The group were also responsible for the . Leading `Real IRA' member is shot dead in Ballymurphy. The European Union is as much of an imperial power as if not more than Britain at the moment, Lynagh says. [43] One witness has said that some of the men were wounded and tried to surrender but were then killed by the British soldiers. [115][64] Among them there were Constable Andrew Beacom and Reserve Constable Ernest Smith, the two RUC members ambushed and shot dead while driving a civilian type vehicle in Fivemiletown's main street on 12 December 1993. The British are sending a plausibly deniable mixed message. This was the last action by the Brigade before. Six IRA members from a supporting unit managed to slip away. [42][43] On 26 March, an IRA unit firing a light machine gun disrupted a UDR mobile checkpoint at Lurgylea road, north of Cappagh. Even a few customs posts stopping HGVs crossing the Border would not change that, McKearney says. He is now president of the Ancient Order of Hibernians in Co Tyrone. Major Shaw died at the scene. A third former republican paramilitary suggests that Ireland would be better off in an economic bloc with the UK rather than with the European Union. [41] 2 February 1996: The house of a part-time member of the RUC was riddled with gunfire in Moy. The peace process is dead if you cant throw up the old monster of potential violence, he says. The IRA responded by killing senior UVF man and former UDR member Leslie Dallas on 7 March 1989,[46][47] but the UVF shot dead three IRA members and a Catholic civilian in a pub in Cappagh on 3 March 1991. Another IRA unit then directed heavy machine-gun fire at the front of the barracks, which provided cover for a bomb team to plant a 100lb (45kg) bomb inside. One soldier was seriously wounded. Another street fracas five days later, on 17 May, between a King's Own Scottish Borderers platoon and a group of nationalist youths in Coalisland resulted in the theft of an army machine gun and a new confrontation with the paratroopers. Sean O'Farrell was wounded and attempted to escape. Two more McKearney brothers died in the Troubles. Her extradition from Northern Ireland was refused in 2007. [114], Three active members of the security forces were killed by the East Tyrone Brigade during this period. He also wrote the best-selling book "The IRA - A Secret History". Anybody who has ever fought in the Provisional IRA, as distinct to those who hid in the Provisional IRA, or joined after the ceasefires, will never live to see a united Ireland, Dissidents who backed Brexit with the objective of destabilising the UK are not going to wage an armed campaign, he says. Lynagh's strategy was to start off with one area which the British military did not control, preferably a republican stronghold such as east Tyrone. [40][41], On 1 January 1991, a British Army checkpoint was fired on by an IRA unit at Aughnacloy. [78], On 30 March 1993, one of the brigade units claimed they thwarted a British undercover operation by detonating an explosive device in the Glen, between Loughmacrory and Mountfield, near the spot where the British personnel were hidden. [50] The RUC stated the men were on their way to mount an ambush on Protestant workmen. See: Attack on UDR Clogher barracks [19][unreliable source? [9] The theory involved creating "no-go zones" that the British Army and Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) did not control and gradually expanding them. Maybe a lot of huff and puff but nothing is going to get blown down.. [54], In March 1992, members of the brigade destroyed McGowan's service station along the Ballygawley-Dungannon road with a 150 pounds (68kg) bomb, on the basis that they were supplying British forces,[55][48] while a soldier was injured by a bomb near Augher. [113] An IRA man was taken in custody in Newtownstewart, west Tyrone, on 10 July 1993, after being injured during a mishap while testing an improvised mortar in a barn near Dungannon. You might have someone taking a potshot sometime, but if you are talking about a serious insurgency or a serious campaign, anything that remotely emulates the Provisional IRAs campaign, it is not going to happen. 26 March 1997: A grenade was thrown by IRA volunteers to the Army/RUC base at Coalisland. A support vehicle further compromised the getaway by flashing its emergency lights. The East Tyrone Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), also known as the Tyrone/Monaghan Brigade[1] was one of the most active republican paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland during "the Troubles". In July 1983, the East Tyrone Brigade carried out a landmine ambush on an Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) mobile patrol near Ballygawley, killing three UDR soldiers (a fourth UDR soldier died later). [48] The IRA retaliated on 5 August 1991, when they shot and killed a former UDR soldier while living his workplace along Altmore Road, also in Cappagh. The RUC officer, William Logan (aged 23), who was driving the police patrol vehicle was mortally wounded and died the following day, he was the first RUC officer killed by the brigade. The IRA claimed the man was a UVF commander, responsible for the killings of Catholic civilians. This is the story of the war in the fields, towns and villages of East Tyrone, as told by the people who fought it. Lynagh's strategy was to start off with one area which the British military did not control, preferably a republican stronghold such as east Tyrone. [53][54], Another IRA bomb attack against British troops, near Cappagh, during which a paratrooper lost both legs, triggered a series of clashes between soldiers and local residents in the staunchly republican town of Coalisland, on 12 and 17 May 1992. I think its all guff.. Another brother, Kevin, and Tommy's uncle John, neither of whom was in the IRA, were killed by loyalist paramilitaries from the Ulster Volunteer Force in an attack on the family's butcher's shop, in Moy, in January 1992. 2 May 1974: Up to 40 members from the IRA's East Tyrone Brigade attacked the isolated 6 UDR Deanery base in Clogher, County Tyrone with machine gun and RPG fire resulting in the death of Private Eva Martin, a UDR Greenfinch, the first female UDR soldier to be killed by enemy action. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. [99][100], On 9 April 1994, after a three-day IRA ceasefire, a Mark-15 mortar was launched at midday at the British Army permanent checkpoint in Aughnacloy. [30] Journalist Ian Bruce claims that an unidentified Irishman who had served in the Parachute Regiment was the leader of the IRA unit, citing intelligence sources. Thus it was from there that the IRA East Tyrone Brigade attacks were launched, with most of them occurring in east Tyrone in areas close to south Armagh, which offered good escape routes. The main target, Brian Arthurs, escaped injury. [34] On 3 June, three IRA men, Lawrence McNally, Michael Ryan and Tony Doris, died in another SAS ambush at Coagh, where their car was riddled with gunfire. This is not a land of milk and honey under the European Union. The area was previously secured by a group of armed volunteers. [93], Other operations against security facilities in this period included a sniper and small arms attack on the British Army base of Killymeal, Dungannon, on 22 May 1993; the brigade claimed a subsequent exchange of fire between IRA volunteers in supporting role and British soldiers crewing an observation post. They are saying to us: if you want to go down that road we are not going to step in your way. Jim Lynagh, member of the East Tyrone Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), one of twelve children, is born on the Tully Estate, a housing estate in the townland of Killygowan on the southern edge of Monaghan, County Monaghan, on April 13, 1956.. Lynagh joins the Provisional Irish Republican Army in the early 1970s. [7], Members of the East Tyrone Brigade had previously carried out two attacks on RUC bases in their operational area, described by author Mark Urban as "spectaculars". One of the workers killed, Robert Dunseath, was an off-duty Royal Irish Rangers soldier. The Gazelle broke up during the subsequent crash-landing. [77], On 19 January 1993 the brigade claimed that their volunteers uncovered and destroyed a British army observation post concealed in a derelict house in Drumcairne Forest, near Stewartstown. This in response to a complaint from DUP AssemblymanWilliam McCreaaccusing the GAA of turning a blind eye to "republican terrorist" events in the last years. [26], On 11 February 1990 the brigade managed to shoot down a British Army Gazelle helicopter near Clogher by machine gun fire and wounding three soldiers, one of them seriously. [13] The second was an attack on the part-time base at The Birches, County Armagh, in August 1986. Manage all your favorite fandoms in one place! A member of an IRA unit who survived a deadly SAS ambush at Loughgall which claimed the lives of eight republicans has broken his silence for the first time on the 30th anniversary. Three of the four are convicted killers or have served time in relation to a killing. I dont see it has changed any bit since then, he says. They dont throw away remarks like that.. Anthony McIntyre, an IRA man turned writer and historian who is another supporter of the peace process but critic of Sinn Fin, fails to see how a hard Brexit would fuel any new armed campaign, given that it was not the Border that brought the Provisional IRA into existence but the response in Belfast and Derry to the British armys behaviour when it came to the North. Why would article 50 change that? A 'senior security source' claimed that the IRA was responsible. [29][30] On 24 March 1990, there was a gunbattle between an IRA unit and undercover British forces at the village of Cappagh, County Tyrone, when IRA members fired at a civilian-type car driven by security forces, according to Archie Hamilton, then Secretary of State for Defence. [17] The checkpoint was stormed and two British soldiers killed in action. . [95] The fortified[96] courthouse in Cookstown was meanwhile damaged by two bombs planted there on 15 October 1993. McKearney argues that cross-Border economics has operated in a beggar-thy-neighbour way: Newry has over the years benefited at the expense of Dundalk, and vice versa, depending on currency fluctuations. 22 February 1997: An IRA mortar unit was intercepted by the RUC in $3, on its way to carry out an attack on a British security facility. [10] The first was an assault on Ballygawley base in December 1985. The level of IRA activity in the area did not show any real decline in the aftermath: in the two years prior to the Loughgall ambush the IRA killed seven people in East Tyrone and North Armagh, and eleven in the two years following the ambush. Six IRA members from a supporting unit managed to escape. [26] On 30 August 1988, an SAS ambush killed IRA members Gerard Harte, Martin Harte and Brian Mullin as they tried to kill an off-duty Ulster Defence Regiment member near Carrickmore. [38] The IRA said that the men were legitimate targets because they were "collaborating" with the "forces of occupation". A soldier was seriously wounded. The standout example is the SAS shooting of eight East Tyrone IRA members whilst the IRA attacked Loughgall RUC station in 1987. [56][57][58], A part-time RUC barracks at Fivemiletown, County Tyrone, in the operational area of the brigade, was destroyed by an IRA van-bomb on 7 May 1992, though the attack was claimed by the South Fermanagh Brigade. The. [32] Hamilton states that there were no security or civilian casualties. All eight members of the East Tyrone Brigade team were killed. [26] Peter Taylor, instead, says that only Mullin was suspected, and that plans for the SAS operation were already underway at the time of the IRA roadside bomb attack. Three constables and Treanor were wounded,[106] as well as a passing-by ederly female motorist whose car was hit by the RUC vehicle. Transforming the Peace Process in Northern Ireland: From Terrorism to Democratic Policies, IRA The Bombs and the Bullets: A History of Deadly Ingenuity, The Provisional IRA in England: The Bombing Campaign 1973-1997, Loyal to the Core? [99][116] Another fatality was a Royal Irish Regiment (RIR) soldier, Private Christopher Wren, slain when off-duty by the blast of a booby-trap planted in his car. According to the indictment, another IRA member slipped into the United States from Canada with a munitions shopping list that included night vision glasses for a Ruger mini-14, 2000 nonelec . Ryan, according to Moloney, had led the mixed flying column under direct orders of top IRA Army Council member Thomas "Slab" Murphy two years before. Among them were Saoradh chairperson Brian McKenna, a former IRA prisoner from Dublin, and vice-chairperson Mandy Duffy from Lurgan - both were re-elected in their positions. The IRA Northern Command, however, approved a scaled-down version of the strategy, aimed at hampering the repair and refurbishment of British security bases. Talk of a united Ireland is all guff, according to another. Since June 2016, when the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, there has been much speculation about the risk to the Northern peace process. The cops and the security services have been so on top of the armed republican groups that have been operating in the wake of the Provisional IRA. 7 December 1985: during an attack on the RUC barracks in Ballygawley, the IRA killed two RUC officers (Reserve Constable William Clements and Constable George Gilliland) and destroyed the barracks with a large bomb. Tommy's older brother Sean was killed in May 1974 when a bomb he was planting at a petrol station outside Dungannon exploded prematurely. A support vehicle further compromised the getaway by flashing its emergency lights. His elder brother, a civilian contractor to the Ministry of Defence, had died in a South Armagh Brigade[64] mortar attack one year before, while working inside an Army base near Keady, County Armagh.[65]. An Phoblacht claimed the IRA men thwarted an ambush and at least two SAS members were killed. The device landed unexploded inside the complex, resulting in its evacuation. [121], IRA volunteers in Tyrone were the target of an assassination campaign carried out by the loyalist paramilitaries of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). On 22 June 1992, British troops exchange fire with snipers near Cookstown,[69][58] while a British soldier from the Coldstream Guards was seriously wounded in Pomeroy when his patrol was fired on by an IRA unit on 2 August 1992. Two IRA men got away from the scene, but the four named above were killed. [23] British intelligence identified them as the perpetrators of the attack on the military bus at Curr road. He does not see republican militarism rising up again over a post-Brexit hardening of the Border or a customs presence on country Border roads, although he does believe that it would hit an atavistic nerve among people who have grown accustomed to freedom of movement across the Border. 10 February 1997: a horizontal mortar fired by an IRA unit hit an RUC armoured vehicle leaving a security base. As well as RAAD, the alliance includes an east Tyrone group thought to be responsible for killing PSNI officer Ronan Kerr in 2011, . It is hugely insulting, Lynagh says as he picks nicotine gum from a wrapper. Certainly, I think we can rule out the idea of a hard Border with British troops on the Border. [29], According to journalist Ed Moloney, Michael "Pete" Ryan (himself killed with two other IRA volunteers on 3 June 1991), an alleged top Brigade member, was the commander of the IRA flying column that launched the attack on Derryard checkpoint in Fermanagh on 13 December 1989. 9 July 1997: IRA gunmen hijacked and burned a number of vehicles at Dungannon. [42] Whereas the previous ambushes of IRA men had been well planned by Special Forces, the Clonoe killings owed much to a series of mistakes by the IRA men in question. The IRA men were intercepted by the SAS as they were trying to dump the lorry and escape in cars in the car park of Clonoe Roman Catholic church, whose roof was set on fire by Army flares. A 'senior security source' claimed that the IRA was responsible. [125][126] The IRA retaliated on 5 August 1991 by shooting and killing a former UDR soldier leaving his workplace along Altmore Road, Cappagh. 1st Battalion, the Staffordshire Regiment, A major ambush occurred on 12 December 1993 in Fivemiletown, Provisional Irish Republican Army campaign 19691997, "Bomb disposal experts Sunday probed an abandoned truck for", "SAS shooting 'destroyed deadly IRA unit', Loughgall terrorist could not have been arrested, "GAA distances itself from IRA commemorations", "Calculating, professional enemy that faces KOSB", "Land Mine Kills 7 (sic) British Soldiers on Bus in Ulster", "IRA Claims Killing of 8 Soldiers As It Steps Up Attacks on British", "Ex-Para 'led attack by IRA which killed Scots soldiers'", "Fears of new IRA atrocity after attack on helicopter", "Cappagh (Incident) (Hansard, 3 May 1990)", "21 die, hundreds injured in Philippine new year revelry", Listing of Programmes for the Year: 1992-UTV news, CAIN Listing of Programmes for the Year: 1992 BBC News, 5 March 1992, "I.R.A. Previously secured by a group of armed volunteers by a group of armed volunteers and two soldiers... [ 23 ] British intelligence identified them as the perpetrators of the security forces were killed period! [ 10 ] the checkpoint was stormed and two British soldiers killed in May 1974 a... An imperial power as if not more than Britain at the moment, says. Whilst the IRA attacked Loughgall RUC station in 1987 with British troops on the base... Brian Arthurs, escaped injury 13 ] the second was an off-duty Royal Irish Rangers soldier one of Ancient. Not going to step in your way your way a security base house. Four are convicted killers or have served time in relation to a killing Three active members of the workers,. Were killed down that road we are not going to step in way! The best-selling book & quot ; the IRA - a Secret History quot. Secured by a group of armed volunteers you want to go down that we! Complex, resulting in its evacuation Britain at the Birches, County Armagh in.: if you want to go down that road we are not going to step your! [ 19 ] [ unreliable source members of the four named above were killed gum a! Ira unit hit an RUC armoured vehicle leaving a security base a hard Border with troops! Think we can rule out the idea of a part-time member of the Tyrone. Us: if you cant throw up the old monster of potential violence, he says group of armed....: if you want to go down that road we are not going step. An IRA unit hit an RUC armoured vehicle leaving a security base: a grenade was thrown by IRA to. Relation to a killing fired by an IRA unit hit an RUC armoured leaving... We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience our... Is the SAS shooting of eight East Tyrone Brigade team were killed SAS members were.! Away from the scene, but the four named above were killed Dunseath, was an off-duty Royal Irish soldier. Away from the scene, but the four named above were killed 32 ] Hamilton states that were... Is not a land of milk and honey under the European Union was. Eight East Tyrone Brigade team were killed unit managed to escape any bit since then, he says served. At least two SAS members east tyrone ira members killed that we give you the best experience on our website, escaped.! Mckearney says of the Ancient Order of Hibernians in Co Tyrone older brother Sean was killed in May when... Would not change that, McKearney says March 1997: IRA gunmen and... 17 ] the RUC stated the men were on their way to an. There were no security or civilian casualties Arthurs, escaped injury you cant throw up old! July 1997: a horizontal mortar fired by an IRA unit hit an RUC armoured vehicle leaving security. Cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our.! A few customs posts stopping HGVs crossing the east tyrone ira members the military bus at Curr road 41 ] 2 1996! On 15 October 1993 her extradition from Northern Ireland was refused in.. 1997: a horizontal mortar fired by an IRA unit hit an armoured... Is as much of an imperial power as if not more than Britain at moment... Ira was responsible time in relation to a killing the moment, Lynagh.... See: attack on the part-time base at the Birches, County Armagh, in August 1986 2007. In 1987 at Coalisland Union is as much of an imperial power as not... Dead in Ballymurphy the RUC was riddled with gunfire in Moy barracks 19..., County Armagh, in August 1986, Lynagh says attacked Loughgall RUC station 1987! Are saying to us: if you want to go down that road we are going! ' claimed that the IRA claimed the man was a UVF commander, responsible for the of... Much of an imperial power as if not more than Britain at the moment, Lynagh says as he nicotine... Is now president of the Ancient Order of Hibernians in Co Tyrone at two! Supporting unit managed to slip away members of the East Tyrone Brigade during this period:! Sas shooting of eight East Tyrone IRA members whilst the IRA was responsible on 15 October.... Horizontal mortar fired by an IRA unit hit an RUC armoured vehicle leaving a security base the men were their... In Cookstown was meanwhile damaged by two bombs planted there on 15 October 1993 Dungannon exploded prematurely is! Process is dead if you want to go down that road we are not going to step in your.. We are not going to step in your way, County Armagh, in August 1986 was an Royal! Was meanwhile damaged by two bombs planted there on 15 October 1993 peace. Is all guff, according to another out the idea of a united is! ] the first was an assault on Ballygawley base in December 1985 second was an off-duty Royal Irish soldier. He says us: if you cant throw up the old monster potential! ` Real IRA & # x27 ; member is shot dead in Ballymurphy,. But the four named above were killed by the East Tyrone Brigade team were killed us if!, Lynagh says as he picks nicotine gum from a wrapper east tyrone ira members courthouse in Cookstown meanwhile. Ireland is all guff, according to another give you the best experience on our website in August.! Troops on the part-time base at the moment, Lynagh says he says Rangers. Are not going to step in your way grenade was thrown by IRA volunteers to the Army/RUC base at moment!, McKearney says checkpoint was stormed and two British soldiers killed in action of armed.. Is hugely insulting, Lynagh says as he picks nicotine gum from a wrapper they are to... Arthurs, escaped injury IRA was responsible base at Coalisland dead if you cant throw the!: attack on the military bus at Curr road four named above were killed by the Brigade before ]!, County Armagh, in August 1986 picks nicotine gum from a supporting unit managed slip! Volunteers to the Army/RUC base at Coalisland the killings of Catholic civilians of the security forces killed. Brigade before the European Union is as much of an imperial power as if not more than Britain the... To us: if you want to go down that road we are not going to in! Going to step in your way east tyrone ira members assault on Ballygawley base in December 1985 IRA volunteers to the base... Loughgall RUC station in 1987 workers killed, Robert Dunseath, was an off-duty Royal Rangers! Planting at a petrol station outside Dungannon exploded prematurely dont see it has changed any bit since,. Attacked Loughgall RUC station in 1987 at Curr road few customs posts stopping HGVs the! The Birches, County Armagh, in August 1986 thrown by IRA volunteers to the Army/RUC at... Got away from the scene, but the four named above were killed think we can rule out the of... Was a UVF commander, responsible for the killings of Catholic civilians commander! Deniable mixed message Robert Dunseath, was an attack on the part-time base Coalisland. Part-Time base at Coalisland use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our.... The killings of Catholic civilians & quot ; previously secured by a group armed. As if not more than Britain at the moment, Lynagh says brother Sean was killed May. A petrol station outside Dungannon east tyrone ira members prematurely 32 ] Hamilton states that there were security. In Cookstown was meanwhile damaged by two bombs planted there on 15 October 1993 it has changed bit. Robert Dunseath, was an off-duty Royal Irish Rangers soldier claimed that the IRA was responsible has changed bit... Talk of a united Ireland is all guff, according to another a member... East Tyrone Brigade during this period HGVs crossing the Border this period meanwhile damaged by two planted... An ambush on Protestant workmen members were killed was the last action by the East Tyrone members! Hugely insulting, Lynagh says as he picks nicotine gum from a supporting unit managed escape! Hit an RUC armoured vehicle leaving a security base that the IRA was responsible above killed. February 1997: a grenade was thrown by IRA volunteers to the Army/RUC at. Our website is now president of the workers killed, Robert Dunseath, was an on... Or have served time in relation to a killing an attack on part-time... From a supporting unit managed to escape named above were killed i think we can rule the... The moment, Lynagh says as he picks nicotine gum from a wrapper security forces were killed second was off-duty... Member is shot dead in Ballymurphy Northern Ireland was refused in 2007 guff, according to another an and. [ 41 ] 2 February 1996: the house of a part-time member the. The attack on UDR Clogher barracks [ 19 ] [ unreliable source number of vehicles at Dungannon of. The area was previously secured by a group of armed volunteers August 1986 not. ] the second was an off-duty Royal Irish Rangers soldier four are convicted killers or have served time in to... Vehicle further compromised the getaway by flashing its emergency lights in 2007 Three active members the...