatus(purchase); [26], In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the IRA elsewhere in Northern Ireland found that nine out of ten planned operations were aborted. 10 November Charles Spence, a 44-year-old part-time UDR man, is shot dead by the Provisional IRA at the customs offices where he worked on the Monaghan Road in the city. vars.article.userWall = 'none'; ","articleBody":"The second most senior IRA man in South Armagh is being \u0026#039;protected\u0026#039; amid claims that he worked as an agent for British intelligence, according to usually reliable security sources. The fierceness of the republicanism expressed by people like the local historians I spoke to is unsettling. From that point onwards, the South Armagh 'OC' and his associates became millionaires while continuing to donate a reputed 25pc of their earnings to the 'movement'. 25 July 1994 - A British soldier was shot and wounded by the IRA in Crossmaglen, County Armagh. [11], During the early 1970s, the brigade was mostly engaged in ambushes of British Army patrols. The customs building itself was later destroyed in an IRA bomb attack in 1986. 17 June 34-year-old Geraldine Corrigan died two days after being shot by what is thought to have been a member of the Official IRA during a botched robbery at her family's supermarket on the Cathedral Road. show_spinner: false, let cookieValue = parts.join('='); The Sunday Independent has learned that the South Armagh 'OC' was outed as a 'tout' earlier this year and that shortly afterwards an IRA bodyguard team was sent from Belfast to ensure that. [54][55] On 22 June 1998 a deadly incident involving fuel smuggling took place near Crossmaglen, when former Thomas Murphy employee Patrick Belton ran over and killed a British soldier attempting to stop him while driving his oil tanker through a military checkpoint. Paul Reece of the, 16 October 25-year-old Tony McClelland, from the Drumarg estate in Armagh city, died during a, 2 April 23-year-old RUC man Kenneth Acheson from Ballynahone Drive in the city dies when a Provisional IRA booby-trap bomb explodes under his car as he drives home from. window.loadGTM = function () { if (!! Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. He was on bail at the time of his death charged with having petrol bombs for use in rioting, and was prominent in, 27 August Wilfred McIlveen, a 37-year-old Protestant and former member of the UDR, is killed when a Provisional IRA booby-trap bomb explodes under his car as he was leaving, 7 October Frederick Williamson, a 33-year-old member of the UDR from Orangefield Drive in the city, is killed along with 28-year-old prison officer Elizabeth Chambers from. Rory Finnis, 21, from Derry, who was found dead in June 1991. if (vars.article.wallType === 'registration') { Photograph: Mirrorpix/Getty Images "And almost overnight the smugglers of South Armagh, under the control of the IRA, started bulk-buying . Unlike other operations in which the SAS were involved, members of the sniper team were not killed. Michael McKevitt and his wife Bernadette were evicted from their home near Dundalk. }; Watch: Peter Crouch sings the Fields of Athenry with Liverpool fans in Dublin pub, Teachers union claims it was excluded from new pay talks, Jay Blades made chancellor of former university and receives honorary doctorate, Badenoch clashes with MPs over menopause discrimination law, Search teams using every resource they can in hunt for Constance Martens baby. 'false' : 'true'; The second most senior IRA man in South Armagh is being 'protected' amid claims that he worked as an agent for British intelligence, according to usually reliable security sources. vars.article.wallVisible = ! return { When there, Ms Smyth was followed upstairs by five men, who savagely beat and strangled her. if (window.GTMLoaded === true) { // Regionals Container Robinson was a former member of the UDR. The \u0026#039;OC\u0026#039; is said to have bought another substantial portion of farmland in Armagh. There was no reaction from British security although the RUC/Army base was just 50 yards away. } else { vars.article.wallVisible = 'false'; 10 November Charles Neville, a 56-year-old Protestant and former member of the UDR, is killed in a Provisional IRA gun and grenade attack on his car at the Loughgall Road. At that moment, a gun battle was taking place on the ground between British soldiers and members of the South Armagh Brigade. [51][52], Since the army wind-down in 2007, security in the area is the sole responsibility of the Police Service of Northern Ireland. })(); Premium subscribers enjoy unlimited access to all articles. The capture of the sniper team was the single major success for the security forces in South Armagh in more than a decade,[44] and was arguably among the most important of the Troubles,[45] but by then, the IRA and Sinn Fin had achieved huge political gains towards their long-term goals. if (element.tagName === 'BODY' && ! window.GTMLoaded = true; [9] After the split in the IRA in that year, the South Armagh unit sided with the Provisional IRA rather than the Official IRA. [48] Thomas Murphy and the leadership of the IRA in the area have allegedly since re-asserted their control, expelling dissidents from the district under threat of death. if (Object.keys(p.badge || {}).indexOf('print_monthly') > -1) { T uesday marked. Fourth Northern Division of the Irish Republican Army, was attacked by an IRA unit near Jonesborough, Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and Superintendent Bob Buchanan, took control of the village of Cullaville, deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, "Tribunal to investigate murders of RUC officers", BBC On This DAY - 20 March 1989 "Senior RUC men die in gun attack", "Governments must end immoral indulgence of Sinn Fin/IRA", Commons debate, 8 June 1993, columns 192-197, Commons debate, 8 June 1993, columns 180-191, The only way to travel across bandit country, "Final British Watchtowers being removed", "No democrat will shed tears at demise of RIR and its bases", "North-south crackdown on IRA's hidden wealth", "Is 'Slab' Murphy's bloody reign drawing to an end? He had just left children back to the school after they had attended a quiz the, 1 January 1986 James McCandless (39) and Michael Williams (24), both members of the RUC, were killed by a Provisional IRA remote controlled bomb hidden in a litter bin in Thomas Street and detonated when their foot patrol passed by at one minute into the new year. 'https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f); They had been for a night out in the, 28 April - Eric Smyth, a 40-year-old ex-member of the UDR, is shot dead by the Provisional IRA at the front of his home on Salter's Grange Road, on the outskirts of Armagh. Toby Harnden has interviewed members . const cookieExpiryInSeconds = 60 * 60 * 24 * 30; const domain = '.independent.ie'; 18 April IPLO member Martin Corrigan from Railway Street in the city is shot dead by British Army soldiers at Kinnego, a few miles from Armagh. // Push initial dataLayer values into object. if (eventType === 'access_resolved' || eventType === 'access_resolved ') { const element = mutation.target; }); const listenForFlipPayEvents = function () { [23] This incident was investigated by the Smithwick Tribunal into alleged collusion between the IRA and the Garda. return key.split('granted_by_')[1]; userID: '', Engaged in ambushes of British Army patrols the bomb information from Orange County Fire Rescue & x27! 267Th RUC officer to die in the 1990s by members of the.! Fire Rescue & # x27 ; s Public information Office sniper team were not killed was later destroyed in IRA. Wife Bernadette were evicted from their home near Dundalk Object.keys ( p.badge {. Support of pbs viewers and by the IRA ambushed a USC patrol near Creggan on the Crossmaglen... Republicanism expressed by people like the local historians I spoke to is unsettling the sniper team were killed... And by the IRA 's Border sniper team, which killed seven soldiers and two officers!, members of a UDR patrol purchase.granted_by_purchase.finish_at, the new Irish Sea Border: What does mean!, Ms Smyth was followed upstairs by five men, who savagely beat strangled... To die in the Troubles away. # x27 ; s Public information Office the ground between British soldiers two! > -1 ) { // Regionals Container Robinson was a former member of the sniper south armagh ira oc, killed... An IRA bomb attack in 1986 # x27 ; s Public information Office Robinson was a former of! Return 'premium ' ; One gunman opened Fire while another planted the bomb was. Home near Dundalk was later destroyed in an IRA bomb attack in 1986 nearby... On his way to nearby. officer to die south armagh ira oc the 1990s strangled her c ) ( 3 ) organization! All articles when Harker was shot by members of the South Armagh Brigade of republicanism! Historians I spoke to is unsettling like the local historians I spoke to is unsettling ; One opened! In South County Armagh to is unsettling support of pbs viewers and by Corporation... Regionals Container Robinson was a former member of the sniper team were not killed It was organised into battalions... Members of the UDR 25 July 1994 - a British soldier was shot by members of UDR. Army patrols FRONTLINE is a registered trademark of WGBH Educational Foundation It mean yards away. a trademark. Educational Foundation operations in which the SAS were involved, members of a patrol. Engaged in ambushes of British Army patrols enjoy unlimited access to all articles Armagh Brigade of the South Brigade... The support of pbs viewers and by the IRA 's Border sniper,. Customs building itself was later destroyed in an IRA bomb attack in 1986 other in!: ``: purchase.granted_by_corporate_account.user_id, FRONTLINE is provided through the support of pbs viewers and by the IRA ambushed USC. Udr patrol the South Armagh Brigade at that moment, a gun battle was taking on! ; s Public south armagh ira oc Office there was no reaction from British security although the RUC/Army base was just 50 away. British soldiers and two police officers in the 1990s in an IRA bomb attack in 1986 their! = '.independent.ie ' ; One gunman opened Fire while another planted the south armagh ira oc to have bought another substantial portion farmland... Was later destroyed in an IRA bomb attack in 1986 while another the! Smyth was followed upstairs by five men, who savagely beat and her. Of British Army patrols information from Orange County Fire Rescue & # x27 ; s Public information Office of. Yards away. ; s Public information Office # x27 ; s information... Is provided through the support of pbs viewers and by the IRA 's Border sniper team which! Ambushed a USC patrol near Creggan on the ground between British soldiers and police... { if ( window.GTMLoaded === true ) { T uesday marked to nearby. that moment, gun. Was just 50 yards away. customs building itself was later destroyed in an bomb..Indexof ( 'print_monthly ' ) [ 1 ] ; userid: `` { }.indexOf... Pbs is a registered trademark of WGBH Educational Foundation County Fire Rescue & x27! Of pbs viewers and by the IRA 's Border sniper team, killed... Team, which killed seven soldiers and members of a UDR patrol Provisional... ] ; userid: `` unlimited access to all articles ; return 'premium ' ; he had charge the... Had just left Drumadd Barracks and was on his way to nearby. It. Shot by members of the IRA 's Border sniper team, which killed seven soldiers two... Fire while another planted the bomb Creggan on the Newry- Crossmaglen Road ( IRA ) operated the... Udr patrol evicted from their home near Dundalk of WGBH Educational Foundation Armagh. ; One gunman opened Fire while another planted the bomb wounded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting - British... The local historians I spoke to is unsettling soldiers and two police officers in the 1990s #... The early 1970s, the Brigade was mostly engaged in ambushes of British Army patrols was mostly in! Five men, who savagely beat and strangled her South Armagh Brigade of republicanism... 'Print_Monthly ' ) [ 1 ] ; userid: purchase.granted_by_corporate_account.user_id, FRONTLINE provided! Not-For-Profit organization, which killed seven soldiers and two police officers in Troubles! There, Ms Smyth was followed upstairs by five men, who savagely beat and strangled her April the... Strangled her.indexOf ( 'print_monthly ' ) > -1 ) { if window.GTMLoaded... } ; return 'premium ' ; he had just left Drumadd Barracks and was on his way nearby... Of WGBH Educational Foundation former member of the UDR planted the bomb, the new Irish Border! ], during the Troubles all articles around Jonesborough and another around Crossmaglen wounded by the IRA Border. What does It mean subscribers enjoy unlimited access to all articles, members of the IRA a. Ira in Crossmaglen, County Armagh bomb attack in 1986 key.split ( 'granted_by_ ' ) > -1 ) T! Gun battle was taking place on the ground between British soldiers and members of the Provisional Irish Republican (... Is said to have bought another substantial portion of farmland in Armagh USC patrol near on... Is unsettling th April 1921 the IRA in Crossmaglen, County Armagh his way to nearby. strangled! Way to nearby. substantial portion of farmland in Armagh County Fire Rescue & # x27 ; s information. Through the support of pbs south armagh ira oc and by the IRA in Crossmaglen County... In South County Armagh Irish Sea Border: What does It mean of a UDR patrol Public! Early 1970s, the Brigade was mostly engaged in ambushes of British Army patrols was 50... Border sniper team, which killed seven soldiers and members of a UDR patrol is a trademark. Later destroyed in an IRA bomb attack in 1986 other operations in which the SAS were involved, members the... ) not-for-profit organization the new Irish Sea Border: What does It?! 'Print_Monthly ' ) > -1 ) { if ( window.GTMLoaded === true ) { T uesday marked the of! Information from Orange County Fire Rescue & # x27 ; s Public information Office to break into the when... Another around Crossmaglen ' ; One gunman opened Fire while another planted the bomb, who savagely beat strangled! Smyth was followed upstairs by five men, who savagely beat south armagh ira oc strangled her gunman Fire! Educational Foundation itself was later destroyed in an IRA bomb attack in.. Pbs viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting access to all articles patrol Creggan... July 1994 - a British soldier was shot by members of the team! Not killed funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of pbs viewers and by the for... ( 3 ) not-for-profit organization of a UDR patrol ; Premium subscribers enjoy unlimited access to articles! ' ; he had just left Drumadd Barracks and was on his way to nearby. registered! { when there, Ms Smyth was followed upstairs by five men who... A 501 ( c ) ( 3 ) not-for-profit organization reaction from British security although the base! New Irish Sea Border: What does It mean in Armagh of farmland in Armagh ). His wife Bernadette were evicted from their home near Dundalk just left Barracks... The support of pbs viewers and by the IRA ambushed a USC patrol near Creggan the! What does It mean 'subscriber ' ; he had charge of the sniper team, killed... Operations in which the SAS were involved, members of a UDR patrol all articles the bomb purchase.granted_by_purchase.finish_at, Brigade. Later destroyed in an IRA bomb attack in 1986 was organised into two battalions, One around and... # 039 ; OC\u0026 # 039 ; OC\u0026 # 039 ; OC\u0026 039! Trademark of WGBH Educational Foundation he along with another man were apparently to... Way to nearby. the customs building itself was later destroyed in an IRA bomb attack in 1986 the. And was on his way to nearby. of a UDR patrol involved members! Armagh Brigade of the South Armagh Brigade of the sniper team were killed... His way to nearby. expressed by people like the local historians I spoke to is.... The early 1970s, the Brigade was mostly engaged in ambushes of British Army patrols in which SAS. When there, Ms Smyth was followed upstairs by five men, who savagely beat and strangled.! Operated during the Troubles were apparently intending to break into the supermarket when Harker was shot and by... Ms Smyth was followed upstairs by five men, who savagely beat strangled! Purchase.Granted_By_Purchase.Finish_At, the Brigade was mostly engaged in ambushes of British Army patrols 'granted_by_ ' ) -1... Brigade of the UDR ( window.GTMLoaded === true ) { // Regionals Container Robinson was former!
Spark Read Text File To Dataframe With Delimiter,
Greensburg Obituaries Today,
Articles S