THE TROUBLES
have been treated for shock and cuts. One man was detained in hospital. In Dungannon the courthouse in William Street was extensively damaged by a 10 lb bomb placed at the side door. Shortly after 7.00pm McCann’s public house in Lurgan was damaged in an explosion. Two masked men armed with revolvers entered the premises and placed the 20 lb bomb. Damage to the bar was extensive but no one was injured in the attack. In County Tyrone a 10 lb bomb extensively damaged a supermarket at Granville near Dungannon. The explosion was followed by a fire. Earlier an explosion and fire caused extensive damage to the premises of Rockview Motors, Donaghadee, and a Pettigo, County Fermanagh, a single decker Ulsterbus was badly damaged in an explosion, while another in Limavady was burned by hi-jackers.
Wednesday 8th December 1971 Drogheda arms raid A political storm is beginning to break over the raid by ten armed and masked men on the Drogheda FCA drill hall on Tuesday night. The raiders, believed to be members of the IRA got away with 15 Lee Enfields .303 rifles, two Gustav machine guns, and about 100 rounds of ammunition. The men, armed with submachine guns burst into the drill hall on the outskirts of the town, where an officer and 20 men were training. They ordered the FCA men to stand against a wall while they collected arms and ammunition. As the IRA men made their getaway, one of the soldiers fired a shot. The IRA returned fire narrowly missing the soldier.
Wednesday 8th December 1971 Markets man assassinated A man has been found shot dead in the Markets area of Belfast in what is believed to be an assassination within the IRA movement. The body of 20-year-old Anthony Nolan, of Staunton Street, was found in a house in Crawford Street not far from his home. He was shot in the chest and the discovery was made by the occupant of the house who returned early after a short absence.
Wednesday 8th December 1971 Army denies use of drugs on detainees Drugs are not being used to obtain information from people detained by the security forces. A statement from Army headquarters says: “The security forces wish to deny in the strongest possible terms that any use is being made of drugs during the questioning of suspects at the Palace Barracks holding centre at Holywood or elsewhere. Such allegations may be interpreted as an attempt by some detainees to explain away the full co-operation we are receiving.
RIGHT - A carpet factory on Belfast’s Dublin Road destroyed in a bomb attack
th
Wednesday 8 December 1971 Scabies outbreak at Long Kesh The Ministry of Home Affairs has confirmed that 18 internees at Long Kesh camp were being treated for scabies – a contagious disease. However, a spokesman for the Ministry has stated that the medical practitioner attending the centre has said that the outbreak is under control.” Wednesday 8th December 1971 Priest fined over census Another priest has been fined for refusing to fill in his census form and if he does not pay the £7 within 14 days he could go to prison for two months. In court the 41-year-old priest said that he did not fill in the census form because of the partial administration of justice. Thursday 9th December 1971 Shoppers caught in Bomb blast A bomb has exploded at the Universal Employment Agency in Royal Avenue and then one minute later a second bomb exploded at the same location. Ambulances rushed to the scene to deal with people cut by flying glass. Every window in a 50-yard radius was shattered. It is understood that armed men placed the bomb shortly before 11.30 and made their getaway by car. A twenty-minute warning was given by the bombers. Later in the day an Ulsterbus private hire and tour booking office in Glengall Street, Belfast was demolished by a bomb. Staff were given five minutes to get out and no one injured. Thursday 9th December 1971 UDR warned to Stay on alert The 6,000 members of the Ulster Defence Regiment are being warned by senior officers to be alert and take what precautions they can for their own safety following the second killing of a UDR man within 24 hours. The call goes out as security forces wait to see if the killings signal the start of an assassination campaign. The 30-year-old UDR man, Mr. Sean Russell of New
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Barnsley was shot dead at his home and his 10-yearold daughter was injured in the same attack. The man had just returned from work and around 6.00pm the doorbell rang, Mr. Russell tried to struggle with the gunman. As they struggled he was shot in the head and his daughter in the thigh. The gunman ran off and it is not thought that a car was used. According to the dead man’s widow he had joined the UDR at its inception but had not involved himself with it after his initial attendance for recruitment and was not an active member. Wednesday 9th December 1971 Gunman may have been shot The Army has reported that a gunman may have been hit in Derry after shots were fired at an Army patrol. And in Rosslea, County Fermanagh 290 shots were fired at an Army ferret car on border patrol. The shots came from across the border but there were no injuries. Thursday 9th December 1971 Army Major dies An Army major who was shot during rioting which followed the explosion at McGurk’s bar in North Queen Street has died in the Royal Victoria Hospital. He was Major Jeremy Snow (35) of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. His wife, who was flown over when her husband was injured, was at his bedside. Two other soldiers, both Fusiliers who were shot on Wednesday are still seriously ill in hospital. One soldier was shot in the Falls road area and the other was wounded in the shoulder near Unity Flats. Thursday 9th December 1971 Sniper hits Army ambulance An Army ambulance carrying a soldier from Shackleton barracks in Ballykelly to Derry came under fire on the main Derry to Limavady road. The sniper, firing from high ground, struck the ambulance but no one was injured. The Army said that one bullet struck the ambulance which had Red Cross markings. An Army medical orderly gave who gave chase was not able to return fire.