Glenanne barracks bombing

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Glenanne barracks bombing
Part of the Troubles
Glenane.jpg
Part of the UDR barracks after the attack
Relief Map of Northern Ireland.png
Red pog.svg
LocationNear Mountnorris, County Armagh, Northern Ireland
Coordinates 54°14′14.54″N6°30′17.42″W / 54.2373722°N 6.5048389°W / 54.2373722; -6.5048389
Date31 May 1991
23:30 (UTC)
Attack type
Bombing, gunfire
Weapons Truck bomb
Deaths3 soldiers
Injured10 soldiers
4 civilians
Perpetrator Provisional IRA

The Glenanne barracks bombing was a large truck bomb attack carried out by the Provisional IRA against a British Army (Ulster Defence Regiment) base at Glenanne, near Mountnorris, County Armagh. The driverless lorry was rolled down a hill at the rear of the barracks and crashed through the perimeter fence. The bombing took place on 31 May 1991 and left three soldiers killed and 14 people wounded, four of them civilians.

Contents

Background

The bombing took place at a time when the Northern Ireland Office arranged multi-party talks (known as the Brooke/Mayhew talks) on the future of Northern Ireland. Sinn Féin members were not invited to attend because of their links with the IRA, which prevented them from being recognised as a 'constitutional' party. The talks ended in failure soon after. [1]

Built in 1972, the barracks housed two companies of the 2nd Battalion of the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR). Seen as an outpost, it sat on the dividing line between a Protestant area and a Catholic area. [2] Although the military barracks itself had not been attacked by the IRA before, [3] seven UDR soldiers from the base had already been killed during The Troubles.

The bombing

At 11:30 PM 2,500 lb (1,100 kg) of a new type of home made explosive developed by Rose Dugdale and Jim Monaghan [4] on a driverless truck was rolled down a hill at the rear of the barracks and crashed through the perimeter fence. [3] [5] According to a witness, a UDR lance corporal who alerted the base, [6] the truck was a Mercedes, and a Toyota Hiace van carrying at least two men acted as a support vehicle. The men were seen outside the parked van, masked and armed one with a handgun, the other with a submachine gun. This same witness alerted the base believing the IRA team were about to carry out a mortar attack, and debris thrown up on the roof by the lorry as it plunged down the hill was misinterpreted by some inside the base as a mortar projectile. [7] [8] Automatic fire was heard by other witnesses just before the main blast. [3] A Reuters report claims that IRA members triggered the bomb by firing upon the driverless vehicle. [9] It was later determined that the lorry had been stolen the day before in Kingscourt, County Cavan, in the Republic of Ireland. [10]

The blast left a crater 200 ft (61 m) deep and threw debris and shrapnel as far as 300 yards (270 m). [5] The explosion could be heard over 30 miles (48 km) away, as far as Dundalk. [3] This was the biggest bomb detonated by the IRA until then. [11] Most of the UDR base was destroyed by the blast and the fire that followed. [3] [12] At first, a massive mortar attack was suspected. [11] Some livestock were killed and windows broken around the nearby Mossfield housing as a result of the explosion. [3] The cars parked outside the base were obliterated. [5] Ceilings were brought down and the local primary school was also damaged. [10] A UDR sergeant present, who was duty officer (and whose wife was also a member of the UDR attending a social event on base) recalled the immediate aftermath of the explosion:

I stood up, and I saw that the reinforced wall had come down. The bench of the guardroom stopped it. The guard commander was lying there with reinforced concrete up to his chest, and he said, 'Fuck me. I thought I was going to lose my life.' I could see that his whole chest was trapped under this slab of concrete. The place was a mass of rubble. There was a big raging fire that was creeping towards him. It was only a matter of feet from him. The oil tank at the back of the building had ruptured and was just a big ball of fire. I put my arms under his armpits and pulled him out. I went to see if there was anybody hurt up the stairs. I waded through the rubble and couldn't see the stairs. There was a mass of twisted wire. The stairs had gone. [13]

The barracks was usually manned by eight soldiers, but at the time there were 40 people in the complex, attending a social event. [7] Three UDR soldiers – Lance corporal Robert Crozier (46), Private Sydney Hamilton (44) and Private Paul Blakely (30) – were killed and ten were wounded. [3] Two of them were caught by the explosion when they came out to investigate after a sentry gave the alarm; a third died inside the base. [5] Four civilians were also wounded. The Provisional IRA claimed responsibility two days later. [3]

Author Kevin Toolis lists the destruction of Glenanne UDR barracks in County Armagh as part of the cycle of violence and tit-for-tat killings in neighbouring County Tyrone. [14] The IRA would later claim that the death of three of its men in the town of Coagh was an SAS retaliation for the Glenanne bombing. [15]

The base was never rebuilt. It had outlived its operational usefulness and a decision had already been taken to close it down. [2] The decision not to rebuild the compound raised some controversy among unionists. [12] A memorial stone was erected by the main entrance road with the names of the UDR soldiers killed over the years while serving in Glenanne. [10]

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

The Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) was an infantry regiment of the British Army established in 1970, with a comparatively short existence ending in 1992. Raised through public appeal, newspaper and television advertisements, their official role was the "defence of life or property in Northern Ireland against armed attack or sabotage" but unlike troops from Great Britain they were never used for "crowd control or riot duties in cities". At the time the UDR was the largest infantry regiment in the British Army, formed with seven battalions plus another four added within two years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Provisional IRA East Tyrone Brigade</span> Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army

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.

Joseph Edward "Joe" MacManus, was a volunteer in the Sligo Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army. He was killed during a shoot-out after his unit attempted a killing in Mulleek near Belleek, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2nd Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment</span> Military unit

2nd Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment was formed in 1970 as part of the seven original battalions specified in the Ulster Defence Regiment Act 1969, which received royal assent on 18 December 1969 and was brought into force on 1 January 1970. It was, along with the rest of the regiment, amalgamated with the Royal Irish Rangers in 1992 to form the Royal Irish Regiment. It had previously been amalgamated in 1991 with the 11th Battalion Ulster Defence Regiment to form the 2nd/11th Battalion Ulster Defence Regiment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">11th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment</span> Formation of the Land Forces in Northern Ireland (CLFNI)

The 11th (Craigavon) Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment was formed from companies of the 2nd Battalion Ulster Defence Regiment and the 3rd Battalion Ulster Defence Regiment in 1972. In 1991 under the reductions planned in Options for Change by the British Army, it again amalgamated with 2 UDR to form the 2nd/11th Battalion Ulster Defence Regiment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment</span> Ulster military unit of the British Army

4th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment was formed in 1970 as part of the seven original battalions specified in The Ulster Defence Regiment Act 1969, which received Royal Assent on 18 December 1969 and was brought into force on 1 January 1970. It was amalgamated with the 6th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment in 1992 to form the 4th/6th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">6th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment</span> Military unit

The 6th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment was formed in 1970 as part of the seven original battalions specified in The Ulster Defence Regiment Act 1969, which received Royal Assent on 18 December 1969 and was brought into force on 1 January 1970. It was, along with the rest of the regiment, amalgamated with the Royal Irish Rangers in 1992 to form the Royal Irish Regiment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">8th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment</span> Military unit

The 8th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment was formed on 1 December 1971 using companies, based in the east of the county, of the 6th Battalion Ulster Defence Regiment. It was, along with the rest of the regiment, subsumed into the Royal Irish Rangers in 1992 to form the Royal Irish Regiment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robin Jackson</span> Northern Irish loyalist (1948–1998)

Robert John Jackson, also known as The Jackal, was a Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary and part-time soldier. He was a senior officer in the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) during the period of violent ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland known as the Troubles. Jackson commanded the UVF's Mid-Ulster Brigade from 1975 to the early 1990s, when Billy Wright took over as leader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Hanna</span> Northern Ireland loyalist (d. 1975)

William Henry Wilson Hanna MM was a high-ranking Ulster loyalist who founded and led the Mid-Ulster Brigade of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) until he was killed, allegedly by Robin Jackson, who took over command of the brigade.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenanne gang</span> Informal alliance of Ulster loyalists active in the 1970s

The Glenanne gang or Glenanne group was a secret informal alliance of Ulster loyalists who carried out shooting and bombing attacks against Catholics and Irish nationalists in the 1970s, during the Troubles. Most of its attacks took place in the "murder triangle" area of counties Armagh and Tyrone in Northern Ireland. It also launched some attacks elsewhere in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland. The gang consisted of soldiers from the British Army's Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR), police officers from the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), and members of the Mid-Ulster Brigade of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). Twenty-five UDR soldiers and RUC police officers were named as purported members of the gang. Details about the group have come from many sources, including the affidavit of former member and RUC officer John Weir; statements by other former members; police, army and court documents; and ballistics evidence linking the same weapons to various attacks. Since 2003, the group's activities have also been investigated by the 2006 Cassel Report, and three reports commissioned by Irish Supreme Court Justice Henry Barron, known as the Barron Reports. A book focusing on the group's activities, Lethal Allies: British Collusion in Ireland, by Anne Cadwallader, was published in 2013. It drew on all the aforementioned sources, as well as Historical Enquiries Team investigations. The book was the basis for the 2019 documentary film Unquiet Graves, directed by Sean Murray.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert McConnell (loyalist)</span> Ulster loyalist paramilitary

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coagh ambush</span> 1991 SAS ambush in Northern Ireland

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mullacreevie ambush</span> 1991 IRA attack in Northern Ireland

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On 9 April 1990, the South Down Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) detonated a massive improvised land mine under a British Army convoy outside Downpatrick, County Down, Northern Ireland. Four soldiers of the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) were killed, the regiment's greatest loss of life since 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attack on UDR Clogher barracks</span> 1974 IRA attack in Northern Ireland

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Improvised tactical vehicles of the Provisional IRA</span> List of armed vehicles used by the Provisional IRA

Throughout the protracted conflict in Northern Ireland (1960s-1998), the Provisional IRA developed a series of improvised mortars to attack British Army and Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) security bases. The organisation also purchased both light and heavy machine guns in order to hamper the British Army supply of border bases by helicopter. The IRA fitted vehicles, specially vans and trucks, with both types of weapons. Vans, trucks and tractors were modified to transport concealed improvised mortars to a launch area near the intended target and fire them, while light and heavy trucks were employed as firing platforms mounting machine guns, particularly M60s and DShKs. Improvised armoured vehicles and heavy equipment were also used to penetrate the perimeter of fortified security bases. The IRA vehicles were often disguised as belonging to civilian companies or even government agencies.

This is a chronology of activities by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), in 1990 and 1991.

References

  1. ↑ Bew, Paul and Gillespie, Gordon (1999). Northern Ireland: a chronology of the troubles 1968–1999. Gill & Macmillan, p. 267
  2. 1 2 Potter, p. 351
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Whitney, Craig. "I.R.A. Says It Planted Truck Bomb That Killed 3". The New York Times, 2 June 1991.
  4. ↑ O'Hagan, Sean (10 March 2024). "The enigma of Rose Dugdale: what drove a former debutante to become Britain and Ireland's most wanted terrorist?". The Observer. Archived from the original on 10 March 2024. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Oppenheimer, A.R. (2009). IRA: The Bombs and the Bullets. Dublin: Irish Academic Press. p. 123. ISBN   978-0-7165-2895-1.
  6. ↑ Oppenheimer (2009), p. 122
  7. 1 2 Ryder, Chris (2005). A special kind of courage: 321 EOD Squadron – battling the bombers. Methuen, p. 249; ISBN   0413772233
  8. ↑ Potter, John (2008). Testimony to Courage: The History of the Ulster Defence Regiment 1969-1992. Pen and Sword. p. 340. ISBN   9780850528190.
  9. ↑ "IRA truck bomb kills three", Reuters, 2 June 1991
  10. 1 2 3 Potter, p. 354
  11. 1 2 "Another three dead" Archived 12 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine , The Irish Emigrant, Issue No. 277, June 3 1991.
  12. 1 2 "Glenanne Ulster Defence Regiment Base". Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  13. ↑ Potter, John (2008). Testimony to Courage: The History of the Ulster Defence Regiment 1969-1992. Pen and Sword. p. 340. ISBN   9780850528190.
  14. ↑ Toolis, Kevin (1995). Rebel Hearts: journeys within the IRA's soul. Picador, p. 73. ISBN   0-330-34243-6
  15. ↑ 'The SAS broke the rules of war' by Chris Summers. BBC news, 28 January 2009
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