1985 Newry mortar attack
Encyclopedia
The 1985 Newry mortar attack was an attack carried out by the Provisional Irish Republican Army
(IRA) on a Royal Ulster Constabulary
(RUC) station in Corry Square, Newry
, Northern Ireland
. The attack killed nine RUC officers.
, had repeatedly used home-made mortars but with limited success. Between 1973 and early 1978 a total of 71 mortar attacks were recorded, none of which resulted in direct British Army or RUC fatalities. The IRA only conducted two deadly mortar attacks prior to 1985. The first was on 19 March 1979, when Private Peter Woolmore of the Queen's Regiment was killed at Newtownhamilton
army base in County Armagh
. The second was on 12 November 1983, when a police officer was killed and several injured when Carrickmore
police station was attacked.
bolted onto the back of a Ford lorry that had been hijacked in Crossmaglen
. Eight shells overshot the RUC station in Corry Square, but one 50-lb shell landed directly on a Portakabin containing a temporary canteen. Nine police officers were killed, including a cousin of Unionist politician Jeffrey Donaldson
, and 37 people were injured including 25 civilian police employees. The death toll was the highest inflicted on the RUC in its history.
described the attack as "barbaric", while Irish Prime Minister Garret FitzGerald
said it was "cruel and cynical", and pledged the help of Irish security forces to catch those responsible. Although not involved in the attack, Newry IRA member Eamon Collins
was arrested shortly afterwards and interrogated. After five days of questioning, Collins broke under interrogation and turned supergrass
, leading to more than a dozen arrests of other IRA members. The attack prompted calls from Unionist politicians to "increase security", and the British government launched a multi-million pound programme of construction to prevent bases from similar attacks. This involved installing reinforced roofs and building blast-deflecting walls around the base of buildings.
After the successful attack on Newry, the IRA carried out a further nine mortar attacks in 1985. On 4 September an RUC Enniskillen
, County Fermanagh
training centre was attacked, and 30 cadets narrowly escaped death due to poor intelligence gathering by the IRA unit responsible. The cadets were expected to be lying in bed asleep, but were instead eating breakfast when the bombs landed. In November 1986 the IRA launched a second attack at the RUC station in Newry, but the bombs fell short of their target and landed on residential houses. A four-year-old Catholic girl was seriously wounded and another 38 people injured, prompting the IRA to admit "this incident left us open to justified criticism".
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
(IRA) on a Royal Ulster Constabulary
Royal Ulster Constabulary
The Royal Ulster Constabulary was the name of the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2000. Following the awarding of the George Cross in 2000, it was subsequently known as the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC. It was founded on 1 June 1922 out of the Royal Irish Constabulary...
(RUC) station in Corry Square, Newry
Newry
Newry is a city in Northern Ireland. The River Clanrye, which runs through the city, formed the historic border between County Armagh and County Down. It is from Belfast and from Dublin. Newry had a population of 27,433 at the 2001 Census, while Newry and Mourne Council Area had a population...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. The attack killed nine RUC officers.
Background
The IRA, in particular the South Armagh BrigadeProvisional IRA South Armagh Brigade
The South Armagh Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army operated during the Troubles in south County Armagh. It was organised into two battalions, one around Jonesborough and another around Crossmaglen. By the 1990s, the South Armagh Brigade was thought to consist of about 40 members,...
, had repeatedly used home-made mortars but with limited success. Between 1973 and early 1978 a total of 71 mortar attacks were recorded, none of which resulted in direct British Army or RUC fatalities. The IRA only conducted two deadly mortar attacks prior to 1985. The first was on 19 March 1979, when Private Peter Woolmore of the Queen's Regiment was killed at Newtownhamilton
Newtownhamilton
Newtownhamilton is a small village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is within the townland of Tullyvallan and the barony of Upper Fews. It is part of the Newry and Mourne District Council area...
army base in County Armagh
County Armagh
-History:Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch, whose capital was Emain Macha near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha...
. The second was on 12 November 1983, when a police officer was killed and several injured when Carrickmore
Carrickmore
Carrickmore is a village and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies in the heart of the county on an raised site colloquially called "The Rock"; between Cookstown, Dungannon and Omagh. It had a population of 612 in the 2001 Census.-History:...
police station was attacked.
The attack
The attack was jointly planned by members of the South Armagh Brigade and an IRA unit in Newry. In the early evening of 28 February 1985, nine shells were launched from a Mark 10 mortarBarrack buster
Barrack buster is the colloquial name given to several improvised mortars, developed in the 1990s by the engineering group of the Provisional Irish Republican Army ....
bolted onto the back of a Ford lorry that had been hijacked in Crossmaglen
Crossmaglen
Crossmaglen or Crosmaglen is a village and townland in south County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,459 people in the 2001 Census and is the largest village in south Armagh...
. Eight shells overshot the RUC station in Corry Square, but one 50-lb shell landed directly on a Portakabin containing a temporary canteen. Nine police officers were killed, including a cousin of Unionist politician Jeffrey Donaldson
Jeffrey Donaldson
Jeffrey Mark Donaldson, MP is a Northern Irish politician and Member of Parliament for Lagan Valley belonging to the Democratic Unionist Party...
, and 37 people were injured including 25 civilian police employees. The death toll was the highest inflicted on the RUC in its history.
Aftermath
The day was dubbed "Bloody Thursday" by the British press. British Prime Minister Margaret ThatcherMargaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
described the attack as "barbaric", while Irish Prime Minister Garret FitzGerald
Garret FitzGerald
Garret FitzGerald was an Irish politician who was twice Taoiseach of Ireland, serving in office from July 1981 to February 1982 and again from December 1982 to March 1987. FitzGerald was elected to Seanad Éireann in 1965 and was subsequently elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fine Gael TD in 1969. He...
said it was "cruel and cynical", and pledged the help of Irish security forces to catch those responsible. Although not involved in the attack, Newry IRA member Eamon Collins
Eamon Collins
Eamon Collins was a Provisional Irish Republican Army activist in the late 1970s and 1980s. He turned his back on the organisation in the late 1980s and later co-authored a book called Killing Rage telling of his experiences in the IRA...
was arrested shortly afterwards and interrogated. After five days of questioning, Collins broke under interrogation and turned supergrass
Supergrass (informer)
Supergrass is a slang term for an informer, which originated in London. Informers had been referred to as "grasses" since the late-1930s, and the "super" prefix was coined by journalists in the early 1970s to describe those informers from the city's underworld who testified against former...
, leading to more than a dozen arrests of other IRA members. The attack prompted calls from Unionist politicians to "increase security", and the British government launched a multi-million pound programme of construction to prevent bases from similar attacks. This involved installing reinforced roofs and building blast-deflecting walls around the base of buildings.
After the successful attack on Newry, the IRA carried out a further nine mortar attacks in 1985. On 4 September an RUC Enniskillen
Enniskillen
Enniskillen is a town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is located almost exactly in the centre of the county between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,599 in the 2001 Census...
, County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh
Fermanagh District Council is the only one of the 26 district councils in Northern Ireland that contains all of the county it is named after. The district council also contains a small section of County Tyrone in the Dromore and Kilskeery road areas....
training centre was attacked, and 30 cadets narrowly escaped death due to poor intelligence gathering by the IRA unit responsible. The cadets were expected to be lying in bed asleep, but were instead eating breakfast when the bombs landed. In November 1986 the IRA launched a second attack at the RUC station in Newry, but the bombs fell short of their target and landed on residential houses. A four-year-old Catholic girl was seriously wounded and another 38 people injured, prompting the IRA to admit "this incident left us open to justified criticism".
See also
- Barrack busterBarrack busterBarrack buster is the colloquial name given to several improvised mortars, developed in the 1990s by the engineering group of the Provisional Irish Republican Army ....
- Downing Street mortar attackDowning Street mortar attackThe Downing Street mortar attack was carried out by the Provisional Irish Republican Army on 10 Downing Street, London, the British Prime Minister John Major's official residence. The 7 February 1991 attack, an assassination attempt on Major and his War Cabinet who were meeting to discuss the...
- Crossmaglen mortar attack (1994)Crossmaglen mortar attack (1994)The 1994 Crossmaglen mortar attack was an improvised mortar attack carried out by a Provisional Irish Republican Army unit on 20 March 1994 against the British Army base at Crossmaglen, County Armagh, Northern Ireland...
- Osnabrück mortar attackOsnabrück mortar attackThe Osnabrück mortar attack was an improvised mortar attack carried out by a Provisional Irish Republican Army unit based in mainland Europe on 28 June 1996 against the Quebec British Army barracks at Osnabrück inside the largest British military garrison then deployed in Germany.-Background:The...
- Chronology of Provisional Irish Republican Army actions (1980-1989)Chronology of Provisional Irish Republican Army actions (1980-1989)This is a chronology of activities by the Provisional Irish Republican Army from 1980 to 1989. For actions before and after this period see Chronology of Provisional Irish Republican Army actions....