Sean Kelly, (born c. 1972) is a former Irish volunteer in the Belfast Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), who was a member of the active service unit which carried out the Shankill Road bombing in 1993. Kelly was convicted of nine counts of murder, but was released in 2000 as part of the Good Friday Agreement. [1]
Kelly was convicted for his part in planting a bomb on the Shankill Road, West Belfast, Northern Ireland, intending to kill Johnny Adair and senior members of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). The bomb exploded prematurely, killing eight Protestant civilians and a member of the UDA. [2] An 11-second fuse was meant to detonate the bomb after they had shouted a warning. Thomas Begley, a fellow volunteer in the Belfast Brigade, was killed in the botched attack, which left Kelly injured; he lost an eye and has limited use of his left arm. [3]
Kelly was arrested after being picked up by rescuers searching for survivors in the wreckage. Kelly was sentenced to nine terms of life imprisonment at his trial in January 1995. [4]
The judge at his trial, Lord Justice McDermott, described the bombing as "wanton slaughter" and "one of the worst outrages to beset this province in 25 years of violence". [1]
Kelly was released in July 2000 under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. [1] During the Holy Cross dispute, Kelly was reported by Lt. Col. Tim Collins to be present during republican violence in Ardoyne. [5]
Kelly was returned to prison on 18 June 2005 when his early release was suspended amid allegations that he had been involved in rioting. Sinn Féin stated he was trying to calm tensions. Peter Hain, Northern Ireland Secretary, said that he had directed the arrest and return to prison of Kelly on the basis of "security information" available to him. He said he was "satisfied" that Kelly had become re-involved in terrorism. [6] Kelly was re-released on 28 July the same year. The next day the IRA ordered an end to its armed campaign. [7]
In February 2013, Kelly was arrested in connection with a shooting incident which resulted in an 18-year-old male requiring emergency hospital treatment, after being shot in both legs, in what was described as a paramilitary-style attack. The PSNI later said that following inquiries, it was no longer being treated as such, but rather as a shooting. First minister Peter Robinson said the arrest could have "grave consequences" for the political process and called for a meeting with PSNI Chief Constable Matt Baggott, to find out how police are able to say that the shooting is not linked to paramilitaries and also to establish the background of the case. [8]
Kelly canvassed for Sinn Féin's John Finucane in the 2017 and 2019 Westminster elections. This was criticised by the families of some of the victims of the Shankill Road bombing. John O'Dowd of Sinn Féin defended the party's decision to use Kelly as a canvasser, saying, "Sean Kelly is out canvassing to promote politics and the peace process". [9] [10]
The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group based in Northern Ireland. Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former Royal Ulster Rifles soldier from Northern Ireland. The group undertook an armed campaign of almost thirty years during The Troubles. It declared a ceasefire in 1994 and officially ended its campaign in 2007, although some of its members have continued to engage in violence and criminal activities. The group is a proscribed organisation and is on the terrorist organisation list of the United Kingdom.
Michael Anthony Stone is a British former militant who was a member of the Ulster Defence Association, a loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. He was convicted of three counts of murder committed at an IRA funeral in 1988. In 2000 he was released from prison on licence under the Good Friday Agreement. In November 2006, Stone was charged with attempted murder of Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adams, having been arrested attempting to enter the parliament buildings at Stormont while armed. He was convicted and sentenced in 2008 to a further 16 years' imprisonment, before being released on parole in 2021.
The Milltown Cemetery attack took place on 16 March 1988 at Milltown Cemetery in Belfast, Northern Ireland. During the large funeral of three Provisional IRA members killed in Gibraltar, an Ulster Defence Association (UDA) member, Michael Stone, attacked the mourners with hand grenades and pistols. He had learned there would be no police or armed IRA members at the cemetery. As Stone then ran towards the nearby motorway, a large crowd chased him and he continued shooting and throwing grenades. Some of the crowd caught Stone and beat him, but he was rescued by the police and arrested. Three people were killed and more than 60 wounded.
Raymond "Ray" Smallwoods was a Northern Ireland politician and sometime leader of the Ulster Democratic Party. A leading member of John McMichael's South Belfast Brigade of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), Smallwoods later served as a leading adviser to the UDA's Inner Council. He was killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) outside his Lisburn home.
The Shankill Road bombing was carried out by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) on 23 October 1993 and is one of the most well-known incidents of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The IRA aimed to assassinate the leadership of the loyalist Ulster Defence Association (UDA), supposedly attending a meeting above Frizzell's fish shop on the Shankill Road, Belfast. Two IRA members disguised as deliverymen entered the shop carrying a bomb, which detonated prematurely. Ten people were killed: one of the IRA bombers, a UDA member and eight Protestant civilians, two of whom were children. More than fifty people were wounded. The targeted office was empty at the time of the bombing, but the IRA had allegedly realised that the tightly packed area below would inevitably cause "collateral damage" of civilian casualties and continued regardless. However, the IRA have denied this saying that they intended to evacuate the civilians before the explosion. It is alleged, and unearthed MI5 documents appear to prove, that British intelligence failed to act on a tip off about the bombing.
The Greysteel massacre was a mass shooting that took place on the evening of 30 October 1993 in Greysteel, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Members of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), a loyalist paramilitary group, opened fire on civilians in a crowded pub during a Halloween party, killing eight and wounding nineteen. The pub was targeted because it was frequented by Catholics, though two of the victims were Protestant. The group claimed responsibility using their cover name "Ulster Freedom Fighters", saying the attack was revenge for the Shankill Road bombing by the Provisional IRA a week earlier. Four men were sentenced to life imprisonment for the massacre but were released in 2000 under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.
Thomas Begley was a Belfast Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) Volunteer. Begley was killed when a bomb he was planting on the Shankill Road, West Belfast, Northern Ireland exploded prematurely, killing him, a UDA member and eight Protestant civilians.
Dolours Price was a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) volunteer.
Brendan Hughes, also known as "The Dark", and "Darkie" was a leading Irish republican and former Officer Commanding (OC) of the Belfast Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). He was the leader of the 1980 Irish hunger strike.
The Belfast Brigade of the Provisional IRA was the largest of the organisation's brigades, based in the city of Belfast, Northern Ireland.
This is a timeline of actions by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), a loyalist paramilitary group formed in 1971. Most of these actions took place during the conflict known as "the Troubles" in Northern Ireland. The UDA's declared goal was to defend Loyalist areas from attack and to combat Irish republican paramilitaries. However, most of its victims were Irish Catholic civilians, who were often chosen at random.
This is a timeline of actions by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group since 1966. It includes actions carried out by the Red Hand Commando (RHC), a group integrated into the UVF shortly after their formation in 1972. It also includes attacks claimed by the Protestant Action Force (PAF), a covername used by the UVF. Most of these actions took place during the conflict known as "the Troubles" in Northern Ireland.
This is a chronology of activities by the Provisional Irish Republican Army, an Irish republican paramilitary group in the 21st century.
William "Frenchie" Marchant was a Northern Irish loyalist and a high-ranking volunteer in the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). He was on a Garda list of suspects in the 1974 Dublin car bombings, and was allegedly the leader of the Belfast UVF unit known as "Freddie and the Dreamers" which hijacked and stole the three cars which were used in the bombings.
On 5 February 1992, there was a mass shooting at the Sean Graham bookmaker's shop on the Lower Ormeau Road in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Members of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), a loyalist paramilitary group, opened fire on the customers with an assault rifle and handgun, killing five civilians and wounding nine. The shop was in a Catholic and Irish nationalist area and all of the victims were local Catholics. The UDA claimed responsibility using the cover name "Ulster Freedom Fighters", saying the shooting was retaliation for the Teebane bombing, which had been carried out by the Provisional IRA less than three weeks before. A later investigation by the Police Ombudsman found that the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) had engaged in "collusive behaviour" with UDA informers involved in the attack.
The Antrim Road is a major arterial route and area of housing and commerce that runs from inner city north Belfast to Dunadry, passing through Newtownabbey and Templepatrick. It forms part of the A6 road, a traffic route which links Belfast to Derry. It passes through the New Lodge, Newington and Glengormley areas of Northern Ireland amongst others.
James Millar – commonly known as "Sham" – is a Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary. Millar was a leading member of the West Belfast Brigade of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) until 2003 when he was one of a number of dissident members forcibly expelled from the group.
James Watt also known as Tonto is a former Northern Irish loyalist who was the top bomb maker for the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) in the mid-1970s. In 1978, Watt was convicted and given nine separate life sentences for murder and attempted murder. These included bombings which killed a ten-year-old boy and two teenagers in two attacks carried out in April 1977 as a part of a UVF bombing campaign against republicans.
The UDA South Belfast Brigade is the section of the Ulster loyalist paramilitary group, the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), based in the southern quarter of Belfast, as well as in surrounding areas. Initially a battalion, the South Belfast Brigade emerged from the local "defence associations" active in the city at the beginning of the Troubles. It subsequently emerged as the largest of the UDA's six brigades and expanded to cover an area much wider than its initial South Belfast borders.
Raymond Elder was a Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary and a prominent figure within the Ulster Defence Association's South Belfast Brigade. Suspected by security forces of playing a role in numerous killings, including the Sean Graham shooting, he was shot dead by the Irish Republican Army on the Ormeau Road in 1994.