Stag Inn attack

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Stag Inn Attack
Part of the Troubles
The Stag Inn - geograph.org.uk - 4115797.jpg
The Stag Inn
LocationMilltown Road, Belvoir Park Forest, Belfast
Date30 July 1976
8.00 pm (GMT)
TargetProtestants,
Loyalists, Ulster Unionists
Attack type
 Mass shooting
WeaponsAutomatic rifles
Deaths4
Injured6
Perpetrator Provisional IRA's Belfast Brigade under the covername Republican Action Force (RAF)

The Stag Inn attack was a sectarian gun attack, on 30 July 1976, carried out by a group of Belfast IRA Volunteers using the cover name Republican Action Force. Four Protestants, all civilians, the youngest being 48 years old and the eldest 70, were all killed in the attack with several others being injured. [1] Three Catholics were killed the previous day in a Loyalist bomb attack, part of a string of sectarian attacks in Northern Ireland by different paramilitary organizations. [1] [2]

Contents

Background

Since an IRA ceasefire was agreed upon with the British government which came into effect on 10 February 1975, [3] [4] Loyalist paramilitaries in Ulster – who were worried that the government was about to sell them out to the IRA and force them into a United Ireland – started carrying out large numbers of attacks against the Catholic community in the hopes of provoking sectarian backlash from the IRA or Irish National Liberation Army and bring an end to the ceasefire and IRA-British government talks.

The Ulster Volunteer Force and Ulster Defence Association used cover names for their sectarian attacks like Protestant Action Force, Ulster Freedom Fighters and Red Hand Commando. The majority of these attacks took place in Belfast and an area which was known as the "murder triangle" in parts of counties Armagh and Tyrone around Mid Ulster. On 5 April 1975, the Protestant Action Force carried out a bomb attack on a pub in the New Lodge area of Belfast killing two Catholic civilians. Later that same day, Irish Republicans carried out the Mountainview Tavern attack on Belfast's Shankill Road, killing four Protestant civilians and a UDA member, followed by the killing of a Catholic civilian by loyalists in the Ardoyne area. [5] [6]

The first attack claimed by the Republican Action Force was the Tullyvallen massacre in which five Protestant civilians were killed and seven others injured. The attackers used the prefix "South Armagh" Republican Action Force (SARAF) to claim this attack. All those killed were members of the Irish chapter of the Protestant fraternity group the Orange Order, which Irish Catholics in Northern Ireland viewed as a sectarian group. The smaller Irish Republican paramilitary group the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) would also carry out at least one sectarian attack during this period, when, on New Year's Eve 1975/76 members of the INLA – using the cover name "People's Republican Army" – carried out a bomb attack on a pub in the village of Gilford, County Down killing three Protestant civilians and injuring 30 others. [7]

The most lethal attack carried out by the RAF was the Kingsmill massacre on 5 January 1976. In the attack up to 12 gun men stopped a minibus near Kingsmill in south County Armagh and shot 11 Protestant workmen, all civilians, killing 10 and leaving the sole survivor badly wounded. Prior to the shooting, the gun men told a Catholic workman who was travelling on the minibus to run away. [8]

Attack

The Stag Inn was a Protestant-owned hotel and bar.

The attack took place on a Saturday at 8:00 pm on 30 July 1976 when at least 3 IRA/RAF gun men pulled up outside in a hijacked car and shot doorman John McLeave (48), who was standing outside the bar on security duty. Two of the gunmen entered the Stag Inn bar carrying automatic rifles and began shooting; John Mackey (50) and James Doherty (70), were both killed instantly from several bursts of fire. Several more people were hit, though Thompson "Robert" McCreight (60) would die from his injuries just over a week later on 8 August 1976. The gunmen escaped in the getaway car waiting outside for them. [9] [10] The attackers claimed it was retaliation for a loyalist attack the day before on the 29 July 1976, when three Catholic civilians were killed in The Whitefort Inn pub on the Andersonstown Road, Belfast. [1] This was the last major sectarian attack claimed by the Republican Action Force in 1976.

Aftermath

Earlier on in the day, the Provisional IRA Derry Brigade killed a Protestant Ulster Defence Regiment soldier with a booby-trap bomb at a farm in Druminard near the village of Moneymore. [11] Less than 24 hours later, another Protestant was killed by Republican sniper at a security barrier at Church Street in Lurgan. [12] This brought the number of Protestants killed in a 24-hour period by the IRA/RAF to six, with at least half a dozen injured.

The group claimed responsibility for the killings of two more Protestant civilians after the Stag Inn shootings: the first on the 2 April 1977 in Forkhill in south Armagh, [13] and the other on 21 April 1977 near Shankill Road in Belfast. [14] The former commander of the IRA's Belfast Brigade Brendan Hughes (who was in prison during the period) when interviewed by the journalist Peter Taylor commented on the effect of the sectarian killings in Belfast:

"When the ceasefire was on, the whole machine (the IRA) slipped into sectarianism and a lot of us were very, very unhappy with that situation. I didn't believe that Tullyvallen and other (similar) attacks were going to achieve anything. I believed they were counterproductive. Sectarian bombings and sectarian killings were doing nothing except destroying the whole struggle". [15]

A month later on 16 August 1976, in the south Armagh village of Keady, the UVF along with members of the Glenanne gang carried out the 1976 Step Inn pub bombing killing two Catholic civilians, both women, and injuring 20 others. The tit-for-tat sectarian attacks largely died down after this attack. [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

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The Kingsmill massacre was a mass shooting that took place on 5 January 1976 near the village of Whitecross in south County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Gunmen stopped a minibus carrying eleven Protestant workmen, lined them up alongside it and shot them. Only one victim survived, despite having been shot 18 times. A Catholic man on the minibus was allowed to go free. A group calling itself the South Armagh Republican Action Force claimed responsibility. It said the shooting was retaliation for a string of attacks on Catholic civilians in the area by Loyalists, particularly the killing of six Catholics the night before. The Kingsmill massacre was the climax of a string of tit-for-tat killings in the area during the mid-1970s, and was one of the deadliest mass shootings of the Troubles.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protestant Action Force</span> Cover name for Ulster Volunteer Force

The Protestant Action Force (PAF) was a cover name used by Ulster loyalist paramilitary group the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) when claiming responsibility for a number of attacks during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Sometimes these actions were carried out with the assistance of members of the security forces. The name "PAF" was first used in 1974 and attacks by individuals claiming to be members of the PAF killed at least 41 Catholic civilians. All of the attacks claimed by the PAF in Armagh and Tyrone counties from 1974 to 1976 have been linked to the Glenanne gang, which was a loose coalition consisting of members of the UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade along with rogue Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) soldiers and Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) police officers. A six-year period of no attacks claimed by the PAF ended in 1982; during the 1980s, the PAF claimed 15 attacks in the Belfast area and two in County Armagh. UDR soldiers were convicted of two attacks in Armagh. The PAF claimed its last attacks in the early 1990s, all of which were in north Armagh and were alleged to involve members of the security forces.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tullyvallen massacre</span> Mass shooting near Tullyvallen, Northern Ireland

The Tullyvallen massacre took place on 1 September 1975, when Irish republican gunmen attacked an Orange Order meeting hall at Tullyvallen, near Newtownhamilton in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The Orange Order is an Ulster Protestant and unionist brotherhood. Five Orangemen were killed and seven wounded in the shooting. The "South Armagh Republican Action Force" claimed responsibility, saying it was retaliation for a string of attacks on Catholic civilians by Loyalists. It is believed members of the Provisional IRA carried out the attack, despite the organisation being on ceasefire.

UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade formed part of the loyalist paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force in Northern Ireland. The brigade was established in Lurgan, County Armagh in 1972 by its first commander Billy Hanna. The unit operated mainly around the Lurgan and Portadown areas. Subsequent leaders of the brigade were Robin Jackson, known as "The Jackal", and Billy Wright. The Mid-Ulster Brigade carried out many attacks, mainly in Northern Ireland, especially in the South Armagh area, but it also extended its operational reach into the Republic of Ireland. Two of the most notorious attacks in the history of the Troubles were carried out by the Mid-Ulster Brigade: the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings and the Miami Showband killings in 1975. Members of the Mid-Ulster Brigade were part of the Glenanne gang which the Pat Finucane Centre has since linked to at least 87 lethal attacks in the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bayardo Bar attack</span> 1975 terrorist attack in Belfast, Northern Ireland

The Bayardo Bar attack took place on 13 August 1975 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. A unit of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), led by Brendan McFarlane, launched a bombing and shooting attack on a pub on Aberdeen Street, in the loyalist Shankill area. IRA members stated the pub was targeted because it was frequented by members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). Four Protestant civilians and one UVF member were killed, while more than fifty were injured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hillcrest Bar bombing</span> Bomb attack by the UVF in 1976

The Hillcrest Bar bombing, also known as the "Saint Patrick's Day bombing", took place on 17 March 1976 in Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a loyalist paramilitary group, detonated a car bomb outside a pub crowded with people celebrating Saint Patrick's Day. Four Catholic civilians were killed by the blast—including two 13-year-old boys standing outside—and almost 50 people were injured, some severely.

The Battle of Lenadoon was a series of gun battles fought over a six day period from 9–14 July 1972 between the Provisional IRA and the British Army. It started on Thursday, 9 July 1972 in and around the Lenadoon Avenue area and spread to other places in Belfast. Loyalist paramilitaries and the Official Irish Republican Army were involved in some of the incidents. 28 people in total were killed in Belfast according to the CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths. The violence ended a two-week truce between the forces of the British Government and the IRA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darkley killings</span> Mass shooting near Darkley, County Antrim (1983)

The Darkley killings or Darkley massacre was a gun attack carried out on 20 November 1983 near the village of Darkley in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Three gunmen attacked worshippers attending a church service at Mountain Lodge Pentecostal Church, killing three Protestant civilians and wounding seven. The attackers were members of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) acting on their own. They claimed responsibility using the cover name "Catholic Reaction Force", saying it was retaliation for recent sectarian attacks on Catholics by the loyalist "Protestant Action Force". The attack was condemned by the INLA leadership.

On 2 October 1975, the loyalist paramilitary group the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) carried out a wave of shootings and bombings across Northern Ireland. Six of the attacks left 12 people dead and around 45 people injured. There was also an attack in a small village in County Down called Killyleagh. There were five attacks in and around Belfast which left people dead. A bomb which exploded in Coleraine left four UVF members dead. There were also several other smaller bombs planted around Northern Ireland but other than causing damage they did not kill or injure anyone.

The Strand Bar Bombing was a bomb attack on a pub in Belfast, Northern Ireland on 12 April 1975, during the Troubles. The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a loyalist paramilitary group, threw an improvised bomb into a pub frequented by Catholics in the Short Strand neighbourhood, killing six civilians and injuring about fifty others. It took place during a spate of tit-for-tat attacks by loyalists and Irish republican paramilitaries. The attack was claimed by the UVF unit known as the Red Hand Commando (RHC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Bar bombing</span> Terrorist attack in Gilford, Northern Ireland

The Central Bar bombing was a bomb attack on a pub in the town of Gilford near Portadown in County Down in Northern Ireland on 31 December 1975. The attack was carried out by members of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) using the covername "People's Republican Army" although contemporary reports also said the "Armagh unit" of the "People's Republican Army" had claimed responsibility. Three Protestant civilians were killed in the bombing.

The Charlemont pub attacks were co-ordinated militant Loyalist paramilitary attacks on two pubs in the small village of Charlemont, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, carried out by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) on the 15 May 1976. The attacks have been attributed to the Glenanne gang which was a coalition of right-wing Loyalist paramilitaries and subversive members inside the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), the Ulster Defense Regiment (UDR) and the British Army.

A pub bombing or a public house bombing is an attack on a pub or public house using explosives and other bombing making material like nails, bolts, screws and similar objects which can cause horrific injuries when the bomb detonates. The Provisional IRA's Balcombe Street Gang used bolts and screws in many of their bomb attacks in the mid-1970s. Neo-nazi David Copeland used nails in his bombs.

The Bleary Darts Club shooting was a mass shooting that took place on 27 April 1975 in the village of Bleary, Northern Ireland. Members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) burst into a darts club frequented by Catholics and opened fire on the crowd, killing three civilians and wounding a fourth. The attack is one of many that has been linked to the Glenanne gang.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Cain - Sutton Index of Deaths - 29 July 1976". CAIN Archive - Conflict and Politics in Northern Ireland. CAIN. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  2. ↑ Cadwallader, Anne (18 October 2013). Lethal Allies: British Collusion in Ireland (Paperback 1st ed.). Mercier Press. pp. 12–14. ISBN   978-1-78117-188-2.
  3. ↑ Taylor, Peter (1 March 1999). Behind the Mask: The Ira and Sinn Fein (Paperback ed.). TV Books Inc. pp. 218–220. ISBN   1-57500-061-X.
  4. ↑ "Wednesday 2 April 1975 proni on cain IRA Truce". CAIN Archive - Conflict and Politics in Northern Ireland. CAIN. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  5. ↑ "Cain - Sutton Index of Deaths - 5 April 1975". CAIN Archive - Conflict and Politics in Northern Ireland. CAIN. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  6. ↑ Tiernan, Joe (1 January 2004). The Dublin Bombings and the Murder Triangle (Paperback ed.). Mercier Press. ISBN   978-1-85635-320-5.
  7. ↑ Cadwallader, Anne (18 October 2013). Lethal Allies: British Collusion in Ireland (Paperback, 1st ed.). Mercier Press. p. 145. ISBN   978-1-78117-188-2.
  8. ↑ "1976: Ten dead in Northern Ireland ambush". 5 January 1976. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  9. ↑ Wharton, Ken (15 July 2013). Wasted Years, Wasted Lives Volume 1: The British Army in Northern Ireland: 1975 - 1977 (Hardcover ed.). Helion and Company. ISBN   978-1-909384-55-2 . Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  10. ↑ "Stag Inn Shooting". EXTRAMURAL ACTIVITY LIFE IN BELFAST AS REPRESENTED ON ITS WALLS – MURALS, GRAFFITI, STREET ART. Extramural Activity. 10 March 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  11. ↑ "The Regimental Association of The Ulster Defence Regiment CGC: 1976". Ulster Defence Regiment Association. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  12. ↑ "Cain - Sutton Index of Deaths - 31 July 1976". CAIN Archive - Conflict and Politics in Northern Ireland. CAIN. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  13. ↑ "Cain - Sutton Index of Deaths - 2 April 1977". CAIN Archive - Conflict and Politics in Northern Ireland. CAIN. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  14. ↑ "Cain - Sutton Index of Deaths - 21 April 1977". CAIN Archive - Conflict and Politics in Northern Ireland. CAIN. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  15. ↑ Taylor, Peter (1 March 1999). Behind the Mask: The Ira and Sinn Fein (Paperback ed.). TV Books Inc. p. 229. ISBN   1-57500-061-X.
  16. ↑ Cadwallader, Anne (21 November 2013). "Lethal Allies: how two families fought for the truth". spinwatch.org. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
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