| Attack on Ballygawley RUC barracks | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of The Troubles | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Patrick Joseph Kelly | |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 2 active service units | 5 constables | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| None | 2 killed 3 wounded | ||||||
On 7 December 1985 the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) attacked the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) base at Ballygawley, County Tyrone. Two RUC officers were shot dead and the base was raked with gunfire before being destroyed by a bomb, which wounded a further three officers.
In 1985, Patrick Kelly became leader of the Provisional IRA East Tyrone Brigade. He, along with East Tyrone Brigade members Jim Lynagh and Pádraig McKearney, advocated using flying columns to destroy isolated British Army and RUC bases and stop them from being repaired. The goal was to create and hold "liberated zones" under IRA control that would be gradually enlarged. Although IRA Chief of Staff Kevin McKenna turned-down the flying column idea, IRA Northern Command approved the plan to destroy bases and prevent their repair. [1] In that year alone there were 44 such attacks. [2] Among the most devastating was the mortar attack on Newry RUC barracks in March. [3]
The attack involved two IRA active service units from the East Tyrone Brigade: an armed assault unit and a bomb unit. [4] There were also several teams of IRA observers in the area. The assault team was armed with AK-47 and AR-15 rifles, while the bombing unit was to be responsible for planting and detonating a 100 pounds (45 kg) bomb. [5] [6] Both units were commanded by Patrick Kelly.
The assault was launched on Saturday 7 December at 18:55, [7] when the handful of RUC officers manning the base were getting ready to hand over to the next shift. [8] In the first burst of automatic fire, the two guards at the entrance were killed: Constable George Gilliland and Reserve Constable William Clements. [9] Constable Clements' Ruger Speed-Six revolver was taken by the attackers. [10] The base was then raked with gunfire. Another three RUC officers who were inside ran out to the back of the base, [4] where they hoped the walls might offer some cover. [8] IRA members went into the building and took documents and weapons. The bomb was placed inside and, upon detonation, destroyed the entire base. [10] Three officers were hurt.
The republican IRIS Magazine (#11, October 1987) described the attack as follows:
One volunteer took up a position close to the front gate. Two RUC men opened the gate and the volunteer calmly stepped forward, shooting them both dead at point blank range. Volunteers firing AK-47 and Armalite rifles moved into the barracks, raking it with gunfire. Having secured the building they planted a 100 lb bomb inside. The bomb exploded, totally destroying the building after the volunteers had withdrawn to safety. [11]
The first British Army unit to arrive at the base in the wake of the attack was X Company, 1st Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. [12]
The attack was one of the Provisional IRA's biggest during this period. Twelve days later the same IRA brigade mortared the RUC station at Castlederg badly damaging the base and injuring four people. [13] The Ballygawley base was rebuilt by the Royal Engineers in 1986. [14]
The East Tyrone IRA launched two similar attacks in the following years: the successful attack on the Birches base in 1986, and the ill-fated attack on the Loughgall base in 1987, in which eight IRA members were killed. Ballygawley itself had seen conflict before with the Ballygawley land mine attack in 1983, and would see more violence in 1988 with the Ballygawley bus bombing, that cost the lives of eight British soldiers. The gun taken from Constable Clements was found by security forces after the SAS ambush at Loughgall. [15]
The RUC base at Ballygawley was once again targeted by the East Tyrone Brigade on 7 December 1992, in what became the debut of the IRA's brand new Mark-15 improvised mortar, better known as "Barrack Buster". The mortar failed to go off. [16] [17] [18] [19] Another attack with a horizontal mortar occurred on 30 April 1993, when an RUC mobile patrol leaving Ballygawley compound was targeted. [20] According to an IRA statement, the projectile missed one of the vehicles, hit a wall and exploded. [21]
The East Tyrone Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), also known as the Tyrone/Monaghan Brigade was one of the most active republican paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland during "the Troubles". It is believed to have drawn its membership from across the eastern side of County Tyrone as well as north County Monaghan and south County Londonderry.
Pádraig Oliver McKearney was a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) paramilitary. He was killed during a British Army ambush at Loughgall, County Armagh in May 1987, aged 32. He had 15 years of service as an IRA Volunteer when he was shot dead at Loughgall, making him one of the most experienced IRA Volunteers ever killed by British forces.
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James 'Jim' Lynagh was a member of the East Tyrone Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), from Monaghan Town in the Republic of Ireland, who was killed by British special forces whilst attacking an R.U.C. station in Northern Ireland.
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On 28 February 1985, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) launched a heavy mortar attack on the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) base at Corry Square in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland. The attack killed nine RUC officers and injured almost 40 others; the highest death toll ever suffered by the RUC. Afterwards, a major building scheme was begun to give police and military bases better protection from such attacks.
The Ballygawley bus bombing was a roadside bomb attack by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) on a bus carrying British soldiers in Northern Ireland. It occurred in the early hours of 20 August 1988 in the townland of Curr near Ballygawley, County Tyrone. The attack killed eight soldiers and wounded another 28. In the wake of the bombing, the British Army began ferrying its troops in and out of County Tyrone by helicopter.
This is a chronology of activities by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) from 1980 to 1989. For actions before and after this period see Chronology of Provisional Irish Republican Army actions.
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The Strabane Ambush was a British Special Air Service ambush against a three man Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) unit. All three members of the IRA unit were killed in the ambush. At the time it was the most successful SAS operation against the IRA, until the Loughgall ambush two years later in 1987 in which eight IRA volunteers were killed.
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On 12 December 1993, a unit of the Provisional Irish Republican Army's (IRA) East Tyrone Brigade ambushed a two-men unmarked mobile patrol of the RUC in Fivemiletown, County Tyrone. Two constables were shot and killed instantly. A military helicopter was also fired at by a second IRA unit in the aftermath of the incident, during a follow-up operation launched in the surroundings of the town by both the British Army and the RUC. A number of suspects were questioned, but the perpetrators made good their escape. The action occurred just three days before the Downing Street Declaration.
