The Troubles 11

THE

TROUBLES ISSUE 11

March 1972

SEVEN DIE IN DONEGALL STREET BOMBING

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THE TROUBLES

THE TROUBLES A CHRONOLOGY OF THE NORTHERN IRELAND CONFLICT

It can often be a contentious issue of debate of when and how Northern Ireland’s ‘Troubles’ began, who and what is to blame, and even which event in case led us to where we are now. You can go back 30 years, or even 300 years and beyond for in reality Ireland has been engaged in conflict with England for centuries.

Therefore, in order to compile a chronological record of the modern Troubles - the term usually given to the most recent conflict, we must mark a defining point of start, which we have taken as partition itself and from which we began in Issue 1. In turn again, we feel it is equally important to give you the reader some understanding why events spiralled as they did into a bloody civil war.

This is not another view of the Troubles, this has been done and redone. This is the historical recording of events compiled by people from different parts of Belfast who lived through them. Our objective as local historians is to compile what we hope will be as near as possible a definitive reference to events as they unfolded through the last three decades.

In terms of research we have used as much material as possible and from diverse perspectives. We are confident that we have covered events as they were reported at the time. If however you feel that we have either left something out or indeed got something wrong we are more than happy to hear from you. As mentioned above this series of publications is the historical recording of the Troubles and all corrections are more than welcome.

GLENRAVEL PUBLICATIONS ASHTON CENTRE LEPPER STREET BELFAST BT15 2DN Tel: (028) 9020 2100 • Fax: (028) 9020 2227 E-Mail: glenravel@ashtoncentre.com This series of publications is designed to create a better historical understanding of what has become known as ‘The Troubles.’ Therefore for educational purposes you are more than welcome to use any material from them.

All that we ask is that the source is acknowledged and a copy of the material sent to us after publication. We use material that has been placed in the public domain. We try to acknowledge all the copyright holders but sometimes this is not possible. If you claim credit for something that has appeared in this publication then we will be happy to know about it so that we can make the appropriate acknowledgements.

SOURCE MATERIAL PUBLICATIONS

NEWSPAPERS BELFAST NEWSLETTER Various issues for period covered BELFAST TELEGRAPH Various issues for period covered

LOST LIVES David McKitterick, Seamus Kelters, Brian Feeney & Chris Thornton This publication is used for the list of those who died at the back of each issue

IRISH NEWS Various issues for period covered IRISH PRESS Various issues for period covered

THE TROUBLES

MARCH Wednesday 1st March 1972 UDR men killed The second member of the UDR to be killed inside ten hours was shot dead on the Fermanagh border. The man, 43year-old Private Tommy Fletcher, who lived near Garrison, County Fermanagh was taken hostage by four gunmen. His home was searched and two weapons, a pistol and a shotgun, were found. The UDR Private and his wife were then questioned as to the whereabouts of his SLR. The soldier said that it was at his depot in Enniskillen. On being questioned as to what he was doing in this barn the previous night, and after the man’s wife was threatened, that rifle parts were found.

Mr. Fletcher was then walked 150 yards to the border after which he was shot dead. 22 shots are said to have been fired at him and he was struck six times in the head and neck. His body was later found by his wife.

The killing of Private Fletcher came only ten hours after two armed men, one with a hood over his head, burst into to the Lurgan home of Sergeant Harry Dickson, aged 48. Sergeant Dickson’s 11-year-old daughter was wounded in the attack.

Wednesday 1st March 1972 Balmoral Golf Club bombed Bombers struck at the second Belfast Golf club within a week when they blasted the Balmoral club’s premises.

Extensive interior damage was caused by the bomb. The gunmen warned staff not to move the device as it had been fitted with an anti-handling device.

Two men, armed with a Thompson submachine gun escaped in a blue Cortina.

The bomb exploded 20 minutes later.

Bomb attack on Jackson’s paint Store, Ormeau Road.

1972 Wednesday 1st March 1972 IRA bomb expert caught Security chiefs have said that they have captured a Provisional IRA explosives expert who escaped an Army raid in Belfast two months ago. The man was arrested from a house in the Turf Lodge area of Belfast.

Wednesday 1st March 1972 Soldier ambushed in Derry The Provisional IRA have claimed responsibility for shooting and seriously wounding a Royal Artillery Staff Sergeant in Derry. The soldier, 30-yearold John McPherson was hit in the right temple by one of four bullets fired at his unit in William Street.

The shooting happened as soldiers were preparing to pull out of the William Street area, where they had earlier used CS gas and rubber bullets to disperse stone throwers. The gunman, who fired the shots in quick succession, is believed to have been behind the public baths. Sgt McPherson underwent emergency operation in Altnagelvin hospital after a brain surgeon was flown from Belfast by helicopter.

Wednesday 1st March 1972 Searchlights used in ambush Gunmen turned two searchlights on an Army patrol before opening fire on

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them. The attack happened as the Army patrol was on routine duties near the Creggan reservoirs and the gunmen are thought to have been positioned on Creggan Heights. The soldiers managed to return fire and shot out the searchlights. No one was injured in the attack.

Wednesday 1st March 1972 RUC man shot in Newry An RUC sergeant was shot in the head after a patrol went to investigate a reported incident at the Bairnswear factory on the Camlough road near Newry.

The patrol was responding to a report that there were intruders on the premises. As the sergeant was talking to a security guard outside the building a gunman opened fire with an automatic weapon from inside the grounds.

The RUC man was rushed to hospital where he is described as being “seriously ill”. A second member of his patrol also received a slight wound to the leg.

Wednesday 1st March 1972 Claymore mine A 20-30lb Claymore mine has blown a large crater in the road at Duff’s Corner near Coagh. An Army patrol had been in the area earlier but no one was injured.

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Wednesday 1 March 1972 Prisoner charged with having guns A prisoner in Crumlin Road jail charged with possessing two guns in his cell has been remanded in custody. The 22year-old man with an address in Dun Laoghaire refused to recognise the court when he appeared in court on charges of possessing a pistol, a revolver and 11 rounds of ammunition.

Wednesday 1st March 1972 Shots fired at Army post A gunman has fired between 30 and 40 rounds of ammunition from a submachinegun at the Foyle Road Army base near Brandywell in Derry. There were no casualties. An Army spokesman said that fire was returned at the gunman who was operating from the Ann Street area. No hit was claimed.

The spokesman added that at the same time a gunman also fired four to five shots at the post from the City Cemetery. There were no casualties. Later in the day two single shots were fired at the post from Kildrum Gardens and the cemetery.

Wednesday 1st March 1972 £50,000 reward The £50,000 reward being offered by the British Government for the arrest and conviction of bombers and gunmen still stands says a Ministry of Home Affairs spokesman. The original reward was for £10,000 for information about the people involved in explosions, but on 15th March 1970 the reward was extended to include information on the killing of soldiers and RUC men. In August of the same year, the Government announced that the reward money was to be increased to £50,000. The fund is still in existence said a spokesman but he refused to comment on how much money has or has not been paid out.

Thursday 2nd March 1972 Soldier wounded near Strabane A soldier has been wounded in the leg near Strabane. The soldier, who is not seriously injured, was hit by a bullet which ricocheted off the door of an armoured personnel carrier at Flushtown Bridge at Clady. The shooting from across the border came as men of the Royal Anglican Regiment were setting up a road checkpoint. Fire was returned but no was injured.

Thursday 2nd March 1972 Interrogation Techniques discussed A cabinet committee set up by the government is split over the use of “indepth” interrogation techniques to extract intelligence from IRA suspects.

The methods used are said to have been invented by the Russian KGB. The committee members, Lord Parker, the former Lord Chief Justice; John BoydCarpenter, Conservative MP; and Lord Gardiner, the former Labour Chancellor, are said to disagree about the use of the techniques, two against one, in favour of the techniques.

Thursday 2nd March 1972 300lb bomb explodes at border The biggest bomb ever in the North has exploded at a border filling station near Newry. The bomb contained 300lb of gelignite but no one was injured.

Thursday 2nd March 1972 Belfast bombs The first floor of a three storey office block in Donegal Street, Belfast, which houses the offices of Scottish Optical Works, was wrecked by an explosion and fire after three armed men planted a bomb and sprinkled petrol inside.

Later another bomb wrecked part of the premises of Ruberoid Ltd, a firm of roofing manufacturers, at Fane Street, off Tate’s Avenue. The bomb, estimated to be about 10lbs of gelignite was left in a hold-all by three armed youths, who

ordered the staff of six out of the building. A car parked outside was also badly damaged.

Thursday 2nd March 1972 Customs post bombed Two bombs have been planted at the new British customs station at Derrycush, Aughnacloy. One bomb exploded causing extensive damage but no one was injured in the attack. The second bomb is being examined by Army experts. The four raiders, who were armed with Thompson submachine-guns, escaped back into County Monaghan.

Thursday 2nd March 1972 Soldiers unearth arms and ammunition Arms, ammunition and explosives have been found by troops on patrol in Ballymurphy and Falls areas of Belfast.

Men of the 1st Battalion, the Kings Own Scottish Borders found a Sten gun, 1,500 rounds of assorted ammunition,

THE TROUBLES 33 detonators, three nail bombs, three blast bombs, 2lb of gelignite, a parachute flare, 15ft of fuse and 27 yards of detonating cord. The arms were discovered buried in the gardens of a number of homes at Ballymurphy Road Men of the 1st battalion, the Gloucester Regiment, carrying out a patrol in the lower Falls area of Belfast have dug up the backyard of a derelict house at Garnet Street. They found a .303 rifle and 109 rounds of ammunition.

Thursday 2nd March 1972 Man ill after Derry bomb attack A middle-aged man is said to be ill with head injuries after a car bomb in Derry.

The bomb, which exploded in Ferryquay Street, damaged 27 businesses and injured 42 people. One person has been detained in hospital suffering from shock. The bomb, estimated to have been between 50 and 100lbs of gelignite exploded in a taxi, which had been parked in the narrow street. The Provisional IRA have claimed responsibility for the attack Thursday 2nd March 1972 Man shot in Shankill A 36-year-old man has been shot in the back and face in the Shankill area of Belfast. The man had been watching television with his three children when a hooded gunman burst into his living room and shot him at point plank range.

He has undergone surgery but his condition is not described as serious. There is no apparent reason for the attack.

Thursday 2nd March 1972 Mystery explosion on M1 Several windows in an Ulsterbus bus travelling along the M1 motorway, near Stockman’s lane, have been smashed by a mystery explosion. The RUC and Army were waiting until daylight before investigating the incident.

Thursday 2nd March 1972 Petrol Station bombed in Belfast A bomb has caused extensive damage to an all night petrol station at Oxford Street. An RUC spokesman said that two armed men planted the bomb at the premises of Hutchinson and Haddow.

They escaped by car in the direction of the Markets area of Belfast.

Thursday 2nd March 1972 Army post attacked The Army post in Percy Street has come under gunfire from a gunman operating in the direction of Divis Street. The Army did not return fire and no one was injured.

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two loud cracks and when it was later investigated they discovered 50lb of nitrate, a quantity of shrapnel and 5lb of gelignite in the roadside. It is believed that the detonators failed to go of. Switches and wire were found in a field 100 yards away from the bomb.

Thursday 2nd March 1972 Hotel bombed in Lurgan Army bomb experts saved a hotel from destruction at Stormont Hill after seven men left a 70lb bomb in the building.

The raiders, four of whom were masked and armed, held up the caretaker at the partially built hotel and planted the bomb.

The youths who died were discovered in the back of a stolen Escort van outside the Royal Victoria Hospital. They were both itinerants and were shot by soldiers in Belfast city centre. They have been named as John Major (19) and Michael Patrick Connors, both of no fixed address.

Thursday 2nd March 1972 Unity Flats boy in punishment attack A 14-year-old boy from Unity Flats has been attacked by a number of men and was covered in paint and feathers. The boy was taken by car to York Lane where the attack was carried out. It is thought that there have been a number of threats made against the boy’s family Thursday 2nd March 1972 Derry ambush fails An RUC patrol car which had an Army escort was attacked while on its way to investigate an incident in the Shantallow area of Derry. They were responding to a report that youths had attempted to set fire to the former USC hut in Steelstown. As they were driving along a narrow laneway they heard

Thursday 2nd March 1972 Electricity transformer attacked An electricity transformer at Mamooney, near Tynan, has been damaged. It is believed that there had been an explosion at the installation.

Thursday 2nd March 1972 Bodies of dead youths found in van Troops and RUC personnel are searching for a wounded man who is thought to have escaped from a van in which the bodies of two youths were found.

The youths who died were discovered in the back of a stolen Escort van outside the Royal Victoria Hospital. They were both itinerants and were shot by soldiers in Belfast city centre. They have been named as John Major (19) and Michael Patrick Connors, both of no fixed address. It is believed that the

As stated in the last issue of The Troubles magazine it had been our intention to cover the period of March and April 1972 in this edition. Unfortunately the number of events occurring in March alone has prevented this. In each issue we choose not to leave out any of these events as our aim is to create a full record of the Northern Ireland conflict.

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THE TROUBLES youths had been living in a caravan at Toomebridge died during an exchange of shots with troops.

An RUC spokesman said that 10 shots were fired by the soldiers and RUC men and that it appeared that one of the men had put his hand in his pocket as if reaching for a gun.

Thursday 2nd March 1972 IRA demands ransom for cars claims Paisley Ian Paisley has claimed in the Commons at Stormont that the grounds of St. Celilia’s Voluntary School in Derry are now in the possession of the IRA. The Bannside MP said the grounds were being used to store stolen cars. He further claimed that a man was force to pay a ransom to retrieve his stolen vehicle.

Friday 3rd March 1972 Widgery Tribunal told of 70 IRA men in Derry The Commander of Land Forces Major-General Robert Ford has told the Widgery Tribunal that there were 70 IRA gunmen operating in the Creggan and Bogside areas when 13 people were killed.

Friday 3rd March 1972 IRA jailbreak foiled Belfast Prison has introduced new search measures for visitors after foil-

ing the third successive IRA jailbreak on Thursday when armed men held up prison staff. About 20 men have been taken away for questioning about the abortive breakout after warders were overpowered in the visiting area by men who came as visitors.

Prison staff were tied up and their keys seized to take IRA prisoners from behind the security screens through which they talk to visitors. Prisoners were given coats to cover their jail clothes and had visitors’ passes handed to them to help through checks at the exit gate.

Six prisoners, who along with visitors, had reached the guardroom area near the exit, when suspicions were raised.

Soldiers were in the area and some of the men were recognised by prison staff as they tried to conceal their faces.

Guns were later found in the waiting area TOP - Bomb attack at the Lislea Tyre depot, Lisburn Road MIDDLE - Shops in Castle Street after a massive explosion BOTTOM - British soldiers at the body of IRA man Albert Kavanagh

THE TROUBLES rd

Friday 3 March 1972 Abolition of Stormont – PM says it’s just a rumour Leading Unionists have received assurances from both Mr. Heath and Mr. Faulkner that reports of imminent proposals for the North which involve the abolition of Stormont, are simply speculation. The assurances, contained in a telegram were read out to the annual meeting of the Unionist Council in the Ulster Hall.

Friday 3rd March 1972 Andersonstown bomb attack A fuse failure foiled an attempt to blow up a Belfast office. The fuse burned out before reaching 15lbs of gelignite in the office at Kells Avenue in Andersonstown. Four youths planted the bomb after smashing a window.

They escaped by car.

Friday 3rd March 1972 Men charged after attack on Paratroopers Two Irish building workers have appeared in court at Aldershot following the explosion at the 16th Parachute Brigade officers’ mess which killed seven people. One man has been charged with conspiring to cause an explosion and the other with possession of a sawn-off shotgun and an assortment of ammunition.

Friday 3rd March 1972 Eight men charged in South Eight men, all of them from the North, have been charged at a special court in Monaghan, with possessing arms, ammunition and bomb-making materials.

The men were arrested in a swoop by armed detectives at a remote farm house at Toneyloan, about seven miles from Monaghan. They are accused of possessing a Sterling submachine-gun, a No warning bomb attack on the Abercorn Restaurant, Castle Lane

Thompson submachine-gun, four rifles, a shotgun, a revolver, 600 rounds of ammunition, 5lbs gelignite and bombmaking equipment.

Friday 3rd March 1972 IRA Chief of Staff in Court The Chief of Staff of the Official IRA, Cathal Goulding, and four others, have been remanded on continuing bail They have been charged under the Offences

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Against the State Act. Friday 3rd March 1972 Army post attacked The Army observation post on the City walls in Derry has come under fire. An Army spokesman has said that a burst of automatic fire was directed at the post from the area of Rossville Flats. There were no casualties and fire was not returned.

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THE TROUBLES

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Friday 3 March 1972 Arms find near golf course Troops have found a cache of arms and ammunition buried in a hole near a bird sanctuary. The find, which consisted of a .303 rifle, an M1 carbine, two .22 rifles and a large quantity of ammunition, were found at Galwally Lake.

Friday 3rd March 1972 Mystery notice in Derry A mystery notice has appeared at the corner of William Street and Rossville Street in Derry, which has been the scene of many riots. The notice, daubed on a piece of sacking and nailed to a wall reads “No Agro 2-6 March. By orders, Provos”. However, IRA leaders have said that they did not issue the notice. An Army spokesman has reported that the notice has resulted in the first day in six months without an incident in the William Street area.

Friday 3rd March 1972 Provo is cleared of being in the IRA A man with an address in Anderson Street, in the Short Strand area Belfast has been cleared in a special court in Belfast of being a member of the IRA. The court heard that the man had been charged with membership of the IRA, but had only admitted under interrogation to being a member of the “Provos” and as the Provisionals were not specifically mentioned in Regulation 24 of the Special Powers Act he was acquitted.

Friday 3rd March 1972 Sniper attacks in Belfast A shot has been fired at the Army observation post in Lenadoon Avenue.

Troops returned fire but no one was injured. And in Creeslough Park five shots were fired at a gunman by the Army but not hits were reported.

Friday 3rd March 1972 Bomb explodes on Grosvenor Road A bomb has badly damaged the Grosvenor Road premises of Simms Motor Units. Windows were broken in nearby buildings, including some stained glass windows in Chancellor Memorial Presbyterian Church.

Friday 3rd March 1972 RUC man dies The RUC sergeant shot in an ambush near Newry on Tuesday has died.

He was Sergeant Thomas Robert Morrow, a native of Fivemiletown. He was aged 28 and due to be married next month. The RUC man was shot at the Bainswear factory on the outskirts of Newry after he went to investigate a reported break-in.

Friday 3rd March 1972 Bomb is planted in head post office A 10lb bomb which was planted at the head post office in Derry 20 minutes before closing tome has been dismantled by the Army. Army experts rendered it safe after blowing the top of the device off. It was described as a sophisticated device.

Friday 3rd March 1972 Army defuse 30lb car bomb Army bomb disposal experts have defused a 30lb bomb in Belfast. The gelignite was in a stolen car which was parked in Beechgrove Gardens, off the Knockbreda Road. The vehicle had been stolen from outside the Curzon Cinema between 7 and 7.30 on Thursday.

Friday 3rd March 1972 Claims of Army hand-to-hand combat The Army has rejected a claim as being complete fabrication that soldiers were engaged in hand to hand fighting with residents of the Drumarg Park housing estate in Armagh. A spokes-

ABOVE - Jennifer McNern (left), who lost both legs in the Abercorn bomb, and Rosaleen McNern who lost both legs, and arm and eye. Two girls died in the explosion.

FACING PAGE - Van at the Royal Vistoria Hospital in which the bodies of two teenagers were discovered

THE TROUBLES man for the local civil resistance council claimed that upwards of 100 residents of the area, armed with hurley sticks, had engaged the troops in hand to hand fighting and had driven them from the area.

The spokesman added that a number of soldiers were injured. The Army did however admit that they were in the area searching for wanted men and that during the course of the operation they fired four CS gas canisters and four rubber bullets to disperse a small crowd.

Friday 3rd March 1972 School rubbishes Paisley’s allegation The management committee of St. Cecilia’s secondary intermediate school in the Creggan Estate in Derry has described as “absolutely without foundation” a statement by Ian Paisley at Stormont that the grounds were being used to store stolen cars. The statement said that Mr. Paisley’s allegation was so ridiculous as to scarcely merit refuting.

In condemning the irresponsible statement the committee pointed out that the school is opposite, and approximately 10 yards from, the Bligh’s Lane Army post and that all vehicles entering and leaving the grounds can be easily observed by the Army.

th

Saturday 4 March 1972 RUC shoot man dead The RUC have shot an 18-year-old youth dead and wounded his companion near the junction of the Donegal Road and the M1. The shooting occurred at the Olympia Business Machines factory on Boucher Road at about 7.30 when a car with four men in it drew up outside the works. Two men got out of the vehicle and walked to the front of the building carrying a parcel.

They are said to have set it down and then lit a fuse but before they could return to their car the RUC arrived and the car in which they arrived drove off.

After running for some 150 yards to the seven-foot perimeter one of the men was shot dead as he tried to scale the fence. He has been named as Albert Kavanagh of Cavendish Street, in the Falls Road area. His companion succeeded in getting over the fence but was shot and wounded as he crossed a patch of waste ground beyond it.

Saturday 4th March 1972 Ex-UDR man found dead The hooded body of a man believed to be a former member of the UDR has been found on the outskirts of Derry.

The man had been shot twice in the head and the RUC are working on the theory that it was another IRA execution. The man, who has not yet been named, was

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found on Braehead Road, about two miles from the city.

Saturday 4th March 1972 16 people detained Sixteen people, including eleven in Belfast and two in Derry have been detained by the Army in the 24 hours up until 8.00am.

Saturday 4th March 1972 Army put up Provo peace sign Speculation that the IRA had placed the “No-Agro” sign in the William Street area has ended with an admission by the Army that troops who were celebrating their last few days of duty in the city were responsible for the notice.

Saturday 4th March 1972 Rival Groups The Civil Rights Association considers the Northern Resistance Committee to be a “rival” organisation, a student’s conference has been told. Mrs Edwina Stewart, secretary of the NICRA was being questioned about the associations attitude to co-operation with the People’s Democracy and the resistance groups. She said that the aims of her association were non party political and non violent, the PD was a political party just as the SDLP was a political party.

NICRA did co-operate with a number of elected resistance committees but she stated that the Northern Resistance Committee was different. She said that the NRC publicly claims to have the same aims as the CRA but was set up as a rival to the NICRA and that no one goes out to their way to give credence to a rival organisation.

Saturday 4th March 1972 Soldier killed while on foot patrol An 18-year-old private in the 1st Battalion, the Queens Lancashire Regiment, Stephen Keating, has been shot dead in Belfast. The soldier, who had been part of a six man foot patrol, was

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THE TROUBLES

shot in the head at the junction of Manor and Analee Street. It is thought that the gunman fired from Groomsport Street and escaped in a white Cortina.

Saturday 4th March 1972 Bus depot bombed A bomb has exploded inside the Falls Road bus depot where some troops are billeted. The bomb was taken into the depot inside a conductor’s box but it was spotted before it went off and the area was evacuated. The charge, estimated to be 10lb of gelignite, exploded and a soldier was showered by glass.

He is not thought to be seriously injured. Two trailers were destroyed in the attack.

Saturday 4th March 1972 Ammunition find Soldiers and RUC personnel have found a box containing 1,100 rounds of assorted ammunition at Serpentine Gardens off the Antrim Road. They also

discovered 8 grenade launchers, 200 shotgun cartridges a magazine for a Sterling sub-machine gun and a detonator. The occupier of the property where the cache was discovered is not thought to have been involved.

Saturday 4th March 1972 Offices attacked in Cookstown The local rural council offices in Cookstown have been extensively damaged by a bomb. The 30lb charge of gelignite was placed in a front hallway and damaged walls and windows. It is the second time the offices have been attacked in just over a year. No one was injured in the attack.

Saturday 4th March 1972 Weighbridge bombed A bomb has wrecked a weighbridge and blasted the roof off a building at Smyth’s sales yard at Donaghmore Road, Dungannon. No was hurt.

Saturday 4th March 1972 Bus hi-jacked Four men armed with automatic pistols and revolvers have ordered the driver out of a school bus at Newtownbutler.

The vehicle was set on fire before it was pushed down a bank. The driver was unharmed and the men escaped across the border.

Saturday 4th March 1972 Money raised for IRA A collection has been taken up at a Clann na hEireann meeting in London.

One of the main speakers told those attending that the appeal he was making was not for internees, “This week, all the money is being collected for the Republican Movement machine. There is a military, as well as a political machine, to be kept up.”

Saturday 4th March 1972 Shot youths buried Itinerants from all over Ireland have attended the funeral of two teenagers shot

THE TROUBLES dead in Belfast. They were John Maugham (19) and Michael Patrick Connors (14), who were both members of itinerant families living in Northern Ireland. Connors was buried in Coleraine cemetery after a requiem mass in Coalisland, County Tyrone, where he had been living up until the time of his death. John Maugham was buried in a private grave in St. Patrick’s Cemetery, Armagh. Local Republicans had offered to bury him in their plot at the cemetery. th

Saturday 4 March 1972 Girls make hoax call Two girls who made a hoax telephone call to the supermarket in which they worked saying that a bomb had been placed in the store appeared in Newtownbreda. The girls, from Belfast’s Braniel Estate, made the call in their lunch break. Fines and conditional discharges were imposed on them.

Monday 6th March 1972 Abercorn Restaurant bombed The bomb which exploded in the Abercorn Restaurant on Saturday afternoon, has left two people dead and 136 people injured. Of these, seven are reported to be seriously ill and another 22 are said to be ill but not in any serious danger. The two women who died in the no warning explosion were 22year-old Anne Frances Owen of Chichester Avenue and her 21-year-old friend Janet Bereen of Hampton Park, both of Belfast. Ms. Bereen was a radiographer at the Royal Victoria Hospital and the daughter of a senior anaesthetist at the hospital. Her brother has said that his father took part in operation on some of the injured unaware that his daughter had died in the same explosion.

Of the injured, two sisters Rosaleen and FACING PAGE - York Street sealed off after a bomb was planted at the Co-Op store

Jennifer McNern (aged 22 and 21) have been seriously injured. One sister lost both legs the other both legs, her arm and one eye. The RUC have said that a vague warning was given about the blast. It came in the form of an anonymous phone call to Post Office telephone headquarters about 60 seconds before the bomb exploded. It is said that the caller mentioned a possible bomb in the Castle Place area but did not say where it had been planted.

Monday 6th March 1972 Massive bomb in Belfast A massive bomb has exploded in a car in Belfast. The vehicle was in the car park behind the ABC cinema and after the blast people were seen staggering from nearby offices with blood pouring from head wounds. Parts of the car were blown 50 yards along Grosvenor Road. The wrecked vehicle caught fire and the flames were doused by firemen from five units. Troops sealed off the area after reports that there might be another bomb in a second car.

Monday 6th March 1972 Hotel bombed The 17 bedroom Ardowen Hotel in Derry has been extensively damaged by a bomb. The hotel on Northland Road was unoccupied, apart from staff. No one was injured in the explosion.

Monday 6th March 1972 Dead man named The man found shot dead in Derry early on Saturday has been named as Marcus McCausland of the Drenagh Estate, Limavady. Mr. McCausland was a Catholic and a former captain in the UDR. He was aged 39 and formerly served with the Irish Guards. He had been visiting friends near Fahan, County Donegal and was returning home in the early hours of Saturday morning. His hooded body was later discovered on the snow-covered

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Braehead Road which runs between the Creggan and the border. The Derry Command of the Official IRA have accepted responsibility for the killing. In a statement they said that it was established through interrogation that he actually worked for British Intelligence.

An Army spokesman described this claim as nonsense.

Monday 6th March 1972 New Lodge shooting Two people have been taken to hospital after they were gunned down by a shotgun blast fired from a passing car.

The incident happened in the New Lodge area and the injured, a man and a woman, were hit by pellets but were not seriously injured.

Monday 6th March 1972 Arms find in Ballymurphy Men of the Kings Own Scottish Borders have found nine electric detonators, three non electric detonators, three small gelignite bombs, two flares, three lengths of cortex fuse and four pipe bombs during a search of a house in Whitecliff Crescent.

Monday 6th March 1972 Roadside bomb in Toomebridge A small bomb has exploded at the roadside at Rock Brae, near Toomebridge.

No one was hurt.

Monday 6th March 1972 Bomb on tractor A 5lb bomb was placed on a farm tractor at Clonalty, Magheravelly but it was defused by Army experts before it could explode.

Monday 6th March 1972 Shots fired in Strabane Shots were fired across the border at Strabane on Saturday. Two shots were fired from Lifford at an Army patrol.

The troops returned fire but no one was injured.

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THE TROUBLES people regain control over their own affairs.”

Monday 6th March 1972 Soldier wounded in Derry A soldier was wounded in Derry when a gunman fired a burst of automatic fire at troops at the junction of Lower Road and William Street on Saturday. The shots were fired from the direction of Creggan Street and the soldier was wounded in the groin. As the gunman’s firing position was not known, no shots were returned.

Monday 6th March 1972 IRA snubs Wilson The Provisional IRA has rejected opposition leader Mr. Wilson’s proposal for bringing peace initiatives to the North. Mr. Wilson suggested that all internees should be eventually released, except those against whom criminal charges were preferred in courts.

A Provisional spokesman in Dublin repeated the points which would lead to the suspension of their activities. They are: “a declaration of intent from the British Government to withdraw its forces from our country, along with the immediate cessation of all British Army activity in the North; the complete abolition of the Stormont Parliament; and a total amnesty for all political prisoners in Ireland and England, both tried and untried, and for all those on the wanted lists”. The spokesman said “These three points represent the minimum demands which if met by the British Government will lead to a suspen-

sion of the Republican military activity. A total ceasefire will not be ordered until British troops have been completely withdrawn from Ireland and the British government ceases to interfere in Irish affairs. The sacrifices made over the past two years, both by the Republican movement and the civilian population of the North, have been far too great for us to consider a compromise settlement of any kind. Our struggle will therefore continue until our demands have been met and the Irish

Tuesday 7th March 1972 1,000 attend IRA man’s funeral Nearly one thousand people marched in military fashion behind an IRA funeral in Belfast. The funeral was that of Albert Kavanagh who was shot dead by the RUC at the Olympia factory near Tates Avenue. Army cameramen were everywhere, in the side streets, on top of the Broadway cinema and the bus depot opposite the gates of Milltown cemetery as the funeral made its way to the cemetery. In the streets surrounding Kavanagh’s Cavendish Street home there was a heavy Army presence and local people claimed that this was the first time that the RUC had been inside the Beechmount area in several months.

Tuesday 7th March 1972 Top IRA bomb experts held says PM The Prime Minister Mr. Faulkner has told MP’s at Stormont that in the last

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Tuesday 7 March 1972 UDR man chases gunmen Troops and RUC personnel have used tracker dogs to search for two men who tried to make an attempt on the life of a UDR man. He man, whose name has not been revealed saw two men approach the rear of his home armed with a sub-machinegun but before they open fire he shoved them against each other.

The men retreated out the door. The UDR man then grabbed his shotgun and fired through the glass of the door after the men. As they made their getaway one shot was fired at the UDR man but no one was injured.

three months a number of IRA men with special expertise in explosives have been captured and both wings are now short of experienced handlers of explosives. He also stated that the theft of explosives in the South has continued and that there is evidence that some bombs are being manufactured there.

Tuesday 7th March 1972 Security alert in York Street Part of Belfast city centre has been sealed off as Army and RUC personnel kept watch outside the city’s biggest department store which has been bombed by the IRA. They fear that at least one other bomb has been left at the Belfast Co-operative store in York Street.

The armed attack began shortly before 3.00am, when four men, at least two of them armed, forced their way into the building. The night security men were FACING PAGE - Bomb attack on the Grosvenor Road in which 52 people were injured.

ABOVE - Bomb damage inside the Co-Op store

overpowered and held by two gunmen.

The security men were later told to leave the building. At 3.48am, 63 minutes after the men entered the building one bomb exploded on the second floor and started a fire. The flames spread to the third floor but the intervention by firemen and with the help of the stores sprinkler system, the fire was prevented from spreading to other departments.

Tuesday 7th March 1972 Theft of explosives Ian Paisley, MP for North Antrim has asked the Home Secretary if he will call for a report from the Chief Constable of Somerset concerning evidence in his possession about the involvement of the IRA in the theft of three cwt of explosives and some 500 detonators from the site of the M% extension. In a commons written reply the Minister of State at the Home Office said “The Chief Constable tells me that police inquiries into this incident are still in progress.”

He said that if Mr. Paisley had any relevant information, “the chief Constable would be glad to receive it”.

Tuesday 7th March 1972 Youth shot in Belfast A 19-year-old youth who was found by troops at the junction of Hertford Street and the Grosvenor Road, near the scene of the bomb attack at the rear of the ABC, is said to be seriously ill in hospital. One report says that the man from Lincoln Street, off the Grosvenor Road was shot from a passing car as he walked along the Grosvenor Road.

Tuesday 7th March 1972 Shots fired in Derry A gunman has fired five shots at an Army observation post in the Brandywell area of Derry. No one was injured in the attack.

Tuesday 7th March 1972 Commercial traveller robbed A commercial traveller from Belfast has been held up by armed men and robbed of almost £500. The traveller, who has not been named by police, was travelling through Navan Street, Armagh when he was forced to stop. He was bundled into the back seat of a car and driven to a cemetery in Cathedral Road.

There he was tied to railings. On managing to free him self he raised the alarm. The man was not hurt during the ordeal.

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Tuesday 7 March 1972 Rubber bullets fired in Newry A foot patrol of the 1st Battalion Devon and Dorsett Regiment have fired rubber bullets in the towns Derrybeg estate. An Army spokesman has said the bullets were fired after troops were attacked by around 50 youths.

Tuesday 7th March 1972 Army deserter jailed in South A man who said he deserted from the British Army because he did not want to be sent to the North of Ireland has been sent to jail for two months after he was convicted in Ennis Court, County Clare, of stealing £31.

Tuesday 7th March 1972 Gelignite detonated in Belfast The Army have found six pounds of gelignite in the Lower Falls area of Belfast. The explosives were discovered by troops from the Gloucester Regiment during a routine search of Ward Street.

It is believed that they were found along with ammunition and some fuse wire in a house but an Army spokesman said that they had to destroy the gelignite immediately as it was in an unstable condition.

Tuesday 7th March 1972 Loyalists threatened Abercorn says IRA Woodvale Defence Association has challenged anyone to find where it made a threat to the Abercorn restaurant, which was blown up on Saturday, killing two women and injuring 136 other people. The Provisional wing of the IRA has alleged that the WDA threatened the Abercorn in its weekly “newsletter” publication. The statement pointed out that a friend of one of the committee was seriously injured in the explosion and that a workmate of two others lost both legs. They went on to say that they had talks with the police and legal advisers on what action they

could take against those responsible for the statement Tuesday 7th March 1972 Fifty shots fired at troops About 50 shots have been fired at troops in a carefully planned IRA operation.

It happened when men of the Kings Own Scottish Borders went to recover a hi-jacked bus at the Whiterock Road.

As they moved in a gunman fired between 30 and 40 shots from nearby chalets. These were followed by about 10 rounds fired from the area of Monagh flats. Later troops saw three gunmen escape towards the City Cemetery.

At midday one shot was fired at paratroopers in Great George’s Street. No one was injured in either incident.

Wednesday 8th March 1972 Bomb blitz hits Derry A massive 120lb explosive charge in a taxi opposite Derry’s head Post Office, one of five bombs planted by the IRA in Derry City centre, caused extensive damage to the Post Office. A motor taxation office and another Development Commission office, along with a pub, a shop and the Northern Counties Hotel suffered damage in the blast.

Earlier, armed men planted bombs in the workshops of Joseph Lucas depot at Duncreggan Road and at Thompson Edward’s tyre depot in Strand Road. In Castle Street armed men planted a bomb in the offices of Frazer Mitchell and Co., auctioneers and estate agents.

It was later defused and taken away by explosive experts. At the Alexander Motor Company in Great James’ Street, staff were held up by two men armed with a Sten gun. The bomb planted there, exploded and wrecked the building.

Wednesday 8th March 1972 Ministry official shot dead A Ministry of Agriculture official has been shot dead at Middletown, County

Armagh. First reports said that three men, two of them armed, had come across the nearby border from County Monaghan. They went to the border post, where the Ministry official was inspecting cattle and shot him dead. It is understood that the man was working with two others when the gunmen drove up and shot him dead. The men then travelled back to the South.

Wednesday 8th March 1972 Traders draw up security code Belfast businessmen have begun the first of a series of meetings to draw up a code of security to tackle city centre bombers. Belfast’s Lord Mayor, Alderman Cairns said that businessmen were meeting to hammer out an agreed list of security precautions to be taken by people to protect their premises and customers. Explosives experts from the Army and RUC personnel also took part in the discussions.

Wednesday 8th March 1972 Second man dies after blast A second man from the North has died in a Dublin hospital from extensive burns, believed to have been caused by an explosion at Keady, County Armagh.

The man who died at St. Stephen’s Hospital during the night was Eamonn Gamble of St. Matthew’s estate, Keady.

He is said to have been in his twenties and has been in hospital since early February. The other man who died was Patrick Casey who was also in his 20’s of St. Matthew’s estate. Both men are thought to have been injured in an explosion and fire in Keady on the 8th February. Gardai and hospital authorities have refused to disclose details of their injuries or the circumstances in which they received them. But it is known that when Patrick Casey was buried in Armagh his coffin was draped with the Irish tricolour.

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Wednesday 8 March 1972 Hoax bomb at Hotel Army experts were called to the Chichester Park Hotel, off the Antrim Road, to deal with a suspected bomb. After being examined by explosive experts the top was blown off the device and it was revealed to have been a hoax.

Wednesday 8th March 1972 Shots fire at M1 One shot has been fired at a Volvo car driven by a civilian as it left the M1 motorway at Stockman’s Lane shortly after 3.15am. The shot missed and the RUC believe that it may have been mistaken for an RUC motorway patrol car.

Wednesday 8th March 1972 Vanguard strike Thousands of loyalist workers downed tools as part of the strike called by the Vanguard movement.

Wednesday 8th March 1972 Soldiers find rifles Six guns and more than 200 rounds of ammunition have been found by troops during searches in Belfast. Men of the 1st battalion Queen’s Lancashire Regiment, who searched a derelict house in Ardoyne found four .22 rifles, two telescopic sights and 200 rounds of assorted ammunition. No arrests were made during the raid.

Wednesday 8th March 1972 Embassy burning cost jobs According to the chief of the Industrial Development Authority, Mr Michael Killeen, British interest in investment in Ireland is now, because of the political situation, almost non-existent. He went on to say that the burning of the British Embassy in Dublin was mainly responsible for losing the Republic nine industrial projects involving 1,000 jobs.

He warned that if there were any further incidents like the attack on the Embassy or Aldershot then there would be a falling off in exports which would cause unemployment. The director General of Bord Failte has also said that he expects that visitors from Britain will be down by 35 per cent this year.

Wednesday 8th March 1972 Troops open fire on gunmen Troops believe they may have hit a gunman who opened fire on them from a car in the Springfield Road area of Belfast. A spokesman for the Army said that soldiers from the Kings Own Scottish Borders at Springfield Avenue had two shots fired at them. Six shots were directed at the car by the soldiers and the spokesman said that it is believed that one of the three men in the car was wounded.

Wednesday 8th March 1972 Café attacked in Belfast The former Mistletoe Café at the junction of Church Land and High Street has been extensively damaged by a charge of 8-12lbs of gelignite. No one was injured by the blast which sent glass and debris flying across High Street.

Wednesday 8th March 1972 Soldiers attacked at Bligh’s Lane Soldiers have returned fire at a gunman who fired two shots at the Bligh’s Lane Army post in Derry. There were no casualties and the gunman escaped.

Minutes later another gunman in the Westland-Meenan Square area fired 10 shots at an Army patrol on the city walls. No one was injured and fire was not returned.

During several exchanges of fire late on Tuesday evening, troops believe that two gunmen may have been hit. One soldier received a flesh wound during a shooting in the William Street-Little Diamond Street area.

Wednesday 8th March 1972 “Shots” fired in Larne The RUC have said that a report that three shots were fired from a car at the local RUC station in Curran Road was incorrect. The “shots” were later traced to a car which had backfired.

Wednesday 8th March 1972 Soldiers fire rubber bullets in Newry Troops have fired rubber bullets to disperse a crowd of about 20 people who attacked troops at the Derrybeg estate at 3.15am. The crowd threw bottles at

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an armoured vehicle of the Queen’s Own Hussars. There were no injuries.

Wednesday 8th March 1972 Men detained in Belfast Fifteen men, all from the Belfast area have been detained in the 24 hours up until 8.00am.

ephone call that the IRA Provisionals had planted a bomb there. Nothing was found.

Wednesday 8th March 1972 45 internees released Forty-five internees have been released, following consideration by the Government’s advisory committee.

Wednesday 8th March 1972 Aldergrove searched Police have searched the main terminal building at Belfast airport after a tel-

A Ministry of Home Affairs statement said that four internees refused to give certain undertakings required by the committee and were not released. In 406 other cases the committee recom-

mended that releases should not be made.

Altogether 345 internees refused to attend the committee but their cases were nevertheless considered.

Wednesday 8th March 1972 RUC Reserve are to go full time The Prime Minister has announced in the Commons that a number of police reservists are to be engaged full time, primarily to guard RUC barracks and release regular RUC men for other duties. He also announced that the recruitment to the UDR would be shortly reaching its new ceiling of 10,000 members.

Wednesday 8th March 1972 13-year-old boy on arms charge A 13-year-old boy has been sent for trial at Belfast City Commission on an arms charge. The juvenile appeared in court on charges of possessing a .455 revolver and ammunition at Genoa Street.

The court was also told that the boy had absconded five times from St Patrick’s Training School since December. The magistrate said that under the Children and Young Persons Act, he could not commit the accused to prison because he was under the age of 14 and was classed as a child.

Wednesday 8th March 1972 Treatment of prisoners The Provisional IRA has complained that its members in jails in the South are being treated like criminals and not as political prisoners.

A statement issued in Dublin said that their men were being treated as convicts to the extent of being forced to wear convict garb, to do penal labour, and generally denied the status traditionally accorded to political prisoners. The statement called on the Irish people to protest against this petty vindictiveness.

THE TROUBLES

Wednesday 8th March 1972 Welsh Fusiliers are transferred to Derry More than 700 men of the 1st Battalion, the Royal Welch Fusiliers and their families will be arriving in Derry within the next few days to begin a two year tour of duty. The Fusiliers, who will be based at Ebrington Barracks, will arrive by sea from Hong Kong. The Fusiliers will be taking over from the 1st battalion, the Royal Anglican Regiment, which has been in Derry since July 1970.

Wednesday 8th March 1972 Rent arrears are now £1.3 million The Minister of Development has said at Stormont that rent arrears of £1.3 million have built up. He pointed out that this sum is mainly due to the campaign of civil disobedience.

FACING PAGE - Clearing rubble after a bomb blast in Clonard Street in which a number of IRA men were killed.

ABOVE - Funeral of IRA man Albert Kavanagh

Thursday 9th March 1972 Three men die as bomb demolishes house Three men have died and another three were seriously injured when a massive bomb demolished a house and badly damaged two others in the Falls area of Belfast.

The bodies of the men were discovered by civilians and rescue teams who rushed to the scene of the blast at Clonard Street, off the Falls Road. The three men who were injured are said to be ill but a woman who was also hurt, was later discharged. Several others were treated for shock and minor cuts.

A statement released by the RUC said that they believed “the seat of the explosion was inside the house at the rear portion, and that they are satisfied that it was caused by a large bomb.”

The statement counteracts claims of local people that an object was thrown into the house from a passing car shortly before the blast. Forensic experts have carried out a preliminary examination and one theory is that the bomb exploded prematurely while being handled.

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Thursday 9th March 1972 Five UDR men quit farms after threats Following threats, four members of the UDR in Fermanagh have had to leave their homes near the border in the Garrison district, taking their families and belongings with them. A fifth UDR man will leave on Friday. The men, all farmers had lived in the same locality as Pte. Thomas Fletcher, who was shot dead near his home in Frevagh. An officer in the UDR said that the men had reported to him that the threats had been passed on to them through friends who lived on the southern side of the border.

Thursday 9th March 1972 Youths stage protest in Belfast More than 300 school children and youths from the Shankill Road area took over Belfast city centre to stage their own demonstration. The youngsters marched through Winetavern Street, Smithfield and on to the City Gall. After marching around it went into Fountain Street and Queen Street. As they entered Wellington Place a section of the marchers broke away and a youth

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was set upon. As the marchers continued, carrying an Ulster flag and singing party songs, the marchers dragged some material from outside a shop in Fountain Street and threw them to the ground. In total two youths were taken away in RUC Land Rovers.

Thursday 9th March 1972 Shots fired at troops Gunmen have fired more than 20 shots at an Army patrol in the Springfield area of Belfast but no one was injured. The soldiers came under fire as they were crossing Springfield Road, near Springfield Avenue. Later gunmen fired more shots at men of the 1st Battalion, the Kings Own Scottish Borderers at the New Barnsley and Vere Fos-

ter Army Posts. No one was injured.

Thursday 9th March 1972 Blaze at shoe shop Scott’s clothing and shoe shop in Sandy Row has been badly damaged by fire.

The upstairs floors, where the fire started, were gutted and considerable damage was done to the ground floor.

Thursday 9th March 1972 Shots fired at troops A patrol of the 1 st Battalion, the Gloucester Regiment has come under attack in the Leeson Street area of Belfast as they went to investigate a reported bomb explosion. The soldiers were fired on at Plevna Street. Then another bomb was electrically deto-

nated from a house at Abyssinia Street, as troops moved along Leeson Street.

The soldiers returned fire but no one was injured.

Thursday 9th March 1972 Soldiers ambushed Soldiers have come under fire near to the Donegal Road entrance to the motorway after a suspicious object was discovered on the north-bound carriageway. The shots were fired as police were setting up a road stop. Fire was returned nut no one was hit.

Thursday 9th March 1972 Arms finds in Belfast The RUC have said that 100 rounds of .303 ammunition have been found during a search at Tynedale Gardens and a shotgun and 12 cartridges were found in another search at Dunedin Park. In Elswick Street, in the Springfield Road area, soldiers also found one .45 revolver, one .22 rifle, and 616 rounds of assorted ammunition.

Thursday 9th March 1972 Derry youths shot during gun battle.

Two schoolboys are in hospital with gunshot wounds after troops exchanged fire with gunmen in Derry. The boys, aged 14 and 13, are not said to be seriously injured. An Army statement on the shooting incident said that between 4.25 and 4.30pm gunmen using Thompson sub-machine guns fired at troops from positions in Creggan Street and Little Diamond. Fire was returned and he soldiers claimed to have hit one gunman. During the exchange of fire two nail bombs were hurled at the troops.

The Army has also said that between 5.00 and 6.00pm gunmen fired on TOP - Bomb attack at Bow Street, Lisburn.

BOTTOM - Car bomb attack at Customs House Street, Derry

THE TROUBLES troops from Rossville Flats, Beechwood Crescent and Meenan Square. During the incident at Meenan Square fire was returned and a nail bomb was thrown around the same time.

Overnight gunmen fired 20 shots at Army patrols in the Creggan Heights area. Four shots were also fired at two Amy posts in the Bogside. Shortly after 7.00am soldiers in the Brandywell post returned fire at a gunman who had fired 20 rounds at them Thursday 9th March 1972 Ministry worker was UDR man The Ministry worker who was shot dead at Middletown has been named as 44year-old Joseph Jardine. Mr Jardine died instantly when two men opened fire on him with a M1 carbine and Thompson sub-machine gun. He had been a former member of the Regular Army and had also served with the USC until they were disbanded. At the time of his death he was a lance-corporal in the UDR. Thursday 9th March 1972 Craig speaks of UDI Mr. William Craig, MP for Larne, has spoken at a meeting in Carrickfergus in which he raised the alternative of U.D.I. in the Ulster should the majority be forced to join a united Ireland.

He appealed for support for Vanguard.

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Thursday 9 March 1972 Radar used against gunmen Two man personal radar sets which will reveal a gunman up to six miles away are being used by the Army on the border. Code named ZB298, the sets which can be set up in three minutes are being used all along the 240 mile border in an effort to stop arms and ammunition being smuggled into the North, particularly at night. The sets can be used anywhere and will track anything that moves up to 11,000 yards away.

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Thursday 9 March 1972 2,403lbs of gelignite used.

The Prime Minister Mr. Brian Faulkner has told M.P.’s that the security forces have estimated that 2,402lbs of explosives have been used by the IRA so far this year. Most of the material he said was being brought in from the South and that on average the number of cross border incidents are between three and seven each week.

Friday 10 March 1972 IRA chief of Staff in court In a surprise move in a Dublin court, charges relating to the IRA have been dropped against the Official IRA Chief of Staff Cathal Goulding and three other men. All four had been charged with membership of an unlawful organisation, the Irish Republican Army but the State suddenly announced that it was not prepared to proceed with the case.

Thursday 9th March 1972 Irish Army in border crossing The Irish Army has crossed the border in error and carried out a “stop and question” operation on a car. He soldiers who crossed the border in an armoured car and two jeeps with the Irish Tricolour flying quickly realised their mistake and travelled back the few hundred yards back into the South. It was the first known crossing of the border by the Irish Army.

Friday 10th March 1972 Bomb in wallpaper shop A bomb blast and fire has destroyed Christies wallpaper shop in York Street, Belfast. Shortly after 10 o’clock two men entered the premises which are opposite York Road station. Both were armed. After planting a bomb in a duffle bag they left. It exploded and a fire followed. There was a thick pall of smoke in York Street area for about 20 minutes before it was put out. The shop belongs to Belfast’s Lord Mayor elect.

Mr William Christie.

Thursday 9th March 1972 RUC men sent for trial Two RUC men have been sent for trial on charges of having assaulted the passenger in a van, the driver of which was shot dead by troops outside Springfield Road barracks on 7th August.

Friday 10th March 1972 Dead men were IRA Volunteers The Provisional IRA in Dublin has stated that the men who died in the Clonard Street bomb were their members and that they were working on the bomb when it exploded. The men have been named by the IRA as Lieut. John Johnston, aged 20 from Cawnpore Street. He is described as a bomb expert. Lieut. Gerard Crossan, also aged 20 of Annadale Street in the New Lodge area and Volunteer Tony Lewis, aged 20, from Cupar Street. It is now known that the bomb exploded in the kitchen of the house and that it contained 30lb of gelignite.

Friday 10th March 1972 Record banned Paul McCartney’s record “Give Ireland back to the Irish,” has been banned by the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation which controls the majority of radio stations and all television stations there.

Friday 10th March 1972 Border shooting There have been 83 incidents in which gunmen have opened fire at the security forces from across the border. The information was revealed by the Under Secretary of State for the Army in a Commons written reply.

Friday 10th March 1972 Soldiers attacked at Castlederg Soldiers have had a narrow escape near the border at Castlederg, County Tyrone, when their Ferret armoured car

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was blasted by a mine. The soldiers, men of the 16th/5th Lancers were on border patrol when the explosion occurred.

No one was hurt and the vehicle was not badly damaged.

Friday 10th March 1972 Cost of Loyalist strike Industrialists are counting the cost of Thursday’s four hour strike which was organised by the Loyalist Association of Workers, which lead to power cuts and the virtual shutdown of many industries. Although there are no precise figures available, employers organisations estimate that somewhere in the region of 50,000 workers joined the strike.

Friday 10th March 1972 Man shot in Belfast A man has been shot and injured at the junction of Mayo Street and the Springfield Road. The man a protestant from Leopold Street had been on his way to visit a friend in the RVH when six shots were fired at him from a white 1100 car, which sped off in the direction of the Shankill Road. His condition is reported as serious Saturday 11th March 1972 Shots fired in Dunmurry Ten shots have been heard in the Dunmurry area near the Conway Hotel. A search has been carried out but nothing was found.

Saturday 11th March 1972 Bomb in church hall There has been a small explosion in an old church hall in Mount Street, off the Shore Road, Belfast. A small fire followed and there has been slight damage to the building which is no longer used as a church hall. It has been taken over as business premises.

Loyalist bomb blast at a public toilet in Lurgan in which one person was killed.

Saturday 11th March 1972 Army positions attacked A gunman has fired one shot at Bligh’s Lane Army post and during the night a further two shots were fired at a post in Foyle Road. There were no casualties in either attack.

Troops also returned fire at a gunman who was positioned behind a barricade in Lone Moore Road. He had fired on an Army patrol before escaping.

Friday 10th March 1972 Revive the UVF says McCrea A Free Presbyterian minister in County Derry has called for the revival of the Ulster Volunteer Force, under the direct control of Stormont. The Rev. William McCrea said he was writing to the Prime Minister, Mr. Faulkner, urging him to aid the security forces by reviving the old UVF which had been outlawed by a previous Unionist Government.

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Saturday 11 March 1972 Civil Rights Demonstration at Magilligan The planned Civil Rights protest at Magilligan internment camp has been thrown into complete chaos after troops and police mounted blockades on all roads leading into the area. At one point hundreds of demonstrators staged a sit down at an RUC cordon some miles from the camp. They protested at a police decision to allow them through in single file past a barbed wire barrier.

Later in the afternoon with the protest meeting running three hours late, the strategy of the security forces meant that most of the protestors hadn’t even reached the point where they to hold the rally. Demonstrators who left their cars to make their way across country found themselves being turned back by foot patrols. Demonstrators were told that they could walk along the beach but were also warned that they wouldn’t get anywhere near it.

Saturday 11th March 1972 Clonard Bomb – Fourth man identified The Provisional IRA have named the fourth man who died in the Clonard Street explosion as Tom McCann, from Waterford Street, Belfast. He died when a 30lb gelignite bomb exploded.

There have been reports that a fifth person, a woman, has also been killed in the explosion but an RUC spokesman has said that no evidence to that effect has come to light.

Saturday 11th March 1972 Youth shot in hand A Belfast youth has been taken to hospital with a gunshot wound in his hand.

The youth aged about 16 is alleged to have told police that he was abducted by three armed men who called at his home in the New Barnsley area. He is in the Royal Victoria Hospital but his condition is not serious.

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Saturday 11 March 1972 Bomb on Shankill A bomb has exploded on waste ground at Battenberg Street in the Shankill area but no one was injured. And in lift shaft in Divis flats, troops have discovered a starting pistol and ammunition. A shot has also been fired at Bligh’s Lane Army post in Derry but no one was injured.

Saturday 11th March 1972 Army patrol stoned One rubber bullet has been fired by soldiers at youths in the Bingham Drive area of Andersonstown. There are reports that a mobile patrol had been stoned in the area.

Saturday 11th March 1972 Kennedy told to shut his mouth The Provost of Coventry Cathedral has said at Springfield Massachusetts, he wished Senator Edward Kennedy would “keep his mouth shut” about Northern Ireland. The Very Rev. H. C. N. Williams on a visit to lead an Episcopal conference at Christ Church Cathedral said Senator Kennedy “ought not to speak with as little knowledge of the day-today situation as he has.

Saturday 11th March 1972 IRA Truce The Orange Order has called for security forces to intensify their campaign by taking over “no go” areas and tightening border control. The call came as the IRA Provisionals waited reaction to their truce. Cardinal Conway, the Roman Catholic Primate, described the 72 hour truce a “step in the right direction,” although there were no official comment from the Governments in London, Belfast or Dublin.

The only incidents reported since the truce began at midnight were an attack on an armoured car at the border, and a few shots fired in Derry. Neither wing of the IRA claimed responsibility for

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the attacks. In Newry, amine exploded in the path of a mobile patrol shortly before midnight. No one was injured in the attack and it is thought that it was carried out by local IRA Officials but a spokesman in Dublin would neither deny nor confirm this.

The IRA truce has come at a time when there is renewed speculation that Westminster will make an announcement on Northern Ireland next week.

Saturday 11th March 1972 Ammunition found near airfield A schoolboy has discovered a hoard of 1,266 rounds of rifle ammunition in a field near a disused airfield at Portavogie, on the Ards Peninsula. The boy handed the ammunition over to the RUC who carried out a further search of the surrounding area and found 300 more rounds of ammunition.

Saturday 11th March 1972 Bomb hoax A bomb scare in Belfast’s North Street has taken the edge of the first day of the IRA’s 72 hour truce. The RUC received a warning that there was a bomb in a parked car in the street. They rushed to the scene and began cordoning off the area and checking parked cars while firemen stood by. One car a white Corsair aroused suspicion and Army bomb disposal experts decided to blow the boot of the car open. The resulting bang frightened many shoppers who thought it had been a bomb.

The car boot was found to be empty.

Monday 13th March 1972 IRA truce terms ignored by British Government The opposition leader Mr. Wilson has arrived in Dublin for talks with Mr. Jack Lynch and other political leaders, as the Provisional IRA was threatening to renew its campaign at the end of its 72 hour truce at midnight. At the same time it is expected that the British Cabi-

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net, now said to be seriously split over the Northern Ireland peace plan, will meet in the next few days to consider the situation.

The IRA’s “truce terms” have been ignored by the British Government and Mr. Rory Brady, president of the Provisional Sinn Fein, said today that he believed that the campaign would be renewed. He denied that the truce had been called because the Provisionals were running out of explosives. Far from accepting the conditions laid down by the IRA for an end to violence, abolition of Stormont, withdrawal of troops and so on, the indications in London are now that Mr. Heath and his colleagues will be unable to proceed with even their own plans for restructuring of political institutions in the North. Because of opposition within the Cabinet itself and from Tory backbench MPs it is being suggested that any reform package will be substantially watered down from that intended a few weeks ago.

Monday 13th March 1972 Unionist MP meets IRA Controversy has continued about the contacts Mr. Tom Caldwell, the independent Unionist MP for Willowfield has had with both wings of the IRA. He had not, he said, been acting as a go between for Governments, nor had he been making any kind of a deal. “I want to see the killing of innocent people stopped.” The Stormont Government has made it clear that Mr. Caldwell is not in its confidence and has not been acting with its authority or approval.

The Willowfield MP’s last meeting with IRA leaders was in Dublin on Saturday night. But the Provisional IRA Chief of Staff, Mr. Sean MacStiofain, denied today that he had negotiations with Mr. Caldwell. He said “I had a chance meeting with him in a Dublin restaurant on Saturday night. The man is not being honest if he says he had negotiations with us. No one else had authority to

speak to him.” Mr MacStiofain said he approached a table at which Mr. Rory Brady, president of Sinn Fein was seated with “a stranger,” who turned out to be Mr. Caldwell. They were introduced and he joined them for about three minutes. Mr MacStiofain said: “Mr. Caldwell said something to the effect that the truce proposals were not acceptable, I said they could not be changed and excused myself. There were no negotiations.”

Monday 13th March 1972 Armed men rob bank Four men, one armed with a revolver, have got away with an undisclosed sum of money from a bank at Carnlough.

The RUC say two of the raiders entered

the Northern Bank and forced two members of staff to lie on the floor. All four of them escaped in a yellow car.

No one was injured.

Monday 13th March 1972 Gelignite found RUC men carrying out a routine search of the Larne-Belfast railway line at Carrickfergus have recovered 3lb of gelignite which had been placed only 10 feet from the rails. Army experts were called in to remove the explosives which were said to be in excellent condition.

FACING PAGE - Vanguard rallt at the Ormeau Park

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Monday 13 March 1972 Woman shot in Belfast A young Belfast woman has died at her home as a gunman opened fire on an Army patrol in the Lower Falls. The woman, Mrs Bernadette Hyndman, of Abyssinia Street, who is the mother of a 12-month-old baby girl, was standing at her doorway when the gunman opened fire on a patrol of the1st Battalion, the Gloucester Regiment. The shots, which are thought to have been fired from a position in Cape Street, missed the patrol. Two of the bullets struck Mrs Hyndman and she was rushed to hospital but died on the way.

It is thought she was struck by bullets from an M1 carbine. Three spent cartridges were later found at the scene.

In a follow-up search a M1 carbine, three .32 pistols, a .22 pistol, two .45 pistols, a 9mm pistol, a Lugar pistol, a 9mm Browning, a 7.62 Bayord pistol, a firing mechanism for a Thompson Sub-machine gun and a shotgun were found in a derelict house. Almost 200

rounds of ammunition, 2lb of gelignite, detonators, cortex and fuse wire were also discovered. Tests are being carried out on the carbine to see if it was used in the attack.

Monday 13th March 1972 70 shots fired in Ballymurphy The Army has reported hearing 70 shots in the Ballymurphy area. A spokesman said that “there was no apparent reason for the shooting. None of our men were involved.”

Monday 13th March 1972 Army post attacked The joint RUC Army post at New Barnsley has come under attack from gunmen in Divismore Park, but there were no casualties.

Monday 13th March 1972 War on Want shop bombed The War on Want shop at the junction of Broadway and Falls Road has been

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badly damaged by an explosion and fire. No one was injured in the attack Monday 13th March 1972 Stick grenade discovered Security forces have discovered a home made stick grenade and false number plates in a car at Pilot Street. The car is thought to have been stolen.

Monday 13th March 1972 Four Army posts attacked in Derry Four Army posts in Derry have come under fire from gunmen but no one was injured. Soldiers returned fire from the Bligh’s Lane post after two bursts of automatic fire were directed at them.

Single shots were fired at an observation post on the city walls and at a post on top of the Embassy building. The Brandywell post also came under fire.

An Army spokesman said that on Saturday night a gunman fired from the area of the City Cemetery at the Brandywell post. Fire was returned and the gunman was seen to fall.

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Monday 13 March 1972 Wounded man taken to hospital in the South A man has been taken to hospital at Clones in the South after a shooting incident at a Ministry of Agriculture forest at Mullinahinch, near Rosslea. The man, who is not serious, was one of a party of 100 civilians who crossed the border from Monaghan to fill in a cratered road. The crowd blocked the road with trees, burned a barn and its contents of hay and tried to set the forest on fire. One of the men there, who came from Dublin, told how they came across two men standing among the trees and some of his companions began to call them names. The men responded by firing a shotgun, the pellets from which struck one man. Although he was injured he continued the man continued to challenge the pair to come out from the trees and fight him.

He was then taken away to hospital.

Monday 13th March 1972 TUC General Secretary calls for release of internees The TUC General Secretary, Mr. Vic Feather, and members of the General Council are hoping to meet the Home Secretary Mr. Maudling, for discussions about internment. The unions want to see it phased out, together with a transfer of security measures from Stormont to Westminster.

The move follows joint talks in London between the TUC, leaders of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and members of the ICTU’s Northern Ireland Committee. The meeting with Mr. Maudling will be sought within the next two or three days. th

Monday 13 March 1972 More weapons found on Falls Road More guns have been found by troops during searches in the lower falls area of Belfast where a young woman was shot dead. Men of the 1st Battalion, the

Gloucester Regiment, found the guns, a 9mm Drese pistol, and a .22 Pyranese pistol on the wall of a yard in Leeson Street. On Sunday the same unit found 11 guns as well as explosives and ammunition in the area.

Monday 13th March 1972 MPs conviction quashed The conviction and fines of £20 on two opposition MPs, Mr. John Hume, and Mr. Ivan Cooper, and three other Derry men, for failing to disperse from a sit down demonstration in the city have been formally quashed by the Court of Appeal in Belfast. The judge ruled that the Army had no authority to disperse them under the Special Powers Act. Immediately following the ruling emergency legislation was rushed through Westminster giving the Army powers under the Special Powers Act. Monday 13th March 1972 Housing in troubled areas will suffer says Minister The Development Minister Mr. Roy Bradford, has warned that there will be an “inevitable rundown” in house building in troubled areas if the disturbances continue.

Monday 13th March 1972 Uniforms recovered A number of British Army combat uniforms were recovered by Civic Guards in the course of raids in Lifford and Castlefin areas of Donegal. The uniforms are believed to be part of a consignment stolen from a Derry laundry by the IRA some months ago.

Tuesday 14th March 1972 Weapons found Details of the weaponry found in the period between the 1st November and the 29th February have been given to MPs at Stormont. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Home Affairs announced that 117,028 rounds

of ammunition, 2,345lbs of explosives, 28 machineguns, 172 rifles, 84 shotguns and 187 pistols and revolvers were seized.

Ian Paisley, in a question to the Parliamentary Secretary asked him to confirm that arms and ammunition had been found in a number of voluntary schools and that one of the largest hauls had been found in St. Joseph’s Training school.

Tuesday 14th March 1972 Men discovered hiding in roof Troops and police have detained three youths in a house a few hundred yards from the scene of an explosion at a Belfast Corporation electricity showroom.

RUC headquarters in a statement said the teenagers were found hiding in the roof space of a house in Ardmore Park, Finaghy. Guns were also seized and taken away for examination. About two hours before the arrest the RUC said that three armed men had planted a bomb in the showroom on the Upper Lisburn Road. A dentist surgery above the showroom was also wrecked. Minutes after the explosion Army and RUC personnel converged on the scene, the stolen car in which the bombers made their escape was spotted in the Finaghy Road North area. Eventually the men abandoned the car and made off on foot.

Reinforcements were called in and a wide scale search of the Finaghy area began. As this was going on, a woman telephoned the police to tell them that she could hear strange noises in her house in Ardmore Park. The building was surrounded and searched and the three men discovered.

Tuesday 14th March 1972 Maps of IRA bases Specially prepared maps showing IRA units based in the South have been handed over to the Dublin Government by the Foreign Office. The Irish Government has “Undertaken to have the

THE TROUBLES material studied carefully.” News of the maps came in a written answer by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. He stated that since 9th August 1971, representations had been made to the Dublin Government on “numerous occasions” about IRA activity in general and about such activity on or near the border. He said: “The Irish Government have been given by us full details including specially prepared maps of IRA units based in the Republic and operating across the border, have undertaken to have the material carefully studied.

Tuesday 14th March 1972 Three men die in Derry and Belfast Three young men have been shot dead and four soldiers and a civilian were wounded when gunmen opened fire in a series of incidents in Belfast, Derry and Newry.

Two of the men were shot dead in Derry in gun battles between British troops and the IRA in the city. Three soldiers were also wounded, two of them seriously in the four-minute gun battles in the Bogside.

A routine patrol of the 2nd battalion the Royal Green jackets was operating in the Stanley’s Walk-Lecky Road area said the Army. Part of the patrol was deployed at the junction and the rest proceeded along Stanley’s Walk. At about 1.13am a long burst of automatic gunfire from the corner of Elmwood Road and Stanley’s Walk was directed at the troops, who were now deployed around a house in Stanley’s walk. One soldier was wounded by this burst of fire and sustained a gunshot wound in the right thigh. The Army said that the troops then withdrew down Stanley’s Walk and established a firm base at the end of the street. Two gunmen opened up at about 1.15am with heavy automatic fire at troops from the southern end of a block of flats in Meenan

Square. A second soldier was wounded and had a broken arm. “The troops were then pinned down and returned fire at the gunmen,” added the statement. “A third soldier was wounded in the face.” A minute later reinforcements arrived in armoured personnel carriers and the three wounded soldiers and the remainder of the troops were lifted from the area. The engagement was over in four minutes and all troops were clear of the area by 2.00am. The three wounded soldiers were taken to Altnagelvin, where two of them are said to be “serious.” The Army statement also said that they understood that two bodies were also taken to the hospital

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Tuesday 14 March 1972 Man wounded in Andersonstown A 43-year-old man is seriously ill in hospital after he was shot in the back by a gunman who blocked the path of his car in the Glen Road area of the city.

Police say he was driving along Shaw’s Road with a 19-year-old girl passenger when another car pulled across in front of him. The man, whose identity is not being revealed for security reasons, quickly turned his car around when he saw another man get out of the other car with a revolver. The gunman opened fire and several shots went through the rear window of his car, hitting him in the back.

...19-year-old Patrick McCrory who was shot in the neck from close range after two gunmen rang the bell of the house. When Mr. McCrory answered the bell they opened fire and he fell critically wounded in the hallway. He was rushed to hospital but died later Tuesday 14th March 1972 Punishment shooting in Derry A 19-year-old youth has also been admitted to hospital with gunshot wounds to the leg. He is said to have told the police that he was shot by a number of men in the Brandywell area of Derry.

It is thought that the shooting followed IRA inquiries into an alleged break-in at the Creggan estate Tuesday 14th March 1972 Man shot by gunmen at his own door In Belfast a young Catholic engineer has died in hospital after he was shot at the front door of his home in Ravenhill Avenue, in the east end of the city. He was 19-year-old Patrick McCrory who was shot in the neck from close range after two gunmen rang the bell of the house. When Mr. McCrory answered the bell they opened fire and he fell critically wounded in the hallway. He was rushed to hospital but died later. The RUC have said that there is no apparent motive for the killing.

The man managed to drive to Andersonstown RUC barracks, from where he was taken to hospital. The girl in the car was not injured but she was treated in hospital for shock.

Tuesday 14th March 1972 Joint post attacked Gunmen have fired a number of shots at the joint Army-RUC post at New Barnsley but there were no casualties.

Tuesday 14th March 1972 Soldier wounded in Newry A soldier was shot and seriously wounded in Newry when a gunman using a sub-machine gun opened fire on a foot patrol in Lower Water Street.

Tuesday 14th March 1972 Arms find in Belfast Troops who searched a vacant house in Alliance Avenue found four pistols, two electric detonators and 12 ammunition magazines and almost 1,900 rounds of ammunition.

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THE TROUBLES

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Tuesday 14 March 1972 IRA truce ends Eight people have been injured and dozens of business premises have been damaged in a new wave of bomb attacks in towns and cities across the north. The massive bomb blitz began shortly after midnight as the 72 hour truce called by the Provisional IRA came to an end. The bombers attacked targets in Belfast, Derry, Lisburn, Castlederg, Strabane and Coalisland.

Tuesday 14th March 1972 Lisburn hit by bombs The County Antrim town of Lisburn suffered the worst damage of all in the attacks. The blast came after Troops and police cleared the main shopping area at Bow Street and evacuated people from their homes. The bomb had been planted in a car driven into Bow Street and then parked. It exploded at 12.40am, leaving a trail of destruction

in the immediate area and causing damage to other premises within a quarter mile radius. The car was blown to pieces and three military policemen, an RUC sergeant, a fireman and two civilians were injured. One of the military policemen is thought to have received a bad leg injury.

Lisburn firemen dealt with a small fire which broke out in the premises of Woolworth’s. Some of the business premises in Bow Street are so badly damaged that they may have to be demolished. Among the hardest hit were some of the town’s old premises.

Troops using mechanical shovels helped workmen and businessmen to clear up the debris during the night.

Tuesday 14th March 1972 Belfast bomb attacks The first explosion in the city was at the premises of Edmunds and Hill, a paint firm at Hamilton Street in the

Markets area. The RUC have said that structural damage was caused to the walls and floor of the building but no one was injured. There was some damage to surrounding property.

Another device, thought to be a pipe bomb exploded at the rear of a house at Tynedale Park in the Ballysillan area.

No one was injured and only superficial damage was caused to the house and surrounding property.

The next bomb exploded in a parked Volkswagen car near the Deerpark Service Station on the Oldpark Road.

The RUC have said that the bomb, which was in the front boot of the vehicle, exploded and set it on fire. Slight damage was caused to surrounding houses but no one was hurt.

The most serious damage was caused to the Park Shop on the Albertbridge Road. No one was injured by the RUC have said that the shop, which is owned by a Protestant, may have to be demol-

THE TROUBLES

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Tuesday 14 March 1972 Coalisland bomb No one was injured when a small explosive device was detonated at the Square in Coalisland.

ished. About 5lb of gelignite was used in the bomb.

Tuesday 14th March 1972 Massive bomb defused in Derry A massive bomb planted by the Provisional IRA in one of the city’s main shopping areas has been defused by Army experts. The IRA gave a warning and the security forces rushed to Shipquay Street in the city centre. The boot lid was blown off a car in which the bomb had been planted. The vehicle caught fire and at one stage moved off and crashed into a gateway a short distance away. The flames were quickly put out and the bomb was defused.

There were however three blasts in Derry city centre, two of them occurred inside four minutes. One to the explosions still has not been traced. The targets were the Woodburn supermarket in the Waterside and the Hamilton Flute band premises in Moore Street off Spencer Road. Some structural damage was caused to the band hall but there was only superficial damage done to the supermarket.

Army experts also dismantled a number BOTH PAGES - No warning bomb attack in Donegall Street in which six people were killed

of smaller devices in the Derry area, including a four pound bomb planted on Strabane Old Road.

Tuesday 14th March 1972 Creamery attacked Extensive damage has been caused to the wall at the Killen Creamery, near Castlederg after a bomb exploded at the rear of the boiler house. No one was injured.

Tuesday 14th March 1972 Shot men named 1 The Provisional IRA in Derry has said that the two young men who were shot dead during a gun battle between themselves and the British Army were members of the IRA. Colm Keenan (18) of New Street, who is the son of a Long Kesh internee Sean Keenan, was a lieutenant in the Provisionals 1st battalion.

The other man, who died, Eugene McGillian (18), of Rathowen Park, was a volunteer in the Creggan Company.

The IRA however dispute the circumstances of their death and have stated that both men were murdered as they walked unarmed along Dove Gardens in the Bogside. The bodies of the two men were taken to Altnagelvin Hospital. More than 200 rounds of ammunition were fired during the gun battle in which they were killed.

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Tuesday 14 March 1972 Bomb defused Army experts have safely defused a bomb which was found at the rear of a vegetable Store in Dungannon. The 10lb device was discovered at Clarke’s store at Wilson’s Lane. A UDR patrol has also seized a pistol near the spot and a man is being questioned by the RUC.

Tuesday 14th March 1972 Number of fatalities in Clonard blast still unclear A detailed examination of the remains of people in the Clonard Street explosion is being carried out by a Belfast Pathologist to determine if a fifth person did died in the explosion. Since the bomb exploded rumours have continued to circulate in the Clonard area that a fifth person, a woman, died in the blast. At this moment it still cannot be determined.

Tuesday 14th March 1972 Youths pose as collectors The RUC have warned people living in the Strandtown area of Belfast to be on the alert for three youths posing as collectors for the victims of the Abercorn disaster. A spokesman said that the youths aged between 18 and 20, had been calling on householders in the Strandtown area allegedly collecting for the victims of the bombing. They have no authority to collect and are obviously pocketing the proceeds, said an RUC spokesman.

Tuesday 14th March 1972 IRA returns to war As the IRA bombing resumed again after a three day truce, the Chief of Staff of the Provisional IRA, Mr. Sean Mac Stiofain, has said “Operations were resumed early this morning. The posiBOTH PAGES - Victims of the Donegall Street bomb

tion is the same as it was last Friday, which was a state of war.”

Following several blasts in the North after midnight, the bombs have continued into the morning. A booby trapped car exploded outside Noble’s the boot merchants on the Shankill Road. No one was injured and slight damage was caused to surrounding shops.

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Wednesday 15 March 1972 RUC man dies in ambush An RUC constable has died in a Belfast Hospital almost four hours after he was shot during an ambush near Coalisland. The man, 23-year-old William Logan, was single and a native of Derry. He was shot in the head and chest and died in the Royal Victo-

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THE TROUBLES

ria Hospital. He is the fifth member of the RUC to die this year.

The ambush happened shortly after midnight on the Coalisland-Brackaville road in County Tyrone. Const. Logan was the driver of a heavily armoured Land Rover which was carrying RUC men and troops. As the vehicle turned into a car park, two men with submachineguns opened fire from the opposite side of the road. More than 40 rounds were fired at the Land Rover and constable Logan slumped over the steering wheel with bullet wounds to the chest and head. Other members of the patrol returned fire but it is believed that neither of the gunmen were hit.

Wednesday 15th March 1972 SDLP split over whether IRA should have a say Social Democratic and Labour MP, Mr. Ivan Cooper has said that he considers

it imperative that the IRA should be represented at any talks to find a political solution to the Northern Ireland crisis.

His views are in contrast with that of Mr. John Hume and Mr. Gerry Fitt both of whom have said that the talks should be confined to elected representatives.

But Mr. Cooper, the MP for Mid Derry said: “I would remind those who say this would mean sanctioning of violence that both Unionist and the British would be at these talks and does anyone forget the violence and death perpetrated by them?” He added: “Many of us deplore violence but we must acknowledge that it is the system which has created this violence. We cannot then ignore its existence and for my part, I do not believe that a solution is obtainable unless their viewpoint is represented.

Mr. Cooper claimed too, that the Provisional IRA had diluted its demands

so as to produce complete unanimity on the anti-Unionist side. The four points stated by the IRA were basically the same as those enunciated by the SDLP in August, by the Civil Rights Association and by the Nationalist Party, and were regarded by non-violent politicians as fundamental to a solution.

Wednesday 15th March 1972 Bomb wrecks shop A hardware shop in Great George’s Street, Belfast, was badly damaged by a bomb shortly after 10.00am. The 10lb bomb was placed in Gallagher hardware shop by a man who told staff that they had five minutes to get out. The bomb was inside a duffle bag and it exploded about 20 minutes later. Glass was thrown out over Great George’s Street and the front and rear of the shop was damaged. No one was quite sure where the bomb had been planted but when one of the assistants in the shop saw the duffle bag, he looked inside and saw the wires and then gave a warning.

Wednesday 15th March 1972 Machine-gun found at airport A man has been arrested after the seizure of a Sterling sub machine-gun at Aldergrove Airport. It is understood that the gun was discovered during a baggage security check on passengers who had arrived from London. The RUC are believed to have searched a house on the outskirts of Belfast later and found two pistols and a quantity of ammunition.

Wednesday 15th March 1972 MP’s fined Seven opposition MP’s were given six months suspended prison sentences and fined £15 each at Newry for taking part in an illegal march. Immediately after A girl is carried away screaming moments after the bomb blast in Donegall Street

THE TROUBLES the court, two of them, Mr. Austin Curry (East Tyrone) and Mr Paddy Devlin (Falls), declared that they would not be paying the fine.

The others who were convicted were: John Hume, Patrick O’Hanlon, Ivan Cooper, Michael Keogh and Miss Bernadette Devlin. Summonses against Gerry Fitt and Frank McManus were adjourned until the 29th March.

Wednesday 15th March 1972 Top Provisional IRA men named A number of top Provisional IRA suspects have been detained during raids in Belfast on Monday night and are still being questioned. Numbered amongst them is said to be the commander of the second (Ballymurphy) Battalion and “one of the most wanted men in Belfast”, Gerry Adams.

Wednesday 15th March 1972 UDR father and son shot A father and his son, both serving with the Ulster Defence Regiment, were shot and wounded at their home near Rathfriland, County Down. Three gunmen forced their way into the house and demanded the UDR man’s revolver.

His eldest son then arrived home, wearing his UDR uniform and was held at gunpoint with the rest of the family. The RUC have said that the man’s wife and three children were then taken outside and locked in a shed. The gunmen ordered the man to take off his uniform and they also took his rifle and ammunition. The father was then shot in the right knee and the son in both legs and arm. Both men were rushed to the hospital where they are described as being “ill but satisfactory.”

Earlier a motorist was held up at Ballydelaney on the Mayobridge Road.

The man was tied up and his car taken.

The RUC believe that there is a link between both incidents.

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Wednesday 15 March 1972 Belfast bombing A massive bomb was detonated near the city centre. The attack took place after a Coca Cola lorry was driven into Hope Court in the Sandy Row area. The RUC said that the vehicle had been taken earlier from Cullingtree Road. Inside the lorry was placed 200lb of explosives, which when they detonated completely wrecked buildings and smashed roofs and windows within a 200 yard radius.

Three buildings were seriously damaged and about 50 others including homes in the area suffered superficial damage. Storekeepers in Great Victoria Street worked in darkness to patch up the damage to a dozen shops. But the full extent of the damage will not be known until daylight. Three RUC men and six civilians suffered minor cuts and shock were treated at hospital and then released.

Wednesday 15th March 1972 Sniper attack on mobile patrol Gunmen have opened fire on an Army mobile patrol at Black Mountain Pass from the Moyard Flats in the Springfield Road area. The sentry at the Vere Foster Army post also came under fire. He shot back but there were no casualties in the incidents.

Wednesday 15th March 1972 Motorway bomb As rush hour traffic was leaving Belfast, a coal lorry blew up at the Donegal Road entrance to the M1 motorway. The lorry, owned by Cawoods of Belfast was stolen by two armed youths who left it beside an electricity pylon.

Wednesday 15th March 1972 Army post attacked Two gelignite bombs have exploded at the Army post at Mulhouse Street, off the Grosvenor Road, but there were no casualties.

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Wednesday 15 March 1972 Sorocco works attacked A bomb, estimated to contain between 30 and 40lbs of gelignite exploded beside an electricity transformer at the Sorocco engineering works at Mountpottinger Road. The RUC said the blast caused extensive damage to the transformer and demolished the building in which it was housed.

Wednesday 15th March 1972 Engineering works bombed Extensive damage was caused by a bomb which exploded at the premises of Murphy’s light engineering works at Little May Street in the Markets area.

The bomb had been planted inside the building but no one was injured.

Wednesday 15th March 1972 RUC man attacked in Strabane An RUC man narrowly escaped death when he was hit by a bullet as a gunman sprayed an RUC Land Rover with automatic fire. The vehicle, which was parked outside the bomb blasted offices of the Ministry of Health and Social Services, was hit about 14 times. One bullet lodged in the RUC man’s flak jacket and a civilian was taken to hospital with a foot wound. The gunman fired from Melmount Road.

Wednesday 15th March 1972 Newry hi-jacking Nine gunmen stopped a coal lorry at the border at Killen and ordered the driver from the cab. The gunmen then tipped the lorry’s 21 ton of coal on the roadway and set the vehicle alight. It was burnt out.

Wednesday 15th March 1972 Army attacked at Keady Fifteen shots have been fired at a fourton Army truck on the border at Derrynoose. The vehicle was hit once but there were no casualties.

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Wednesday 15 March 1972 Belleek Bank robbery Gardai are helping the RUC in a hunt for two gunmen who escaped with £1,200 from the branch office of the provincial bank of Ireland in Belleek.

The gunmen, carrying revolvers, made staff and a customer lie on the floor and then escaped across the border.

Wednesday 15th March 1972 Internee handkerchiefs banned Westminster MP Mr. James Kilfedder has been told that the governor of Long Kesh internment camp has decided to ban internees exporting handkerchiefs inscribed Long Kesh Concentration camp. After complaining to the Ministry of Home Affairs about the handkerchiefs, made by internees and sold outside the camp, Mr. Kilfedder was told that the governor of Long Kesh has decided that the export from the centre of items of an objectionable nature will no longer be permitted. Mr. KIlfedder was told that: In reaching this decision the governor was influenced not only by the views expressed in your letter, but also by the fact that in recent weeks these exports, which were only mildly offensive at the outset have become increasingly vicious and even bestial.”

Thursday 16th March 1972 IRA Chief of Staff at Derry funeral The Provisional IRA Chief of Staff, Sean Mac Stiofain and a Crumlin Road escaper were amongst the mourners who attended the funeral in Derry of an IRA Lieutenant who was shot dead in the Bogside. Colm Keenan, son of Long Kesh internee Mr. Sean Keenan, was buried with full military honours.

The funeral has also taken place of Eugene McGillan who died in the same incident as Mr. Keenan. He was described as a volunteer in the Irish Republican Army but his funeral was a private one.

perts. Three men left the bomb in a bag at the rear of the store. After two hours the bomb team moved in and placed a small explosive charge beside the bag.

The set this off and then moved in shortly afterwards to defuse the bomb.

Thursday 16th March 1972 Stormont MP arrested Stormont MP, Mr Paddy Kennedy, has been arrested and detained for questioning. Mr Kennedy, the 29-yea-old Republican Labour member for Belfast Central has been in hiding since taking part in a press conference with the IRA Chief Joe Cahill. Mr. Kennedy was arrested in the company of a journalist and the alleged acting commander of the IRA’s third Battalion.

Thursday 16th March 1972 Soldiers killed in bomb attack Two Army explosive experts have been killed when a bomb exploded in the back of a car in Belfast. They had gone to the car, a grey Ford Corsair at the junction of Willow Street and the Grosvenor Road, to examine the bomb when it suddenly went off. The men who died have been named as Staff Sergeant Christopher Robin Cracknel aged 29 and Sergeant Anthony Stephen Butcher aged 24.

The car had been seen in the middle of the road by a mobile patrol shortly after 5.00pm and the area was evacuated and traffic halted. They decided to wait for a time to see if the bomb would explode. Eventually they blew open the car’s boot but the bomb, which was on the back seat did not explode. Three member of the team then moved back to the vehicle to examine the 20lb bomb. What happen next is unknown.

An Army spokesman said they were moving towards the vehicle when the bomb exploded. The blast blew the car to pieces, killing the two experts. As rescue teams prepared to move in, two shots were fired from a darkened side

Wednesday 15th March 1972 Belfast woman buried The mother of a woman who was shot dead on her doorstep by the IRA on Sunday broke down in tears and was comforted by relatives as her daughters coffin was taken from her home in New Barnsley Parade for burial at Milltown Cemetery. The dead woman was 24year-old Mrs Bernadette Hyndman, of Abyssinia Street.

Thursday 16th March 1972 Wallpaper shop bombed A bomb has wrecked a wallpaper shop on the Albertbridge Road, approximately a half an hour after a man walked in off the street and placed it on the counter. He gave the staff five minutes to get out. The shop is owned by R. Christie. An Army bomb disposal team arrived on the scene just as the bomb went off. Wallpaper and paint were thrown across the road but the fire which followed the bomb was quickly brought under control.

The official wing of the IRA later apologised for shooting Mrs Hyndman. Mrs Hyndman died because she was mistaken for a member of an Army foot patrol.

Thursday 16th March 1972 Bomb defused at Co-op A 10-15lb bomb which had been left in the Co-operative store in Donegal Street has been defused by Army bomb ex-

Thursday 16th March 1972 Guns found in Monaghan Police have discovered a quantity of arms and ammunition and radio equipment in searches in the Castleblaney area of County Monaghan. The haul includes one Bren gun, three rifles, a quantity of ammunition and four walkie-talkie radios.

FACING PAGE - IRA bomb attack on the Albertbridge Road

THE TROUBLES street and is said to have narrowly missed a civilian. The third bomb expert was not as close to the car, and he managed to escape unhurt. Two revolvers were later found in the wreckage of the car.

Earlier a blast, believed to have been caused by a nail bomb damaged a derelict house at Prim Street but no one was injured. Another car bomb was detonated by an Army expert at a car park near the Whiterock community centre.

bomb which had been planted in the forecourt. No one was injured. The explosion happened two minutes after the RUC received an anonymous telephone call about the bomb.

Thursday 16th March 1972 Four posts attacked Four Army posts in the Lower Falls area of Belfast came under fire from gunmen shortly after 8.00pm. No one was injured in the attacks.

Thursday 16th March 1972 Bomb in Armagh Several women narrowly escaped injury when a bomb exploded at the Fane Valley grocery shop in Railway Street.

The 5lb bomb was hurled through the window by a man who leapt from a car.

The building was completely destroyed by the fire which broke out but firemen managed to prevent the blaze from spreading. Windows in nearby houses

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Thursday 16 March 1972 Garage bombed Severe damage was caused to Rea’s garage on the Ormeau Road by a 15lb

Thursday 16th March 1972 Hastings street barracks attacked Eleven shots were fired at Hastings Street RUC Barracks Fire was returned at the gunman’s position in the vicinity of Divis Flats. No one was injured in the attack.

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were shattered and debris was scattered over the street.

Thursday 16th March 1972 Telephone exchange damaged A small telephone exchange in the County Down village of Ballyward has been damaged in an explosion but no one was injured.

Thursday 16th March 1972 Guns and ammunition found An M1 carbine magazine and 10 rounds of ammunition and a number of spent cases have been found at the location where Const William Logan was shot dead.

Thursday 16th March 1972 Coastguards hut destroyed A coastguard’s hut at Mullerton Point has been destroyed by a fire which the RUC think was started maliciously.

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Thursday 16 March 1972 Arson attack A fire has been started in a one-acre plantation of 25-year-old trees owned by the Ministry of Agriculture on the Newtown Road. There was a second fire nearby but little damage was caused. Telephone wires to the warden’s home were cut.

Thursday 16th March 1972 Explosion heard in Derry An explosion in the Derry area at around 1.00am has still not been located by the Army.

Thursday 16th March 1972 Protestant suggest rival plan for Ardoyne Protestant ex-residents who are opposed to Ardoyne Housing Action Committee’s plans for rebuilding plans for Farringdon Gardens say they are drafting their own plans for the rebuilding of the area and will submit them to the Development Minister.

Mr. Fraser Agnew (Unionist candidate for Oldpark) says that Loyalist ex-resi-

dents will not return to Ardoyne under the AHAC scheme, which he claimed was loaded against them. One suggested rival plan was that Farringdon Gardens should be replaced by a play centre. This would be a kind of “buffer zone” between the two sections.

Friday 17th March 1972 MP charged with promoting IRA Paddy Kennedy, the 29-year-old MP for Belfast Central has appeared in Belfast Magistrates Court charged with promoting the IRA at a press conference which took place at Brittons Parade on the 13th August 1971. He was granted bail despite objections from the Crown.

Friday 17th March 1972 Soldier shot in Derry A soldier has been shot in the neck in Derry. He is said to be very seriously ill in Altngelvin Hospital. And in Belfast, a mobile patrol of the King’s Own Scottish Borderers has been fired on at the junction of the SpringmartinSpringfield Road.

Friday 17th March 1972 Scotland Yard probes blackmail racket Scotland Yard is believed to be carrying out an intensive investigation into an alleged blackmail racket in London involving the IRA. One report states that about £100,000 has been collected for IRA funds over the past few months and that the Yard has formed a special squad of detectives to investigate it.

Among those who have suffered are believed to be businessman with property interests in the Republic. They have been told that their property will be bombed unless they contribute to IRA funds.

Friday 17th March 1972 Woman dies in Lurgan bomb A young woman has been killed when a bomb wrecked a public toilet in Market Street, Lurgan. She was Mrs Carmel Know of Shankill Street. Mrs. Knox died instantly when a 15lb bomb exploded shortly before 9.00pm, wrecking the building. She was the only person in the toilet at the time. Her husband, who was waiting outside, received slight injuries.

Friday 17th March 1972 Man shot in the Oldpark A man has been shot dead in the Oldpark area of Belfast during the night. The man who died in the Gracehill Street shooting was 26-yearold James O’Hanlon, a despatch clerk, of Eskdale Gardens in the Ardoyne area.

An RUC spokesman said that the security forces were not involved.

Friday 17th March 1972 Lisburn Road gun attack A man has been rushed to hospital with gunshot wounds after a tea-time gun battle in the Lisburn Road area of BelMassive loyalist protest at Stormont following the indroduction of direct rule

THE TROUBLES fast. According to the Army, gunmen opened fire on a military police car and escort party going to the vehicle workshops in Lislea Drive.

Men of the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment engaged at least two gunmen until reinforcements from the 3rd Horse Artillery arrived. After they were fired on the reinforcements swept through the area and one gunman was spotted running from the scene with two weapons.

The Army spokesman added that a military policeman and an RUC man who were checking a suspicious car in the vicinity were also fired on.

According to an RUC spokesman four youths were seen acting suspiciously near the Balmoral Inn on the Lisburn Road. The youths drove off in a car and the RUC and Army gave chase. A number of shots were exchanged. A man who was in the area at the time received a bullet wound in the chest.

The RUC have said that they are satisfied that the man, whose name has not been released, was not involved in the incident.

Friday 17th March 1972 Men shot in Belfast attacks A 22-year-old man from Velsheda Park, Ardoyne has been shot as he was walking countrywards along the Woodvale Road. He has been rushed to hospital and said to be seriously ill after being shot in then stomach. The RUC believe that two men were involved in the shooting.

A 47-year-old man has received a bullet wound to the leg in a shooting incident at his home in Finaghy Road North. He has told the RUC that he was shot in the leg by two men who called to his house.

Friday 17th March 1972 Bomb hoax An anonymous telephone caller has warned that a 50lbs bomb has been planted in a car parked at Castle Lane-

Market Street. Lurgan town centre was sealed off until 5.00am while Army experts inspected the vehicle. Eventually it was towed to waste ground and set on fire. There was no explosion and the call had proved to be a hoax.

Friday 17th March 1972 Soldiers injured in Derry Three soldiers of the 5th Light Regiment, Royal Artillery were slightly injured when a Claymore-type device damaged their Land Rover at Ballyarnett, on the outskirts of Derry.

Soldiers operating a vehicle checkpoint at Letterkenny Road were fired on twice. Soldiers returned fire and say a man staggered and fell.

Friday 17th March 1972 Soldier shot near Belleek A soldier has been shot in the ankle after a patrol of the 16/5 Lancers was ambushed near Belleek customs post. Approximately 10 shots were fired by the gunmen who were operating from the South. The wounded soldier was taken to hospital and fire was not returned.

Friday 17th March 1972 300lb bomb at Cullyhanna One of the biggest bombs yet used in the North has been found by an army patrol on a minor road. The 300lb landmine was safely detonated by an Army bomb disposal team.

Friday 17th March 1972 Belfast bomb attacks A bomb has extensively damaged the Co-op supermarket in Brougham Street.

It had been planted by two men. No one was injured in the attack.

Friday 17th March 1972 Territorial Army will not be mobilised A request to mobilise the Territorial Army for use in the North in the present emergency has been rejected at West-

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minster by the Parliamentary UnderSecretary for Defence. It was pointed out that the resources of the Regular and the UDR were sufficient and that if any TAVR member wished to serve on a part time basis they could do so through the UDR but if they wished to serve in the North as members of the TAVR it would involve legislation, and this was not being considered.

Saturday 18th March 1972 Vanguard rally Thousands of people from across the north have converged on Ormeau Park, Belfast for the mammoth Vanguard Rally. As the rally was due to get under way, and with scores of people still arriving on foot and by car and bus, the official Army-RUC estimate of the crowd size as being 75,000.

Thousands of youths attended, some of them in combat-style jackets, lined up for inspection by Larne MP and Ulster Vanguard Chief, Mr. William Craig.

One group of youths lined up carrying a banner which read “Shankill Battalion” and another “Shankill Tartans”.

Several hundred former members of the Ulster Special Constabulary, many of them wearing war medals, formed up in front of the main platform before the speakers arrived.

As the Rally got under way the Rev. Martin Smyth, Grand Master of the County Grand Lodge of Belfast, said Vanguard had received an anonymous £20,000 donation from London. He told the crowd that the demonstration showed the determination of Loyalists to remain British. He also attacked the Pope, who he said should “stop sniping” at British policy in Northern Ireland and put his “own house in order” in Ulster. If he did that peace and prosperity would return.

Mr. Craig told the assembled crowd that vanguard are preparing contingency plans which will make any political initiatives which are unacceptable to the

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THE TROUBLES

THE TROUBLES majority, unworkable. “We will launch a fighting fund and setting up an organisation that could intensify s trade war with the Irish Republic and identify the real enemies within Ulster.” Mr Craig added: “And we will establish a more sophisticated intelligence service than is available at the moment.”

The centre-piece of the gathering at Ormeau Park was the inspection of some 15,000 men in ranks representing each county. One of the organisers said: “We have been meeting regularly for several weeks to plan for this rally.

We have received tremendous co-operation from the security forces.”

Saturday 18th March 1972 M1 car bomb The IRA has attempted block the North’s main motorway the M1 by trying to blow up a bridge. At 11.30am, a car, packed with gelignite, was detonated under a bridge at Finaghy Road North, which is two miles from Belfast city centre. The blast, which was heard over a wide area wrecked the car but did no structural damage to the bridge.

It was the first time that an attempt has been made to halt traffic on the motorway. No one was injured in the blast.

The car, a maroon 1100, had been stolen from a driving school and was parked under the bridge 20 minutes before the blast. Houses in the area escaped damage and the car was towed away by the Army after it had been examined.

Saturday 18th March 1972 Blood-stained car found A blood-splattered car found near the border may have been used to carry an IRA man who was injured in a cross border gun battle between the IRA and British troops. The car was being exFACING PAGE - IRA bomb attack on the Great Victoria Street Railway Station in which 70 people were injured

amined by experts at Enniskillen, after its discovery out side the town. The vehicle, a white Cortina, was stolen last month, had been set on fire in an attempt to destroy it. There was a lot of blood in and around the car and there were signs that a body having been laid down. A black beret was also found.

The car was found after a major gun battle in which 1,000 rounds of ammunition were fired at RUC barracks about 18 miles from where the car was discovered.

Saturday 18th March 1972 SDLP MP attacked Mr. Paddy Devlin, the SDLP MP for Falls, has claimed that he was shot at on Friday night in Belfast. RUC headquarters have said that they had not received a report about the alleged inci-

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dent and that it had not been reported at any of the local stations. A friend of Mr. Devlin who was with him has said: “He reported the incident to a couple of his friends in the police, but not officially”.

Mr. Devlin said that a shot was fired at him at the Kennedy Way Roundabout in Andersonstown from a car which had followed him.

The Secretary of the Falls branch of the SDLP said that it was his and Mr. Devlin’s thinking that the attack was made by Protestant extremists.

Saturday 18th March 1972 Border gun battle The IRA’s campaign has continued unabated as they fought major gun battles across the border. The cross border battle began at 6.40pm when about five

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THE TROUBLES

gunmen opened fire on Belleek RUC barracks, in County Fermanagh. Fire was returned and the battle continued for some 30 minutes. One report put the total number of rounds fired at about 1000. RUC personnel and troops of the 16/5th Lancers did not suffer any injuries during the exchange but an ambulance was seen taking someone away on to the Republic side of the border.

Street area. The boy, from Hooker Street, was hit in the back and the soldier in the arm. They were both taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital. An Army spokesman has said that the sniper had been positioned behind an electricity transformer in the area of the Holy Cross School. The hospital gave the boy’s condition as “ill, but satisfactory.”

Every available ambulance in Belfast was rushed to Lower Donegal Street, near the Newsletter offices after the 50 to 100lbs of gelignite blew up in a car.

Many of the people caught in the horror were fleeing from a bomb scare in nearby Church Street. Two RUC men and four civilians were killed outright.

Donegal Street looked like a battle field in seconds, as the smoke and dust began to clear, injured people could be seen lying in pools of blood.

Saturday 18th March 1972 Priest fires shoots at rally A priest jumped onto the platform at the Northern Ireland Solidarity rally in Navan on Friday and fired five shots into the air from a small pistol. Spectators and Gardai were taken by surprise when the priest, who spoke with a Northern accent, appeared. He said a few words in Irish, criticising the Irish Premier, Mr. Jack Lynch, and the internment policy, before firing the shots.

Gardai tried to reach the platform before the priest left, but could not. They later said that the shots could have come from a starting pistol. The priest told bystander afterwards that he was a friend of the late Fr Hugh Mullan, who was shot in Ballymurphy on the day that internment was introduced.

Gardai in County Monaghan have found a machine-gun, four .303 rifles, a large quantity of ammunition and walkie-talkie equipment at a deserted farmhouse between Castleblaney and the border.

Saturday 18th March 1972 Boy wounded in Belfast A 7-year-old boy and a soldier were injured when a sniper fired three shots at troops in the Crumlin Road-Brookfield

Saturday 18th March 1972 Ambush in Lurgan In Lurgan an attempt has been made to blow up an RUC Land Rover. The attempt took place just after 6.30pm when the RUC men were on their way to investigate a report that a device had been placed in Lurgan Golf Club. At Lower Windsor Avenue, the driver of the vehicle noticed an oil drum beside a tree at the roadside. Moments later there was an explosion which caused extensive damage to the front of the vehicle but the crew escaped injury.

Ballymurphy. Fire was returned but there were no reports of any casualties.

Saturday 18th March 1972 Shots fired in Strabane In Strabane 20 shots were fired at a joint-Army RUC patrol. The patrol was on the Lifford Road and the men of the Royal Welch Fusiliers returned fire, but claimed no hits.

Saturday 18th March 1972 Weapons found in Belfast During the night troops made two weapons finds in Belfast. In Leeson Street, a .22 rifle, a telescopic sight, and a lead lined box were uncovered. And in Westrock Drive, a pistol and two rounds of ammunition were found outside a house

Saturday 18th March 1972 Bomb in Kilrea A bomb has badly damaged a small general store in Kilrea and a bomb has also damaged the canteen of a bacon curing factory at Agivey, Ballymoney.

Saturday 18th March 1972 Mock ambush Three members of the Provisional IRA were surprised by a Garda patrol on the Armagh-Monaghan border as they staged a mock ambush for the benefit of an American TV crew. On being observed by the Garda, the three men, dressed in combat jackets and armed with machine guns, made off across fields. Thirty minutes later the same patrol stopped four men, a member of the camera crew and the three other men. None of the men were in possession of any weapon at this time. They were taken to Monaghan Garda station, where they were questioned for more than an hour before being released.

Time Life Film Incorporate are understood to be making an hour’s documentary film on the IRA campaign. It will be shown to audiences in America and will also be syndicated to New Zealand and Australia.

Saturday 18th March 1972 Army post comes under fire Several high velocity shots have been fired at the Henry Taggart post at

Monday 20th March 1972 Six die in Belfast bomb Six people, two of them members of the RUC, have been killed and more than

Saturday 18th March 1972 Ulster Bank bombed An 80lb has wrecked the Ulster bank at Andersonstown. The premises had been damaged on previous occasions.

THE TROUBLES 97 others injured when a bomb exploded in the centre of Belfast. Every available ambulance in Belfast was rushed to Lower Donegal Street, near the newsletter offices after the 50 to 100lbs of gelignite blew up in a car.

Many of the people caught in the horror were fleeing from a bomb scare in nearby Church Street. Two RUC men and four civilians were killed outright.

Donegal Street looked like a battle field in seconds, as the smoke and dust began to clear, injured people could be seen lying in pools of blood. Others were being helped into shops where they were given on-the-spot first aid.

Some of the casualties lay in agony with splinters of glass embedded in their wounds.

Confusion was caused by a number of different phone calls: 11.45am - A call was received from Northern Agencies, Church Street (off Donegal Street) saying that they had been warned that a “big Bomb” was in their premises.

11.52am - A call received by the RUC from the Irish News that they had been warned that there was a “big bomb” in Church Street.

11.55am – A call received by the RUC from the Belfast Telegraph saying that an anonymous caller had warned that a bomb was planted in a building in Lower Donegal Street.

11.58am – Bomb explodes in Donegal Street.

Monday 20th March 1972 Derry gun attacks Soldiers believe they may have hit two gunmen who fired on them in separate incidents in Derry.

A total of 18 shots were fired from the area of Southway on the Creggan estate. Troops returned fire and an Army spokesman said that they thought the gunman may have been hit.

In a separate incident a gunman fired twice from Long Tower Street at an

Army post on the City walls and a patrol returned the fire. Troops claimed a possible hit.

Two shots were also fired at the Rosemount post and one at Bligh’s lane but there were no casualties.

Two pistol shots were fired in the area of Foyle Street bus station but an Army spokesman said that they did not know what the target was.

An Army spokesman said that several gunmen took part in an attack on the Brandywell Post Office in Derry at around 8.00am.

Monday 20th March 1972 Shots heard in Belfast Shots have been heard in the vicinity of Short Strand bus station in Belfast, but the Army said the target was not known and no one was reported hurt.

Monday 20th March 1972 Dungannon shooting Two shots have been fired in Dungannon shortly before 8.00am. The RUC are investigating the matter.

Monday 20th March 1972 Soldier flown to Belfast A rifleman with the Royal Marines, who was shot in Derry on Friday, is still very seriously ill in a Belfast hospital. The soldier was flown to hospital in Belfast after being shot in the neck.

It is also reported that the 18-year-old youth who was shot by a gunman during a melee at Denmark Street in Belfast is said to be “seriously ill” but not in danger Monday 20th March 1972 Electricity transformer bombed A 5lb bomb has caused slight damage to an electricity transformer on the Culmore Road, Derry, during the night.

The transformer at Heathfield, about a mile from the city has been the target for bombers on several occasions.

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Monday 20 March 1972 Injured soldiers A soldier is still being detained in Altnagelvin Hospital with abdominal injuries after being shot on the fringes of the Bogside on Saturday night. His condition is described as being “ill but improving.” Three other soldiers wounded in other shooting incidents in the Bogside on Saturday night were discharged from hospital after treatment.

Monday 20th March 1972 Army claims hits The Army claimed two hits during rioting on Saturday in which they came under gunfire and nail bomb attack at various point in Derry. And in Strabane rubber bullets were fired at a crowd who were throwing stones at Bridge Street.

Monday 20th March 1972 Border clash Irish troops and Gardai clashed with hundreds of demonstrators who besieged Monaghan police station to protest about the arrest of three men after a border gun battle. Several soldiers and Gardai were slightly injured in the attack which followed one of several attempts by Provisional Sinn Fein supporters to fill border roads cratered by the Army.

The three men were arrested after shots were fired at British troops near Clontibret, on the Armagh-Monaghan border, but as they were being taken to Monaghan some of the crowd felled trees to block their path. A platoon of Irish troops, called into the town to assist Gardai, was attacked. Several soldiers were manhandled and one had his rifle taken from him.

Windows in the police station were smashed but the Gardai with batons drawn, and the soldiers who were in riot gear, forced the crowd back. Stones and petrol bombs were thrown at the police barracks. An Irish Army Land Rover was pushed into a drain and the tyres

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THE TROUBLES

of an armoured car were let down. The crowd eventually dispersed and the Gardai began patrolling the town. Provisional IRA men, including some of the escapers from the Maidstone and Belfast Prison are said to have taken part in the incidents.

Monday 20th March 1972 Shots strike Army Land Rover Twenty shots were fired at soldiers of the Devon and Dorset Regiment during an incident at an unapproved road.

An Army Land Rover was hit eight times but there were no casualties.

Troops returned fire at the gunman who used the crowd for cover and the Army recovered a .32 revolver which was dropped at the side of the road by a man as he retreated into the south after one

attack across the border.

Monday 20th March 1972 CS gas fired in Keady Troops have fired CS gas during an incident at Carrickawilkian and Listralkelt, but an Army spokesman said that the crowds were “fairly friendly.� Soldiers were attacked with stones and other missiles during the road filling operation and they fired rubber bullets and CS gas in return.

Monday 20th March 1972 Soldiers attacked on border Four soldiers have been injured, one of them suffering a broken nose when a brick was smashed into his face, as the tried to disperse a 150 strong crowd at Mullinahinch.

A patrol of 16/5 Lancers on its way to Rosslea from Lisnaskea had a narrow escape when a land mine was detonated near a scout car. The windscreen was shattered and there were some minor damage to the front of the vehicle. The patrol halted and during the search found a battery and a length of fuse.

Earlier gunmen opened fire on a Land Rover manned by RUC men at Oakfield, between Magheraveely and Clones. Several bullets struck the vehicle but no one was injured. An RUC man returned fire with a sub-machine gun, but no hits were claimed.

Monday 20th March 1972 Claymore mine attack A Claymore mine was detonated beside an Army vehicle at Donagh on the road to Lisnaskea, but the soldiers escaped unhurt. Another claymore mine exploded as two Army Ferret cars were travelling along a road at Second Corgary and at least two gunmen opened fire as soldiers dismounted from their vehicles. Troops returned fire and believe they shot one gunman.

Monday 20th March 1972 Troops disperse crowd at Castlederg Troops have dispersed a crowd which began filling in a cratered road at Cornhill but no serious trouble was reported.

Monday 20th March 1972 Shots heard in Coalisland Two shots were heard by a UDR patrol at the Metal Bridge but the target was not known. Another two shots were fired at a UDR patrol on the Irvinestown-Dromore road, but there were no injuries.

LEFT - Bomb attack on the Finaghy Electricity Showroom.

FACING PAGE - IRA bomb blast at a warehouse in Meadow Street

THE TROUBLES th

Monday 20 March 1972 Gunmen in Ballinderry A man who noticed someone driving off in his car outside a dancehall followed it in another vehicle. The RUC have said that he managed to overtake and then ram his own car. But five gunmen carrying revolvers and machineguns got out and threatened the man and then drove away in both cars.

Monday 20th March 1972 Family escapes from blazing home A Catholic family living in a flat above a shop at Bridge Street, Comber escaped just in time after a fire broke out on the ground floor. The shop and flat were gutted and the RUC have said that they believe the fire to have been malicious.

Monday 20th March 1972 Boyne Tavern bombed A bomb left by one of two men outside the Boyne Tavern at Hope Street exploded 20 minutes later. The area was evacuated and no one was injured. Several buildings suffered blast damage

and the front door and hallway of the pub were badly damaged.

Monday 20th March 1972 Official IRA shoots youth In a statement which is purported to have come from the Official IRA in Unity Flats, The Official IRA have claimed responsibility for the wounding of an 18-year-old youth during a fight at Denmark Street, at Carlisle Circus. The youth was shot in the side of the chest, but he is not in any danger.

Monday 20th March 1972 Electricity transformer bombed in Belfast A 10lb bomb has exploded at an electricity transformer under the Sydenham by-pass at Middlepath Street but no one was injured.

Monday 20th March 1972 Troops attacked on Crumlin Road Troops have come under fire at Chief Street in the Crumlin Road area, and later fired at a man thought to have had a weapon at the steps of Holy Cross Church. The man escaped.

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Monday 20 March 1972 Soldier detained in hospital A soldier has been detained in hospital after an explosion at the electricity Board showroom at market Square, Magherafelt. He was not seriously injured Monday 20th March 1972 Portglenone telephone exchange attacked A telephone exchange in the grounds of the local RUC barrack at Portglenone has been attacked and badly damaged by a bomb.

Monday 20th March 1972 Scottish Protestants would fight IRA says clergyman Protestants in Scotland would be prepared to take up arms and fight the IRA, says the Rev. Jack Glass, a leader of a militant Protestants in Scotland. Pastor Glass, of the Zion Sovereign Grace Baptist Church, is a former associate of Ian Paisley and he has said in a radio interview that “People would be prepared to leave here and go to Ulster to defend their brethren.

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THE TROUBLES

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Monday 20 March 1972 Letter bombs sent to IRA men The Chiefs of Staff of both wings of the IRA have received parcel bombs which had been posted to their homes.

The bomb delivered to Sean MacStiofain, of the Provisionals, went off as he opened it and he was slightly injured. A man who was with him at the time in his home in Navan, County Meath, was also injured.

Mrs MacStiofain said that her husband and his friend had only received slight injuries and had gone to the local hospital for treatment.

When Cathal Goulding, the Chief of Staff of the Official IRA received a Parcel bomb addressed to himself at his home in Rathfarnham, Dublin, he dug it into the back garden where it exploded. He was not injured. It is not known where the parcel had been posted. A small bomb was also delivered by post to the Kevin Street headquarters of Sinn Fein in Dublin. It exploded when it was opened and a member of staff was burned.

Monday 20th March 1972 Riot troops line funeral route Troops in riot gear have lined the Crumlin Road for the funeral of an IRA Volunteer who died in an accidental shooting. The funeral was that of James O’Hanlon, aged 26, a despatch clerk, of Eskdale Gardens, Ardoyne. He was found shot through the head in Gracehill Street on Thursday night.

Death notices in the Irish News describe him as a volunteer in ‘A’ Company of the 3rd Battalion, Belfast Brigade of the IRA and said that he had been shot accidentally.

When his funeral left the Holy Cross Church about 30 soldiers in steel helmets lined the road on the opposite side.

Another three lines of soldiers with their rifles at the high port, blocked the Crumlin Road, at the junction of the Woodvale Road. There were no trap-

pings to the funeral until it turned into Brompton Park. Then the coffin was draped with a tricolour and an escort party took up position. About 30 girls carrying wreaths followed the coffin and behind them came a bout 100 men.

Monday 20th March 1972 Shipyard defends internment Shop stewards at the Belfast shipyard have issued a statement defending the present internment policy. The statement said that while no one wants this policy to continue it should remain until “all violence is overcome.”

Monday 20th March 1972 Army uses X-ray The Army has brought in a new device to speed up its car searches. The equipment is called the “light vehicle search rig.” It is already in operation. Vehicles are winched up on ramps and then X-rayed for hidden materials. An Army spokesman said “This new system will also reduce inconvenience to members of the public. It takes a very short time, causes no damage to the vehicle, and there is no residual effect caused by the x-ray.”

The rig, which is towed behind a Land Rover, is to be used in conjunction with other car-searching methods. th

Monday 20 March 1972 Petty vindictiveness in Mountjoy The Irish Minister for Justice, Mr. Des O’Malley, has been accused by the Chief of Staff of the Provisional IRA of “petty vindictiveness” in the treatment of Republicans being held in Mountjoy jail, Dublin. He warned that unless there was significant improvement in conditions, the minister would be “faced with a serious situation inside the prison.” He demanded that the 25-30 Republicans in Mountjoy be allowed to remain together and to wear their own clothes, which was the normal treatment for political prisoners.”

Monday 20th March 1972 Gun battle halts Derry Cup tie It seems likely that a Junior Cup tie between Dungiven and Omagh Town Reserves will have to be replayed.

Dungiven were leading 4-1 when the referee had to call a halt to the game.

The match was at Prehen, in the Waterside area of Derry and the pitch is close to the River Foyle. On the opposite bank of the Foyle is the Brandywell Army post.

Reports say that bullets were whizzing over the pitch and players and the few spectators had to crawl on their stomachs to safety. The battle between the Army and the IRA lasted about six minutes and afterwards the referee wanted to continue but some of the players refused and he had to abandon the game.

Monday 20th March 1972 IRA denies arms raid The Provisional IRA in County Kerry has denied responsibility for a raid on the premises of a firearms dealer in Tralee in which three shotguns, two rifles and a revolver were stolen. Three armed and masked men burst into the shop and told the owner: “This is an IRA raid.” After taking the weapons they escaped by car.

Tuesday 21st March 1972 Derry rocked by bombs Two massive car bombs blasted the centre of Derry jut before noon and a third bomb has damaged the city’s railway station in the Waterside. First reports were that no one were seriously injured, although a number of people were taken to Altnagelvin Hospital with minor injuries.

The car bomb, which exploded within minutes of each other, were in Shipquay Street and Carlisle Road. Warnings of the 100lb bombs were given by the Provisional IRA in telephone messages to the RUC. Offices and shops were evacuated and the streets cleared before

THE TROUBLES the bombs went off.

The car in Shipquay Street was parked outside the premises of William Thompson, seed merchant, of which the late Senator Barnhill was managing director. The Shipquay blast wrecked premises on both sides of the busy Street and shattered windows along its entire length. Pieces of the car were hurled over a wide area as the blast shattered the face of the Guildhall clock. A car parked opposite the booby trapped vehicle was blown through the front window of a restaurant. After the explosion troops and RUC personnel kept the area clear as bomb disposal experts moved in to examine the wreckage and two other cars parked nearby for further bombs.

The boob-trapped vehicle in Carlisle was parked outside a cake shop which was extensively damaged together with a shoe shop and other premises. A hospital spokesman said later that the number of injured was now 26 and this included one member of the RUC. No one was seriously hurt.

Tuesday 21st March 1972 More councils cease to function The Ministry of Development is to run two more local authorities which have been unable to function due to the abstentionist policy of some councillors.

The Ministry took control of Strabane in October, Newry Urbane Council in January. Now it has taken over Keady UDC and Warrenpoint UDC. The order dissolving the two councils has been made under the Local Bodies (Emergency Powers) Act 1971.

Tuesday 21st March 1972 Major explosion in Banbridge Banbridge has had its first experience of a major explosion when a bomb went off inside a parked car in Bridge Street shortly before midnight. The car was parked outside Houston’s drapery shop and when the bomb exploded three

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men, one of them a policeman, were injured – none of them seriously. The Army estimates that 30 to 50lbs of gelignite exploded inside the car. No warning was given. The drapery shop was badly damaged and windows in 60 shops and stores in the town were broken by the blast.

The car, an MG 1100, was wrecked and premises to yards on either side of the blast were damaged.

at the Mulhouse Street joint Army-RUC depot. There were no injuries and only slight damage was caused.

Tuesday 21st March 1972 200lb bomb in culvert Army bomb disposal experts have dismantled a 200lb bomb in a culvert on the Newry-Crossmaglen Road. Wires from the bomb led to a laneway 400 yards away on Cashel mountain.

Tuesday 21st March 1972 UDR attacked At 9.30pm three shots were fired at a UDR guard at the Castlereagh electricity sub-station. Fire was returned but there were no reports of any casualties.

Shortly after 10.00pm, 200 youths

Tuesday 21st March 1972 Stone throwing Stones and bottles were thrown at an Army patrol on the Stewartstown Road at 9.00pm. One soldier was slightly injured and he had to receive stitches to his leg.

Banbridge has had its first experience of a major explosion when a bomb went off inside a parked car in Bridge Street shortly before midnight. The car was parked outside Houston’s drapery shop and when the bomb exploded three men, one of them a policeman, were injured Tuesday 21st March 1972 Automatic fire in Belfast Shortly after 9.00pm 20 rounds of automatic fire were heard in the Whiterock Road-Springfield Road area and ten minutes later about 35 shots were heard in the area of Blackmountain School. There are no reports of any injuries.

Tuesday 21st March 1972 Shots fired in Bombay Street At 7.40pm shots were fired from Bombay Street into Cupar Street. One shot entered a house but there were no injuries. A gelignite bomb and several shots were fired at the RUC mobile patrol who went to investigate the incident.

One shot was fired by the RUC at a gunman but it is not thought that he was hit.

Tuesday 21st March 1972 Nail bombs thrown At 9.40pm three nail bombs exploded and there was a burst of automatic fire

stoned a military patrol in Norglen Drive. The army fired two baton rounds to disperse the crowd.

Tuesday 21st March 1972 Gelignite discovered An Army expert has blown up 5lb of gelignite which had been found in a derelict house off the Donegal Road, Belfast at 7.40am. The gelignite was in a “sweaty” condition and was too dangerous to move and had to be detonated on the spot.

Tuesday 21st March 1972 Ammunition found Men of the King’s Own Scottish Borderers have found 1,000 rounds of ammunition, two pistols and three magazines near the City Cemetery in Belfast.

Later, a patrol from the 1st Battalion the Gloucesters, found 89 rounds of ammunition, some fuses and bomb making equipment in Cawnpore Street in the Falls Road area.

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Tuesday 21st March 1972 UDR man’s home attacked Shortly after midnight a shot was fired at the rear of a UDR man’s house in East Belfast. No one was injured and the RUC are not revealing the identity of the UDR man.

Tuesday 21st March 1972 Helicopter foils raid An attempt by three armed men to hold up a sub post office at Mountjoy, near Stewartstown was foiled when an Army helicopter arrived in the area. The raiders fled empty-handed.

Tuesday 21st March 1972 Foot patrol attacked A foot patrol of the Devon and Dorset Regiment were stoned and had bottles thrown at them by an angry crowd in the Drumarg estate. Three arrests were made.

Tuesday 21st March 1972 Soldiers fire baton rounds Soldiers have fired baton rounds to disperse a crowd throwing stones and bottles. Three arrests were made. The incident happened shortly before 8.00pm

Tuesday 21st March 1972 Post Office van hi-jacked A Post office van has been hi-jacked and robbed of an estimated £4,300 in South Armagh. The van was stopped by an armed man south of Newry and the driver was instructed to follow a green car towards Slieve Gullion.

On an isolated stretch of road both vehicles stopped and the armed man was joined by two other men from the car.

Together they emptied the van and made their getaway with the money.

Tuesday 21st March 1972 IRA says they killed soldier The Provisional IRA has claimed responsibility for the shooting in Derry of a 19-year-old soldier. Rifleman John Taylor, from Wanstead, London was shot in the stomach by a sniper who fired one shot from the area of the swimming baths in William Street at troops on riot duty in Lower Road. The soldier was dead on admission to hospital. He was a member of the 2nd battalion, the Royal Green Jackets. A statement released by the Army said that the

gunman was not seen and fire was not returned.

The Derry command of the Provisional IRA, claiming responsibility for the shooting, said it was carried out by a member of the Bogside Company from the area of the Little Diamond. Shortly after the fatal shooting, troops deployed in Lower Road again came under gunfire.

An Army spokesman has also said that three soldiers were slightly injured in an explosion at Brooke Park.

Tuesday 21st March 1972 UDR men’s weapons taken Two armed men have stolen a sub-machine gun from a member of the UDR on his way to work. The UDR man is thought to have stopped his car on the way to Newry and the gunman held him up. They got into the car and forced him to drive towards Newry. He was ABOVE - Remains of a car bomb which exploded at Wardsborough Road, Lisburn FACING PAGE - Vanguard rally in Portadown

THE TROUBLES eventually ordered to leave the car and the men escaped taking the gun and 30 rounds of ammunition.

Tuesday 21st March 1972 Woman injured on Falls Road A woman received a knee injury after an incident in Raglan Street in the Falls Road, when a man carrying a baby ran over to an Army personnel carrier and placed it in the back of the vehicle. The man then began to hit the section commander. A group of women gathered and an ugly situation developed, and the women began hitting the soldiers. The Army say that one woman was armed with a knife. The Army say the man began to assault the NCO. A soldier then fired a shot into the ground to disperse the crowd and a woman was hit by a ricochet from a piece of concrete.

It is understood that she was only slightly injured.

Wednesday 22nd March 1972 Bomb rocks Europa hotel At least 18 people were taken to hospital in Belfast after a massive bomb exploded at the rear of the Europa Hotel.

Ambulances carried the injured, suffering mainly from cuts and shock, after the bomb exploded in a van which had been parked at the near the Great Vic-

toria Street railway station. The van, it is thought, was stolen some time earlier. Four cars were set on fire after the blast which rocked the area.

Wednesday 22nd March 1972 Underground attack foiled Soldiers and RUC personnel have foiled what is believed to have been an attempt to blow up a border police barracks from an under-ground tunnel. The 56foot-tunnel leading towards Forkhill RUC barracks was found this morning during a search of farmland. The freshly dug tunnel had reached a point less than 20 yards from the barracks and the RUC believe that the IRA planned to plant explosives under the building.

The shock discovery was made by a joint RUC-Army patrol searched farmland almost opposite where troops are also billeted. The opening of the tunnel is thought to have been made during the 1956-62 IRA campaign and then abandoned.

Wednesday 22nd March 1972 Fierce gunfight in Creggan Soldiers have come under fire in Derry again several hours after troops and more than 20 IRA men fought a fierce battle on the fringes of the Creggan estate. About 800 rounds were fired at

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troops during the battle on the fringe of the Creggan estate but there were no casualties.

The gun battle began after ten men of the 5th light Regiment of the Royal Artillery were flown to examine a barricade at Termonbacca. They came under heavy automatic fire as the battle raged across open ground between St. Peter’s school and the St. Joseph’s home. Several hundred children at the school were taken to the basement for safety. The gunmen eventually withdrew into the Creggan estate but sporadic shooting at the troops in the Termonbacca area continued.

Army reinforcement were rushed into the area and over the two hour period between 400 and 500 rounds were fired at them. During further sniping and shooting attacks another 200-300 rounds were fired by the gunmen. A Lieut Col. in the Light Regiment said it was the fiercest gun battle his troops had yet faced. He said that the gunmen had fired indiscriminately and his men had been worried about the safety of children and civilians in the area.

Wednesday 22nd March 1972 Car bomb in Derry In a third massive car bomb in Derry between 50 and 100lbs of gelignite are

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believed to have been planted in a white mini van which had been parked outside the electricity showrooms in Strand Road. The showrooms and other shops were badly damaged and wreckage was hurled over a 150 yard area.

Wednesday 22nd March 1972 Nail bombs thrown in Belfast Three civilians were taken to the Royal Victoria after two nail bombs were thrown at an Army patrol at the junction of St. James’s Road and St. James’ Crescent in the Falls area. One person was detained overnight for observation but was not seriously hurt.

Earlier the Army post at the Albert Street mill came under automatic fire from Quadrant Street. No one was injured. Three nail bombs wee later thrown at the post.

A nail bomb was also thrown at an Army mobile patrol at the junction of Donegal Road and Rodney Parade, but there were no casualties.

A patrol came under fire at Greenan on the Shaw’s Road and fire was returned but no hits were reported.

Wednesday 22nd March 1972 Mystery explosions Two small explosions have been heard in Riverdale area but their source could not be traced.

Wednesday 22nd March 1972 Sentry attacked At Springfield Road RUC barracks, a sentry was fired on from a passing Volkswagen car but he was not injured.

Wednesday 22nd March 1972 Incendiary attack An incendiary device has been thrown through the window of the Irish Dairy Board at University Avenue but caused little damage.

Wednesday 22nd March 1972 UDR man injured A member of the 4th Battalion of the UDR (Count Fermanagh) was cut in the neck when a land mine exploded as a four-vehicle convoy was passing on the Omagh-Gortin Road. The part-time soldiers were returning from night shooting practice on the Gortin range.

The device exploded as one of the Commer personnel carriers had travelled about 200 yards towards Omagh.

The lorry was slightly damaged.

Wednesday 22nd March 1972 Councillor refuses parole A Belfast city councillor, who is interned at Long Kesh, has rejected a parole offer to allow him to attend next month’s city council meeting. Republican Labour Councillor James O’Kane, who has been interned since the 9th August has instead challenged Unionist Councillors to visit Long Kesh to see what he described as the inhumanity perpetrated against “the cream of Belfast citizenship.”

Wednesday 22nd March 1972 30lb bomb in Armagh A council garage and a store at Whitecross was extensively damaged by a 30lb bomb but there were no casualties. The RUC said that windows in nearby buildings were shattered. A second unexploded bomb, containing about 5lbs of gelignite, was found among the rubble and was safely disarmed by an Army expert.

Wednesday 22nd March 1972 New fund for bomb victims The Abercorn Disaster Fund is to be incorporated with a larger fund following the explosion in Donegal Street.

The decision to widen the appeal was taken at a meeting of the Abercorn Disaster Fund committee. The larger fund, the Bomb Victims Relief Fund, will give speedy financial relief or assistance for the urgent needs of bomb victims.

Wednesday 22 March 1972 House searches The Army saturated the Drumarg Park area of the city during a surprise swoop at around tea-time. Several hundred men of the Devon and Dorset Regiment searched a number of houses but no arrests were made. Some stones were thrown during the operation but there was no serious trouble

Wednesday 22nd March 1972 Parcel bomb sent to Sinn Fein President A second parcel bomb has been sent through the post addressed to Mr. Tomas MacGiolla, President of the Official Sinn Fein party. The first bomb was sent at the weekend to Sinn Fein head office and was safely opened.

Officials at Blackrock Post Office, Dublin took the parcel to a police station where it later exploded.

Wednesday 22nd March 1972 Munitions found in Belfast Troops have found arms and ammunition during a search in Belfast. A .32 pistol, 50 rounds of ammunition, one pound of gelignite and some fuse wire were found in the Lower Falls area of Belfast. And in the City Cemetery two .765 pistols and 1,018 rounds of ammunition, three magazines and four radio transmitters were found.

Wednesday 22nd March 1972 Sinn Fein members attacked A car in which six members of Sinn Fein were travelling was sprayed with machine-gun bullets near Emyvale, County Monaghan. One of the men was taken to Monaghan County Hospital, with a shoulder wound. The six men, all members of the movement’s Kevin Street branch, had been taking part at a demonstration in Emyvale.

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THE TROUBLES The car went out of control and overturned in a ditch. The gunfire was heard in Emyvale where at a meeting of the local Fianna Fail branch, the Minister of Finance, was speaking. Despite strict security at the hall, a local member of Sinn Fein (Kevin Street) was able to burst in and shout that people had been shot up the road. The Sinn Fein demonstration had been against the Irish Government’s arrest of Republicans.

Half an hour after the shooting a car heading towards the north crashed through a Garda road roadblock on the Armagh-Monaghan border. Leading members of the Official and Provisional wings of Sinn Fein have said that they would be taking “extra self protection measures” as a result of the attack.

Wednesday 22nd March 1972 Suspect car bomb Workers in a Belfast bakery and a factory were evacuated after a suspect car was discovered parked near Springfield Road RUC barracks. People living nearby were also evacuated as Army bomb experts examined the car at the junction of Iris Street and Springfield Road. The experts then blew open the car, setting in on fire. The RUC said that the car had been stolen. The alert lasted two hours.

Thursday 23rd March 1972 Car bomb in Carrickfergus Twelve people have been injured and six shops were completely wrecked when a huge bomb explode in a stolen mini-car in Carrickfergus town centre.

Dozens of people had a miraculous escape as the bomb, estimated to have contained between 150 and 200lb of gelignite, blasted the narrow North Street shopping centre.

Warning calls to Belfast newspaper offices were made about 40 minutes before the explosion but the callers said that the bomb had been planted in West Street, not North Street

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Thursday 23 March 1972 IRA release statement about bomb attack The Provisional IRA in Dublin has admitted that they were responsible for the car bomb blast in Donegal Street which killed six men and injured 146.

The provisional, issuing their statement through the Irish Republican Publicity Bureau, said that “Proper and adequate warnings have been given before all our bombing operations. This practice will continue. Several warning have been changed by the British security forces in order to cause maximum civilian casualties. “This was the principal factor for the tragic loss of life and heavy civilian casualties in Donegal Street on Monday last.”

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exploded in a white Ford Cortina car with southern registration plates. It had been parked outside a jeweller’s shop in High Street, about 30 yards from the Diamond.

Two men, who left the car and were walking away, when a pedestrian told them that they had left their headlights on, but they told him “We haven’t time for that.” The strange conversation was relayed to the RUC and the area was cleared before the bomb exploded.

Glass and debris littered the street for 100 yards and a number of shops were wrecked. Parts of the car were flung over a wide area and one piece, about nine inches long, narrowly missed a local café owner. Two boys, aged 12 and 14 were treated in hospital for shock.

The Provisional IRA in Dublin has admitted that they were responsible for the car bomb blast in Donegal Street which killed six men and injured 146.

The Provisionals, issuing their statement through the Irish Republican Publicity Bureau, said that “Proper and adequate warnings have been given before all our bombing operations. This practice will continue. Several warning have been changed by the British security forces in order to cause maximum civilian casualties.

Thursday 23rd March 1972 Anti-bomb barriers Residents of streets off Sandy Row and Hope Street, have put barriers up to prevent cars coming into their streets, except for those they know. More than 200lbs of explosives have been set off within a few hundred yards of the area and residents say that they are determined that it will not happen again. A local councillor has said that he will raise the issue at the police committee at the City Hall and intends to try and get the barriers recognised officially and for all parking to cease in these streets.

Thursday 23rd March 1972 IRA plants bomb in Derry Army experts have defused a 70lb bomb in a car which was parked outside a supermarket in the Belmont area of Derry. A 20 minute warning was made to a local newspaper by the Provisional IRA.

Thursday 23rd March 1972 Car bomb in Enniskillen Enniskillen town centre has been blasted by a massive car bomb. The bomb, made up of 100lb of gelignite

Thursday 23rd March 1972 Protestant family attacked Two shots have been fired through the door of the home belonging to a Protestant family at Shantallow. The RUC

Thursday 23rd March 1972 Nail bomb thrown Windows have been broken at a petrol station at Drumahoe after a nail bomb was thrown. No other details are available.

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have said that the family are not connected with the security forces.

Thursday 23rd March 1972 Shots fired in Derry One shot has been fired at the Bligh’s Lane Army post from the Beechwood Avenue-Crescent junction. There were no casualties and fire was returned.

Another shot was fired at Brandywell but no one was injured.

Thursday 23rd March 1972 Youth injured by rubber bullet Troops have fired rubber bullets in the Clonard area of Belfast when they were attacked by a number of youths. Later one youth was taken to hospital with a chest injury caused by a rubber bullet.

Thursday 23rd March 1972 Bomb explodes at bank A bomb has exploded at the side door of the Northern Bank at the junction of Percy Street and Divis Street, not far

from two Army posts, but there were no casualties.

A short time later a soldier was wounded in the right foot when a gunman opened fired from the direction of Divis Flats, but he was not seriously hurt.

Thursday 23rd March 1972 Soldiers wounded in Andersonstown Three soldiers have been slightly wounded when they were fired on at Andersonstown during a routine search.

The gunfire came from Buncrana Gardens and the soldiers fired back but no one was reported hit.

Thursday 23rd March 1972 Thompson sub-machine gun found Troops have found a Thompson submachine gun and over 2,000 rounds of ammunition during a search in the Whiterock Road in the early hours off the morning.

Two shotguns, some cartridges and a

quantity of sodium chlorate were found during another search in Jamaica Street.

In the Kashmir Road area of Belfast, 25lbs of gelignite, detonators and other material were found during a search.

Thursday 23rd March 1972 Fire in Newry The RUC are still trying to discover the cause of a fire which badly damaged the Dublin House licensed premises at William Street.

Thursday 23rd March 1972 Military patrol attacked Troops believe they may have shot a gunman who opened fire on a military foot patrol from the southern side of the border. There were no military casualties.

Thursday 23rd March 1972 Public house bombed Two men have planted a bomb at a public house at Aughamullan and told staff

THE TROUBLES

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this point that talks broke down and the British Government decided that it had no other alternative but to take over full responsibility for the administration of the North, until a political solution can be found.

that they had five minutes to get out.

The blast caused extensive damage but no one was injured.

Thursday 23rd March 1972 Lancers attacked Gunmen have opened fire on a patrol of the 16/5 Lancers at Garrison. No one was injured in the attack Thursday 23rd March 1972 IRA claim responsibility for attacks The Provisional IRA in a statement from the Irish Republican Publicity Bureau has claimed responsibility for killing “at least three British Servicemen” and one RUC man since it ended its truce.

The Provisionals, who admit that two of their Volunteers have also been killed and three others wounded, claimed that they carried out 124 sabotage and antipersonnel operations in the North.

Thursday 23rd March 1972 UDR man attacked at home A member of the UDR fought a short gun battle with the gunmen who attacked his home several days ago. The shooting was at his Newtownbutler home in the border area between

FACING PAGE - IRA bomb attack in Lisburn ABOVE - Weapons discovered in a house in Leeson Street

County Fermanagh and County Cavan.

The UDR man, a farmer, dived for cover as the gunmen opened up on him from woods on the southern side of Lough Erne. He crawled across his yard, keeping farm buildings between himself and the gunmen. When he reached the house he went upstairs and returned fire from an upstairs bedroom.

The bullets cut an electricity cable outside the house and smashed the windscreen in his car. No one was injured in the shooting.

Friday 24th March 1972 Shipyard men protest Several thousand shipyard men left their work and marched to the City Hall to protest against the British Governments proposals on the North. One the marchers said “The whole yard is out – maybe 6,000 or 7,000 men.”

As the protest at the City hall was underway, traffic in Chichester Street was sealed off by a bomb scare. This was later cleared.

Friday 24th March 1972 Filling station bombed A bomb on a lorry has exploded at a filling station in Belfast. The explosion was at the Maxol filling station in Roden Street. An advanced warning

The Northern Ireland Parliament is to be suspended for a year and a new Secretary of State will run the affairs of the North, with the help of a local commission.

Friday 24th March 1972 Stormont suspended The Northern Ireland Parliament is to be suspended for a year and a new Secretary of State will run the affairs of the North, with the help of a local commission. The dramatic announcement was made at Westminster by the Prime Minister Mr. Heath.

There is also to be a phasing out of internment, but the British Government will retain the powers to intern. There will also be a plebiscite of the people of the North on the border.

Westminster is removing all law and order functions from Stormont. It was because Mr. Faulkner , the Northern Ireland Prime Minister refused to accept

had been given and troops had sealed off the area.

Friday 24th March 1972 Vanguard calls for strike Mr. William Craig, leader of the Ulster Vanguard, has threatened Westminster with a two day “massive stoppage” of work in the North as a protest over what he called “the apparent surrender to terrorist violence.” Mr. Craig said that they recognised a need for calm and announced that “Vanguard was asking loyalists to join a massive stoppage of all public and administrative services, industrial, commercial and social activity in Ulster for two days starting at 10am next Monday.”

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Friday 24 March 1972 Boy killed in Belfast A 13-year-old boy has been killed in Belfast. The boy who died in a Belfast hospital was Sean O’Reardon, of Oranmore Street. An Army spokesman has said that a patrol of the Glosters was attacked by three youth throwing petrol bombs at the junction of Cupar Street and Cawnpore Street. The patrol opened fire and one of the petrol bombers was seen to fall. The patrol advanced and gave first aid to the youth who was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital.

Around the same time a patrol of the Kings Own Scottish Borders moved into the area and saw two youths at the corner of Cupar Street-Springfield Road. One of the youths fired three or four shots while his companion hurled a petrol bomb at the soldiers. Fire was returned but no hits were reported.

None of the soldiers were injured.

Throughout the night soldiers came under fire in Belfast on a number of occasions. They returned fire in some of the incidents. The only known casualty was a soldier who was shot in the right knee in the Whiterock Road area.

His condition is not described as serious.

Friday 24th March 1972 Women injured in Derry attacks Three people, two women and an 11year-old boy, were wounded in a shooting incident in Derry. But they are said to be in a satisfactory condition in Altnagelvin Hospital. One of the women, aged 77, was wounded in the leg when a bullet came through the window of her home at Beechwood Avenue during an exchange of fire between the IRA and the Army.

The Army have said that six gunmen were operating from Demesne Gardens and Beechwood Avenue and that they fired 36 rounds of ammunition. The soldiers said that they returned fire and hit three of the gunmen. Two other civilians were also injured in Francis Street. One woman, aged 66, was standing at her front door trying to get children off the street during a bomb scare, when she was shot in the hip. The army has also said that a gunman fired six shots at an Army vehicle while they were on their way to investigate the incident and that the woman and boy were shot at the same time. Troops did not return fire.

At around 3.00am the Army say they shot a gunman seen raising a rifle near the Bligh’s Lane post, but there are no reports of anyone being admitted to hospital

Soldiers have also said that they shot a gunman near a barricade at the Rossville Flats on Thursday afternoon.

And in William Street, three soldiers were slightly injured when three nail bombs were thrown at them

Friday 24th March 1972 Massive car bombs in Bangor A car bomb, made up of approximately 150lbs of gelignite has exploded in Bangor’s Main Street at around 1.20am.

The area had been cleared by the RUC before the blast. A woman had telephoned a warning to a Belfast newspaper.

A second bomb has been discovered in a car and it was detonated by Army bomb experts some four hours later.

This device contained 250lbs of gelignite caused further extensive damage to Main Street. In all about 100 buildings were affected by the two bombs. Ironically at a special meeting of Bangor Council, a bye-law was passed banning all parking from Main Street. The regulation came into effect at midnight

Friday 24th March 1972 100 internees may be set free About 100 internees are expected to be freed initially following Mr. Heath’s announcement in London These would include the younger and less dangerous members in the ranks of the Provisionals and Officials.

Friday 24th March 1972 Map of Army camp seized in raid Army officers in the Republic have reviewed their security arrangements following the discovery of a map giving vital information about the Army camp in Gormanstown, County Meath. The map was seized in the home of a Republican sympathiser in Drogheda.

The map contained a drawing of the camp’s explosives magazine, officer’s

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mess, soldier’s quarters, communication centre and all the sentry posts. Up to 10 ton of gelignite are stored in the there for use by private sources in the building and construction industry. It is feared that the map may be a blue print for an armed attempt on the Army base by illegal organisations.

Friday 24th March 1972 “No truce” says IRA Mr Heath’s initiatives on the North were totally rejected by the Provisional IRA Chief of Staff, Mr. Sean MacStiofain.

He said “We are sticking by our three main points for piece – total amnesty for all, whether tried or untried, the withdrawal of British troops from the streets of Northern Ireland, and the suspension of Stormont. We will continue our operations until these points are met. There is no question of a truce, not even for the weekend.”

Saturday 25th March 1972 Secretary of State arrives in Belfast The new Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Mr. William Whitelaw has arrived in Belfast to prepare for his “difficult and awesome” task of running the North for the next 12 months. The SDLP have announced their support for the take-over and called on the IRA to end its campaign immediately.

Saturday 25th March 1972 No change to RUC Britain’s police Chief has assured RUC men that there will be no change in their roles resulting from the political changes announced by Mr. Heath.

He has scotched rumours that English officers are coming to the North to take over. The Police Association were told that the Chief Constable will remain in his present role and that the RUC would continue to do their job as usual

Saturday 25th March 1972 Confusion over posters Dozens of anti-IRA posters have appeared on walls and lamps in Belfast and Larne. The poster headed “The Killers Code” were well printed in black and white and caused confusion in Larne. Some people thought that they were an official poster and others were confused about the meaning of the posters and took them to be anti-Catholic.

Saturday 25th March 1972 Man killed in Belfast A man has been shot and his riddled body left in a woman’s house after a gun battle in the Ballymurphy area of Belfast. Outside her front door there was a large pool of blood and 24 spent cartridges. AN RUC spokesman has said that the dead man is aged about 30years-old but he has not yet been identified. He added that there was heavy firing in the area shortly before the body was found at around 7.00am Neighbours have said that man was a Mr. Campbell, aged 18, from Ballymurphy Parade.

Saturday 25th March 1972 Gunmen shot in Derry In Derry a gunman was seen to fall after troops were attacked from behind a barricade at Westland Street-Cable Street. An Army spokesman said that the man fell after troops returned fire.

At the same time a gunman fired at a post on the city’s walls from the same barricade and fire was again returned.

Earlier a gunman had fired one shot from Dove gardens at another post on the city walls.

Saturday 25th March 1972 Remote control mine in Armagh In County Armagh, two soldiers were slightly injured when a mine blasted their scout car about two miles from the border near Newtownhamilton. The mine was detonated by remote control.

Saturday 25th March 1972 Rumours denied The RUC are describing as “nonsense” rumours sweeping Belfast that a number of internees had been released from Long Kesh. A Spokesman said that “this is simply not true.”

Saturday 25th March 1972 Maghera bombs There have been several bomb attacks over night but Maghera took the brunt of the damage when bombs exploded at two Protestant owned grocery shops in the County Derry town.

The bombs, one 10lb and the other 30lb exploded at 10.00pm wrecking the two shops and damaging about 30 other premises in Lower Main Street. Seven people were treated for minor cuts.

Saturday 25th March 1972 Bomb in betting shop In Belfast a people pub accused two RUC men in civilian clothing of planting a bomb after an explosion at Eastwood’s betting shop at Little York Street. As soon as the bomb exploded people ran on to the streets and thought the RUC men, who were stunned by the force of the blast, had planted the bomb.

The RUC men saw two men and two women run away seconds before the explosion.

Saturday 25th March 1972 Bomb at mill A blast bomb has been hurled over a wall at Albert Street mill during the night. The mill is used by troops as a barracks. No one was injured in the attack Saturday 25th March 1972 Shots fired in Belfast At Finaghy Road North gunmen have fired two shots at a joint RUC-Army patrol from the direction of the M1. No one was hit but one of the bullets did smash into a house

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Monday 27 March 1972 Vanguard Strike Tuesday 28th March 1972 Vanguard Strike

Saturday 25th March 1972 Petrol bombs thrown Two petrol bombs have been thrown at a Protestant owned house at London Street in the Ravenhill Road area. One smashed through a window and the other hit the front door but there was only minor damage.

Saturday 25th March 1972 Youth wounded A youth from Chief Street in the Crumlin Road area of Belfast was rushed to the Royal Victoria Hospital with gunshot wounds. His condition is described as fair and the RUC are investigating the shooting Saturday 25th March 1972 Shots fired in Derry There have been a number of minor incidents in Derry. Five or six shots were fired at an Army post at Drumahoe but

no one was injured and fire was not returned. Earlier four bullets were fired at troops on foot patrol in Brooke Park and a soldier had a lucky escape when a bullet hit his flak jacket.

Saturday 25th March 1972 Bomb in Newry At Newry a bomb has damaged the Newpoint filling station on the Warrenpoint Road. No one was injured

Saturday 25th March 1972 Shootings in Donegal In Donegal, gunmen in two cars terrorised the village of Emyvale. They drove through the main street spraying houses with machine gun fire. A woman was wounded and rushed to hospital. Minutes before the shooting two petrol bombs were hurled into a pub in the centre of the village.

Wednesday 29th March 1972 The Vanguard Strike The two day strike called by the Vanguard movement brought the industrial and commercial life of the North almost to a complete standstill. Protestants in shops, offices and factories left work at 10.00am on Monday and within hours most centres within the six counties were deserted.

The workers who caused most disruption were those in the power industry.

Cuts were spread over the country and candles and paraffin lamps and stoves were brought out of cold storage Enniskillen: Rival crowds gathered outside the courthouse on Monday where summonses from a banned march were being dealt with. Some scuffles broke out. On Monday and Tuesday all the factories were shut, but some shops and pubs remained open.

At some schools children wore overcoats to beat the cold.

Coleraine, Portrush, Portstewart: Commercial life halted in the three centres on both days. Children were sent home after heating was cut off. On Monday 2,000 loyalists marched through Coleraine and held a meeting in the town centre.

Armagh: On Monday a proposed meeting at the War Memorial failed to get underway because of lack of support.

On Monday night the city council met – by candle light – to pass a regulation banning parking in certain city streets.

Ballymena: About 3,000 gathered on Monday at the Pentagon and heard speeches by Mr. Austin Ardill, the

ABOVE - Bomb blast in Hope Court off Hope Street

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former MP and the Rev. John Brown.

At one stage a car tried to drive through the crowd and it was turned over.

Bangor: On Monday a meeting was held at the Cenotaph and pickets were placed outside shops which had not closed.

Omagh: Factories were forced to shut on Monday when power cuts started.

Most shops stayed open, but many office workers walked out. About 150 went to a meeting at the Cenotaph. On Tuesday trees were felled across roads and in one cases soldiers cleared a tree from the Omagh-Enniskillen Road.

Carrickfergus: About 200 strikers gathered on Monday at ICI‘s Kilroot factory after 25 cars belonging to Catholics had been damaged. The cars, six of which were overturned, were attacked by a tartan gang. Catholic construction workers were kept on the site at closing time to avoid confrontation with the strikers.

Larne: On both days there was a 100pc shutdown of factories and shops. A skeleton staff at Ballylumford kept power running but the Moyle Hospital complained about a shortage of supplies. On Monday about 2,000 people attended a meeting in the town centre where the Rev. Martin Smyth blamed Mr. Faulkner’s resignation on Mr. Heath.

Newry: Some Protestant owned shops closed on Monday and Tuesday and the vast majority of Protestants left their work. Power cuts brought the town to a standstill.

Cookstown: All factories and Protestant shops were closed for both days.

A Vanguard Rally held in the centre of the town on Monday was attended by a crowd of more than 1,000

Coagh: Completely isolated for two days. All roads leading in and out of the village were blocked by felled trees and old cars.

The van was then loaded with the gelignite and driven to Limavady where it was left in Roe Mill Road only a few minutes before it exploded.

Moneymore: Isolated by barricades.

Trees were cut down on a number of roads throughout the district.

Wednesday 29th March 1972 Shots fired in Brandywell About 35 shots were fired at troops on duty in the Brandywell area of Derry and on the city’s walls. The soldiers returned fire on four occasions but did not claim hits. Automatic fire and single shots were directed at them in the Creggan and Bogside. The Army believe they may have wounded two gunmen.

Three shots were also fired by a gunman at RUC men as they approached suspect car in Harbour Square.

Wednesday 29th March 1972 RUC man shot in Derry An RUC constable has been shot in the elbow in Derry while carrying out a security check on vehicles in Bishop Street. This followed the hi-jacking of two vehicles in the space of half an hour.

The RUC man and three soldiers were stopping traffic at the junction of with Stable Lane when a single shot rang out.

A hospital spokesman said that the man’s condition is satisfactory In the first of the hi-jackings, two men, who were not thought to be armed, stopped a car in Queen Street and later three men stopped a car in William Street.

Wednesday 29th March 1972 Soldier killed in car accident A young soldier from the Signals Corp has died in hospital after a car accident outside Lisburn. He was Stephen Allister Beedie, aged 20, from Derby.

He was a passenger in a car driven by another soldier. The accident happened three miles outside Lisburn on the Moira Road. The second soldier is described as being in a serious condition.

Wednesday 29th March 1972 Men killed in Limavady Two men have died in an explosion outside the RUC barracks in Limavady.

They were in a red Volkswagen car which was passing at the time. The bomb, estimated to contain 50lb of gelignite was planted in a TV rental firm’s van, which had been hi-jacked in the Bogside, in Derry by two masked men at 11.30am.

Wednesday 29th March 1972 Attack on barracks dismissed The Official IRA have claimed that they attacked Ebrington Army barracks and wounded a soldier. An Army spokesman has discounted this claim and said it was possible that some of the shots at the RUC men crossed the river and ended up at the barracks. No one was injured Wednesday 29th March 1972 Bomb at Garage A bomb has badly damaged a garage at Drumahoe on the outskirts of Derry but no one injured. The RUC say that the bomb was either thrown at McClean’s Motors from a passing car, or left in front of the building.

Wednesday 29th March 1972 Malicious fire at school A small fire, which the police believe was malicious, has caused slight damage to a Catholic primary school at Enagh Lough a few miles from the city.

Wednesday 29th March 1972 Men wounded in Belfast Trouble in the city began as Vanguard

THE TROUBLES Supporters returned home from their mass demonstration at Parliament Buildings. Two Protestant men, aged 21 and 29 were wounded when a gunman opened fire from Gracehill Street in the Oldpark Road area during clashes between rival crowds. One man was hit in the shoulder and the other was wounded in the abdomen. Neither are said to be seriously wounded.

Wednesday 29th March 1972 School attacked At Ardoyne another crowd of Vanguard supporters was attacked by Catholics.

The Protestant crowd then attacked Our Lady of Mercy School in the Ballysillan area, setting alight to classrooms and damaging property inside the building.

Troops were called in to protect fire-

men who were stoned by the mob as they tied to reach the blaze. The school has been the target of several arson attempts in the past. About 100 windows in St. Gabriel’s Intermediate school; were also broken by another mob in what is believed to be revenge attack for earlier stoning incidents.

Wednesday 29th March 1972 Explosion at fruit shop An explosion has caused extensive damage to MacDonald’s fruit shop at Ardoyne Road but no one was injured.

There were several other incidents in the city as tension remained high. A bomb 25-30lb bomb has exploded on the Albertbridge Road, damaging four shop fronts. . No one was injured in the blast.

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Wednesday 29 March 1972 Shot fired in Carrick The RUC are investigating a shooting incident at Greenisland estate, when a bullet went through the doorway of a house occupied by a Catholic. No one was injured.

Wednesday 29th March 1972 Loyalist youths go on rampage About 30 youths went on the rampage in Ballyclare after a loyalist meeting.

They smashed windows in a Catholic Church, a parochial House and several private houses. The gang escaped under the cover of darkness.

Wednesday 29th March 1972 Postmistress lifts bomb A postmistress in Moy has carried a bomb out of her office after it had been

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THE TROUBLES

placed on the counter by four masked gunmen. The raiders took some money and the bomb exploded in the street without causing injury.

Wednesday 29th March 1972 Bank robbed in Tyrone Two gunmen have escaped with an undisclosed sum of money after a raid on the Provincial Bank in Coalisland.

Wednesday 29th March 1972 Soldiers ambushed in Fermanagh The crew of an armoured car escaped uninjured when it was blasted by a mine.

Wednesday 29th March 1972 Woman dies in hospital after attack A woman who was severely burnt when a petrol bomb landed on her lap as she sat in a bus almost two months ago has died in hospital. She was Mrs Ruby Johnston, a 35-year-old shopkeeper, of Ballintemple, Newtownhamilton.

Wednesday 29th March 1972 Dead man still not identified The RUC are still trying to identify one of two men who were killed when a bomb exploded in a hijacked van outside Limavady RUC Barracks. The other man who died was 65-year-old Joseph Forsythe of Ballykelly, County Derry. Both men were in a red Volkswagen which was passing the barracks when the bomb exploded.

Wednesday 29th March 1972 Car bombs on Shankill Two car bombs have exploded within minutes of each other on the Shankill Road on Monday as hundreds of loyalists were making their way to the Vanguard rally at the City Hall. And another car bomb exploded in the Donegal Road, another Protestant area. The bombs were small and no casualties were reported although the cars were destroyed in the blasts. The Army esti-

mated the size of the Donegal Road bomb at about one pound. A man drove up and shouted that it would go off in fifteen minutes but it exploded before then.

Thursday 30th March 1972 Direct rule becomes law The North has come under direct rule from London and Mr. Faulkner ceased to be Prim Minister at exactly 12.46 pm when the Queen gave Royal Assent to the Northern Ireland (Temporary Provisions) Bill. It passed its final stage in the Commons by 191 votes to 13. The Lords gave it an unopposed third reading.

Thursday 30th March 1972 “No more strikes� pleads Faulkner On his last day as Prime Minister, Mr. Brian Faulkner made it clear that he will co-operate with the Secretary of State Mr. Whitelaw and made a strong plea that there should be no more strikes of a Protestant campaign of civil disobedience.

Thursday 30th March 1972 SDLP man escapes assassination attempt Opposition MP Mr. Ivan Cooper has narrowly escaped an assassination attempt when a bomb exploded under his car at his Derry home. Mr. Cooper was walking down stairs to his car, parked outside when the bomb exploded. The explosion happened about ten minutes after he was awakened by a telephone call, purporting to come from the RUC. The caller told him that a member of his constituency executive had been injured in a road accident and had asked him to break the news to his wife. Mr, Cooper checked with the police and hospital and found there had not been Bomb attack in the Grosvenor Road in which two army bomb disposal experts were killed

THE TROUBLES

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Thursday 30 March 1972 Shots fired in Derry Troops believe they may have hit a gunman who was seen carrying a rifle in Lone Moor Road, Derry. And at Bligh’s Lane a shot was fired at the Army post but no one was hit.

Thursday 30th March 1972 Lorry bomb in Belfast A scrap lorry which contained a 150lb bomb concealed below scrap metal has exploded in Belfast’s Chichester Street.

The lorry had been planted outside the Law Courts and the army expert had tried to burn off some of the explosives but the bomb detonated and the debris was spread over a wide area.

Thursday 30th March 1972 Gelignite discovered Soldiers have found 15lbs of gelignite on waste ground at Williams Street and shots have also been fired at the Brandywell Army post

an accident. He was on his way to see his friend when the explosion occurred.

Thursday 30th March 1972 Gun battle in Andersonstown An Army patrol was ambushed as it investigated a bomb call in a shopping complex in Andersonstown. Shoppers threw themselves on the ground as machine gun fire opened up on troops from a parked car near the Busy Bee shopping centre, shortly before noon. The Army estimate that about 30 shots were fired by three men and a girl.

Thursday 30th March 1972 Bomb expert killed An army bomb expert has died in hospital after he was badly injured by a car bomb which exploded in the city centre. He was Major Bernard Calladene,

a 39-year-old married man from Yorkshire. He is the fifth Army bomb expert to lose his life in the North since the present campaign began. The officer had been called in to examine an Austen 1800 car, which was parked in Wellington Street near the City Hall.

The car had been hi-jacked shortly before 9.30pm in the Springfield road area of Belfast. An anonymous telephone caller, traced to a pubic house in the Lower Falls, told a GPO operator that the bomb would go off in ten minutes.

The soldier made an inspection of the car and confirmed that it did contain a bomb, estimated to be between 5-10lbs of explosives. As he was making a second inspection the device exploded and he was hurled against a wall. He was rushed to the Royal Victoria Hospital where he later died.

Thursday 30th March 1972 Official IRA’s accidental shooting The Official IRA has admitted responsibility for the shooting of an RUC man in Derry but the organisation has said that it was an accident.

Thursday 30th March 1972 UDR man shot in Cookstown A member of the Ulster Defence Regiment has been shot in the shoulder when a gunman opened fire on the Land Rover in which he was travelling. The attack happened at Dunamore about eight miles from Cookstown. The Soldiers Land Rover was one of two Land Rovers which had been overtaken by a car. The gunman, using a sub-machine gun opened fire from the rear window.

The UDR man is not seriously injured.

ABOVE - Bomb attack on the Boyne Bridge Tavern in Hope Street

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THE TROUBLES th

Thursday 30 March 1972 Newry attack on UDR man A gun tried to stop a Newry coal lorry at O’Hagan’s Bridge, Clontigora, near Killeen but the driver was a UDR man, drove past him. The gunman fired three shots but they lodged in the bags at the back of the lorry. An Army patrol which arrived on the scene was fired on from the southern side of the border.

Thursday 30th March 1972 Arson attack in Lurgan A fire, believed to be malicious, has destroyed O’Hagan’s electrical shop and its contents at William Street.

in the North to 15,000.

Thursday 30th March 1972 Two internees freed Two internees have been released form Long Kesh but there is no immediate signs that other internees are about to be released.

Thursday 30th March 1972 UDR fire at car Shots have been fired by UDR men manning a checkpoint on the Belcoo Enniskillen Road after a car failed to stop. One UDR man was knocked down but was not thought to be injured.

A woman has been shot dead in Belfast. The woman, Mrs Martha Crawford off Ramoan Drive was found in Rossnareen Avenue with gunshot wounds after a three hour gun battle between the IRA and the Army Thursday 30th March 1972 Sniper in Dungiven Two shots have been fired at a sentry at the rear of the local RUC barracks in Dungiven, but he was not injured.

Thursday 30th March 1972 Bus shelter bombed An explosion has wrecked a bus shelter and toilets at the Square at Moy but no one was hurt.

Thursday 30th March 1972 Funeral of youth in Belfast The funeral of a 17-year-old youth who was found dead in a house in Springfield Avenue has taken place. He was Patrick Campbell of Ballymurphy Parade and death notices described him as a volunteer in the IRA. The notices also state that he was “killed in action.”

The security forces have said that they were not involved in the incident.

Thursday 30th March 1972 Extra troops for North Another 600 troops are to move into the North as a “normal Precaution for the Easter.” This will bring the troop level

Friday 31st March 1972 Gelignite detonated Soldiers have detonated 3lbs of gelignite discovered by a patrol in the Ardoyne area of Belfast. The gelignite was in a poor condition and it was decided to detonate it on the spot

Friday 31st March 1972 Warship becomes home for troops A naval ship, the HMS Hartland Point, has been brought into Belfast to provide extra accommodation for troops.

The ship has been moored next to the HMS Maidstone in Belfast Lough.

Friday 31st March 1972 Woman Killed in Belfast gun battle A woman has been shot dead in Belfast. The woman, Mrs Martha Crawford off Ramoan Drive was found in Rossnareen Avenue with gunshot wounds after a three hour gun battle between the IRA and the Army. Troops had been lured into the area by a bogus call and realised that something was wrong when the “injured man” got up

and ran away as soon as they arrived.

They came under heavy sniper fire for more than three hours and troops fired 100 rounds at the gunmen. None of them were injured and one hit was claimed.

Friday 31st March 1972 Social club searched Troops have come under sniper fire in Belfast as they carried out a search of Casement Park social club. The shots were fired from the Owenvarragh Park area. Nothing was found in the search and no one was injured.

Friday 31st March 1972 Bombs attacks in Lisburn The greatest injuries of the day were caused in Lisburn where a car bomb, containing between 10-20lb of gelignite exploded in Wardsborough Road, near the town centre. An Anonymous caller to the hardware merchants, Smyth Patterson Ltd, Market Square, said that a bomb had been place on their premises. Staff searched it but nothing was found. After twice searching three cars, two of which belonged to employees and a third car which was assumed to be long to a customer, the staff decided to drive the cars outside.

The third car, which was believed to be owned by a customer, had its keys in the ignition contained the bomb, it too was driven out of the merchants Yard and into Wardsborough Road. When the bomb exploded 50 minutes after it was first planted 19 people were injured, four of the seriously.

Friday 31st March 1972 Garage bombed Mervyn Stewart’s garage on the Lisburn Road has been badly damaged after two youths had left a van containing a bomb in the forecourt.

THE TROUBLES

Friday 31st March 1972 Shots fired from passing car The Star bar in Mayo Street was hit by 15 bullets when gunmen opened fire on it from a passing car but customers escaped injury. Later an abandoned car with spent cartridges in it was found by the security forces.

Friday 31st March 1972 Army information office bombed An Army information office in Omagh has been damaged by a bomb. The bomb, estimated to have been between10-20 lb of gelignite. The blast injured four people, one seriously. Four others were treated for shock and cuts.

Friday 31st March 1972 Nail bomb explodes The door of a house in Flora Street, Beersbridge Road was scorched when a nail bomb exploded outside it at around midnight.

Friday 31st March 1972 Telephone exchange demolished Shortly after midnight an explosion at Ballgawley demolished the telephone exchange. It was just being rebuilt following a bomb explosion in August.

Friday 31st March 1972 Church attacked In Bangor the front door of St. Comgall’s Catholic Church in Brunswick Road was scorched when a petrol bomb was thrown at it at around 9.35pm. A second petrol bomb failed to ignite.

Friday 31st March 1972 Gun attacks in Derry Three army posts in Derry have come under fire in five separate shootings.

Fire was returned on two occasions and troops manning the Brandywell post believe they hit a gunman. The Brandywell post had been the target of

Page 59

two attacks and it was during the second of these that soldiers believed that they hit a gunman who was operating from the junction of Ann Street and Hamilton Street Friday 31st March 1972 Claymore mine defused A Claymore mine packed with 40lbs of gelignite and a quantity of shrapnel has been defused by security forces on a road near Dunamore Catholic Church.

It is thought that the mine was intended for members of the Ulster Defence Regiment who patrol the area.

Friday 31st March 1972 Eleven internees released Eleven internees have been released form the Long Kesh and Magilligan Camps. Eight of the men had been held at Long Kesh and the other three at Magilligan.

ABOVE - IRA bomb attack in Lower North Street, Carrickfergus

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THE TROUBLES

THOSE WHO DIED

TOMMY FLETCHER AGED 43 1st March 1972 Mr Fletcher was shot dead by republican gunmen who took him from his home in Frevagh. He had been a member of the UDR.

Tommy Fletcher JOHN MAUGHAM AGED 19 1st March 1972 John was a member of the travelling community who was shot dead with Michael Conners in a stolen van in Church Lane in central Belfast. Their bodies were found in the vehicle after it had been abandoned outside the Royal Victoria Hospital.

The police later told the inquest that shots had been fired from the van but no evidence of this was ever discovered.

Also at the inquest a statement from the person driving the van was read in which he stated that they had been driving around the town hooting the horn at passing girls.

When approached by the police they panicked as the van was not theirs and drove off. It was then that the army opened fire.

MICHAEL CONNERS AGED 14 1st March 1972 Shot dead in a van by the army in central Belfast. (See above) THOMAS MORROW AGED 28 2nd March 1972 Mr Morrow, a member of the RUC, was fatlly injured in an Official IRA gun attack outside a Newry factory three days previously when police were called to investigate a break in.

sisters lost their legs in the attack.

JANET BEREEN AGED 21 4th March 1972 Janet was killed alongside her friend Ann Owens in the Abercorn bombing (see above).

She worked as a radiographer in the Royal Victoria Hospital and on the day of the bombing her father, an anaesthetist, was on duty and helped some of those brought in unaware that his daughter had been killed.

STEPHEN KEATING AGED 18 3rd March 1972 A soldier in the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment, Mr Keating was shot dead in an IRA gun attack in North Belfast’s Manor Street.

MARCUS McCAUSLAND AGED 38 4th March 1972 A captain in the UDR, Mr McCausland was abducted by the Official IRA and shot dead close to the Derry/Donegal border.

ANN OWENS AGED 22 4th March 1972 She was killed along with her friend Janet Bereen in a no warning bomb attack in the Abercorn Bar in the centre of Belfast.

The bomb exploded at 4.30pm on a Saturday afternoon and at the inquest a woman told of seeing two young girls leave the restaurant and leave a bag behind.

A number of other customers were badly mutilated and two

Janet Bereen ALBERT KAVANAGH AGED 18 4th March 1972 Mr Kavanagh, a member of the IRA, was shot dead by the RUC during a bomb attack on a telephone exchange.

Albert Kavanagh

EAMON GAMBLE AGED 27 8th March 1972 Mr Gamble died in hospital in the Irish republic after being injured in an explosion at a hall in Keady a month earlier.

Another man, Patrick Casey, who was also injured, died on the 9th of February. Neither were members of the IRA. JOSEPH JARDINE AGED 43 8th March 1972 Mr Jardine was shot dead by republican gunmen at a Ministry of Agriculture office close to the border near Middletown. He had been a Lance Corporal in the UDR. TONY LEWIS AGED 20 9th March 1972 Mr Lewis was one of four members of the IRA killed when a bomb they were assembling exploded prematurely at a house in the Clonard area of West Belfast.

Several others, who were not in the house, were seriously injured in the blast. Father Alex Reid, a Redemptorist priest from the nearby monastery was one of the first on the scene where he found three men and a woman lying in the street. Two of them appeared to be dead and the other two, one of them a woman, seemed to be alive, he said at the time.

At first rumours in the area stated that the bomb was thrown from a car but this was later dismissed by the Provisionals.

Tony Lewis lived in Cupar Street and, along with his three colleagues, was a member of the Provisional IRA.

THE TROUBLES

Page 61

with another IRA member Eugene McGillan during a fierce gun battle between the IRA and British soldiers in the Bogside area of Derry.

EUGENE McGILLAN AGED 18 14th March 1972 Shot dead alongside Colm Keenan (see above)

Gerard Crossin Tony Lewis

Thomas McCann

Sean Johnston

SEAN JOHNSTON AGED 19 9th March 1972 He lived in Cawnpore Street in West Belfast and died in the explosion along with Tony Lewis. (See above)

BERNADETTE HYNDMAN AGED 24 12th March 1972 Bernadette was killed during an Official IRA gun attack on an army foot patrol in Abyssinia Street in the Lower Falls area of West Belfast. During army searches of houses nearby she had gone to her mothers door to see what was going on when she was struck.

GERARD CROSSAN AGED 19 9th March 1972 From Annadale Street in the New Lodge area, he died in the explosion along with Tony Lewis. (See above) THOMAS McCANN AGED 20 9th March 1972 from Waterford Street he died in the explosion along with Tony Lewis. (See above) A volley of shots was fired over his coffin as the cortege passed through Milltown Cemetery.

PATRICK McCRORY AGED 19 13th March 1972 He was shot dead by gunmen from the loyalist UDA as he stood at the door of his home in Ravenhill Avenue.

COLM KEENAN AGED 19 14th March 1972 A member of the IRA, Mr Keenan was shot dead along

WILLIAM LOGAN AGED 23 15th March 1972 Mr Logan, a member of the RUC, was fatally injured in an IRA gun attack the previous day. This occurred on the Coalisland to Brackaville road and he was part of a joint RUC military patrol. He had lived in the Waterside area of Derry.

Anthony Butcher

Christopher Cracknell Northern ireland the previous December. In this year several members of the bomb disposal unit were killed in Northern Ireland.

William Logan ANTHONY BUTCHER AGED 24 15th March 1972 A member of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, he was one of two bomb disposal officers killed by an IRA booby trap device left in the car off the Grosvenor Road area of West Belfast. Mr Butcher came from Wilton and arrived in

CHRISTOPHER CRACKNELL AGED 29 15th March 1972 A member of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, he was killed alongside Anthony Butcher (see above. he came from Leamington Spa. CARMEL KNOX AGED 20 16th March 1972 She was killed by a bomb left

by Loyalists at a ladies toilet in Market Street, Lurgan. It was stated at the time that

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THE TROUBLES

groups of Catholics gathered at these toilets each night and that this had been an attempt at mass murder.

JAMES O’HANLON AGED 26 16th March 1972 Mr O’Hanlon, a member of the IRA, was found shot dead in Gracehill Street in the Oldpark area of North Belfast.

The circumstances surrounding his death are unknown but death notices in the newspapers described his death as being an accident. A republican memorial in Ardoyne describes him as an IRA member and there were military trappings at his funeral but his name does not appear in any IRA roll of honour.

ERNEST McALLISTER AGED 38 20th March 1972 Mr McAllister was one of two RUC men and five civilians killed in a car bomb attack in Lower Donegall Street. The bomb exploded as people were being evacuated from another nearby street following a number of contradictory telephoned warnings. One hundred and fifty people were injured in the blast. Constable McAllister lived in Lisburn

Ernest McAllister

Bernard O’Neill BERNARD O’NEILL AGED 36 20th March 1972 Mr O’Neill was the second RUC member to die in the Donegall Street bomb attack.

(See above). He lived in the Orangefield area of Belfast.

SYDNEY BELL AGED 65 20th March 1972 Mr Bell was one of the civilians killed in the Donegall Street bomb attack. (See above). He lived in Finsbury Street and was driving past in his van when the blast occurred.

was one of the refuse collectors in the area at the time. he lived in Northwood drive and had been a member of the UDR.

the junction of Cupar Street and Cawnpore Street by British troops after they came under attack. He lived in Oranmore Street.

JAMES MACKLIN AGED 27 20th March 1972 One of the civilians killed in the Donegall Street bomb attack. (See above). He lived in Penrith Street in the Shankill area and was also one of the refuse collectors.

PATRICK CAMPBELL AGED 17 25th March 1972 Mr Campbell was a member of the IRA and was shot dead at Springhill Avenue in an accidental shooting.

A seventh victim, Henry Millar, died a few weeks later as a result of injuries received in the bomb blast.

JOHN TAYLOR AGED 19 20th March 1972 A soldier with the Royal Green Jackets, Mr Taylor was shot dead by an IRA sniper at Lower Road in Derry.

SEAN O’RIORDAN AGED 13 23rd March 1972 A member of the junior wing of the IRA, Sean was shot at

INGRAM BECKETT AGED 37 25th March 1972 A member of the UDA, Mr Beckett was shot at Conlig Street in the Shankill Road of West Belfast. It is believed that he was shot during a fight with another member of the UDA.

JOSEPH FORSYTH AGED 65 28th March 1972 Mr Forsyth was killed along with Robert Mitchell when an IRA bomb exploded outside Limavady RUC barracks. He came from Ballykelly

ERNEST DOUGAN AGED 40 20th March 1972 From Tennent Street Mr Dougan was one of the civilians killed in the Donegall Street bomb attack. (See above).

SAMUEL TRAINOR AGED 40 20th March 1972 One of the civilians killed in the Donegall Street bomb attack. (See above). Mr Trainor

Martha Crawford

THE TROUBLES ROBERT MITCHELL AGED 26 28th March 1972 Killed alongside Joseph Forsyth in a bomb attack on Limavady RUC barracks.

(See above) He came from King’s Lane, Ballykelly.

RUBY JOHNSTON AGED 35 29th March 1972 Died as a result of injuries received two months previous when a bus in which she was travelling in was attacked by petrol bombers in Lower Irish Street in Armagh. She came from Ballintemple near Newtownhamilton.

MARTHA CRAWFORD AGED 39 29th March 1972 She dead by the IRA during a gun battle with the army in the Andersonstown area of West Belfast.

BERNARD CALLADENE AGED 39 29th March 1972 A bomb disposal officer in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, Mr Calladene was killed when a bomb exploded in Wellington Place in central Belfast.

Bernard Calladene

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