The team, which included Sinn Fein TD Caoimhghin O Caolain\u0026#039;s brother-in-law, Bernard McGinn from Castleblayney, Co Monaghan, were sentenced to lengthy jailed terms but released in 2000 as part of the prisoner amnesty. [36] while in 1994 another Lynx and an RAF Puma were shot down in March and July respectively. vars.article.userWall = ! if (parts.shift() === key) { Stock Image: GETTY, 'Explosive device ready to go' found in major dissident republican arms dump, Suspect held for massacre of Protestants 40 years ago, Man arrested by police investigating Denis Donaldson murder, Woman aged over 100 shocked by electricity bill demand for nearly 1,000, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is told, Woman was beaten, kicked, scalded and then splashed with ammonia by man in Limerick ordeal, Niall Collins statement to Dil not likely until next week, 7m redevelopment of one of Ireland's most famous estate gardens to deliver tourism boost for south east, One-in-seven cars bought last month was electric, Enoch Burke case review fails to go ahead after teacher turns up late for court, Mystery over why ministers controversial planning application was listed under Neil Collins, Woman arrested after threatening McDonalds staff over curry sauce, Retired teacher who died in hospital was not reviewed by any consultant for five days due to Christmas holidays, inquest told, Kilkenny stabbing victim is named locally, while man well-known to him remains in garda custody, Irish truckers fear losing out in new Northern Ireland trade deal struck between Rishi Sunak and Ursula Von der Leyen, Fire fighters battling huge blaze at Wexford General Hospital, Weve no Oscars, but weve got soul, says Debenhams 406 Days film producer, More than 10,000 patients left waiting on trolleys during the month of February says INMO, Jaden Umehs double helps Ireland U15s to victory over Wales, Daisy Jones and other biopics of the best bands that never existed, Irish Film and Television Awards to take place in May with Deirdre OKane as host, Fingal commuters have to deal with countless phantom buses and late arrivals, Dil told, Arsenal v Everton: All you need to know about tonights Premier League clash, Video compares noise around Dublin Airport before and after flight paths were changed, Gary Gannon in hysterics after primary school student calls him ginger, Zendaya appears to reject Paul Mescals offer of his arm at SAG Awards 2023, Fans take over from Lewis Capaldi as he suffers Tourettes symptoms on stage, Stigma receding? Additional funding is provided by the Abrams Foundation; the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Park Foundation; the Heising-Simons Foundation; and the FRONTLINE Journalism Fund with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation, and additional support from Koo and Patricia Yuen. } A Police Service of Northern Ireland spokesman confirmed that an investigation was underway, but also stated that both Sinn Fin Ministers and everyone attending the parade were unaware that "the proper paperwork hadn't been submitted". The South Armagh Brigade retaliated for the deaths of the hunger strikers by killing five British soldiers with a mine that destroyed their armoured vehicle near Bessbrook. Photograph: Mirrorpix/Getty Images "And almost overnight the smugglers of South Armagh, under the control of the IRA, started bulk-buying . 13 April 38-year-old Territorial Army sergeant Trevor Elliott from Alexander Gardens in the city is shot dead by the Provisional IRA as he walked from his shop in Keady, south Armagh. OCFire Rescue. Robinson was a former member of the UDR. premium_content: false, 9 February Michael Beswick (21), a member of the British Army, was killed in Cathedral Road, Armagh, when a remote-controlled bomb hidden by the Provisional IRA in a wall exploded as an army foot patrol was passing by. The patrol then immediately fled the scene, the police (once informed) took over 4 hours to respond. The second most senior IRA man in South Armagh is being 'protected' amid claims that he worked as an agent for British intelligence, according to usually reliable security sources. [13] Another noted IRA commander at that time was the commanding officer of the first battalion, Captain Michael McVerry. const eventType = event.detail.event_type; if (isGrantedBy('corporate_account')) { Watch: Peter Crouch sings the Fields of Athenry with Liverpool fans in Dublin pub, Senior Tory begrudgingly backs Sunaks bitter pill Brexit deal as DUP split over support, Teachers union claims it was excluded from new pay talks, Jay Blades made chancellor of former university and receives honorary doctorate, Badenoch clashes with MPs over menopause discrimination law, Search teams using every resource they can in hunt for Constance Martens baby. You'll receive access to exclusive information and early alerts about our documentaries and investigations. 'https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f); This page was last edited on 13 July 2022, at 18:49. subscriptionStartDate: '1111-11-11T11:11:11Z', It exploded as they ran to a getaway car, causing the building to collapse. 29 April Thomas McGeary, a 48-year-old Catholic civilian, is killed by a booby-trap bomb planted in his car just outside Armagh city. South Armagh IRA rocked as 'OC' is outed as a 'tout', It is not clear how the OC came to be exposed as an agent but he is believed to have been recruited by British Intelligence in the late 1980s or early 1990s. Orange County, Florida ocfrd.com Joined May 2013. In 1984, his son-in-law Herbert Burrows will be killed in an IRA booby-trap explosion close to the scene of Wilson's death. [19] This was the biggest single loss of life inflicted on the British Army in its deployment in Northern Ireland (Operation Banner). script.src = flipPayJsUrl; When they arrived, they were surrounded by 16 SAS men, who ordered them to surrender. 24 July 1990 Joshua Willis (35), William Hanson (37) and David Sterritt (34), all members of the RUC, and, 1 March 24-year-old Paul Sutcliffe, who came from. if (cookieValue) { The South Armagh IRA were recognised as an independent entity by Provisionals from the mid-1970s, with the area notoriously dangerous for police and army operations. const selectedRegional = localStorage.getItem('selectedRegionals'); const subscriberCookieName = 'subscriber'; subscriptionFinishDate: '1111-11-11T11:11:11Z', if (window.GTMLoaded === true) { On 10 th April 1921 the IRA ambushed a USC patrol near Creggan on the Newry- Crossmaglen Road. To republicans, it is 'God's Country', the only area in the six counties where the occupiers have successfully been resisted. When they arrived, they were surrounded by 16 SAS men, who ordered them to surrender. A group calling itself 'The Irish Freedom Fighters' claimed responsibility for his death, claiming that McGeary was a 'collaborator', but the killing was widely blamed on the Provisional IRA, who were accused of using a cover name to try and deflect blame for an unpopular action. T uesday marked. 10 November Charles Neville, a 56-year-old Protestant and former member of the UDR, is killed in a Provisional IRA gun and grenade attack on his car at the Loughgall Road. let flipPayConfig = { From that point onwards, the South Armagh 'OC' and his associates became millionaires while continuing to donate a reputed 25pc of their earnings to the 'movement'. Men from the area also took part in IRA campaigns in the 1940 and 1950s. return grantedBy.indexOf(grant) > -1 An IRA unit had taken over a house in Ogle Street and waited until the RUC foot patrol came into range of the 5 lb device. Subsequently, the British Army gave up the use of roads to the IRA in South Armagh. These squads were responsible for killing seven soldiers and two RUC members until the Caraher team was finally caught by the Special Air Service in April 1997. if (isGrantedBy('whitelist_rule')) { 211 Orange County ERA, your comprehensive resource in Capistrano Beach California. [49] IRA members in South Armagh ceased co-operating with the RIRA after the Omagh bombing. Let the message from south Armagh ring loud and clear to the occupation forces. The dead youth, from the townland of Ballymoran just outside Armagh city, was learning to drive and had offered to put his father's car in the garage when the explosion happened. A . 29 March 1997 - An RUC officer was badly wounded when he was shot by a sniper outside Forkhill joint security base, County Armagh. Harnden was held to be in contempt of the Bloody Sunday tribunal for . There were no injuries on either side. [4], As well as paramilitary activity, the South Armagh Brigade has also been widely accused of smuggling across the Irish border. listenForFlipPayEvents(); Paul Reece of the, 16 October 25-year-old Tony McClelland, from the Drumarg estate in Armagh city, died during a, 2 April 23-year-old RUC man Kenneth Acheson from Ballynahone Drive in the city dies when a Provisional IRA booby-trap bomb explodes under his car as he drives home from. The normalisation process, negotiated under the provisions of the Good Friday Agreement in exchange for the complete decommissioning of IRA weaponry, was one of the main goals of the republican political strategy in the region. It is not clear how the 'OC' came to be exposed as an agent but he is believed to have been recruited by British Intelligence in the late 1980s or early 1990s. The IRA claimed that he was a member of the UDR, something that was denied by the police and army. [60], "The Saracen armoured car blown up by a culvert bomb at Lurganculleboy, near Crossmaglen in October 1975, killing Corporal Edward Gleeson. South Armagh is a strange place for this Northern-born Protestant and Dublin resident, albeit one who was active in the Northern Ireland civil rights movement in the 1960s and is a proud Irish citizen. userID: purchase.granted_by_app_purchase.user_id, }; [21] Three months later, a further four RUC officers were killed by a 900 lb roadside bomb at Killean, County Armagh.[22]. vars.article.wallVisible = 'false'; } Fourth Northern Division of the Irish Republican Army, was attacked by an IRA unit near Jonesborough, Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and Superintendent Bob Buchanan, took control of the village of Cullaville, deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, "Tribunal to investigate murders of RUC officers", BBC On This DAY - 20 March 1989 "Senior RUC men die in gun attack", "Governments must end immoral indulgence of Sinn Fin/IRA", Commons debate, 8 June 1993, columns 192-197, Commons debate, 8 June 1993, columns 180-191, The only way to travel across bandit country, "Final British Watchtowers being removed", "No democrat will shed tears at demise of RIR and its bases", "North-south crackdown on IRA's hidden wealth", "Is 'Slab' Murphy's bloody reign drawing to an end? 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