The Troubles in Enniskillen

Last updated October 13, 2019

The Troubles in Enniskillen recounts incidents during, and the effects of, The Troubles in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.

The Troubles was an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland during the late 20th century. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "irregular war" or "low-level war". The conflict began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed to have ended with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Although the Troubles primarily took place in Northern Ireland, at times the violence spilled over into parts of the Republic of Ireland, England, and mainland Europe.

Enniskillen is a town and civil parish in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is located almost exactly in the centre of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,823 at the 2011 Census. It was the seat of local government for the former Fermanagh District Council, and is the county town of Fermanagh as well as its largest town.

County Fermanagh is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km² and has a population of 61,805 as of 2011. Enniskillen is the county town and largest in both size and population.

1972

26 August 1972 - Lance Corporal Alfred Johnston (32) and Private James Eames (33), both members of the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR), were killed by a Provisional Irish Republican Army remote controlled bomb, hidden in an abandoned car and detonated when their patrol approached at Cherrymount, on the outskirts of Enniskillen.^[1]
16 November 1972 - Joseph Calvin (42), member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, was killed by a booby trap bomb attached to his car in a car park on Quay Lane in Enniskillen.

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". It was the largest infantry regiment in the British Army, formed with seven battalions plus another four added within two years.

Provisional Irish Republican Army Disbanded Irish Republican paramilitary group

The Irish Republican Army, also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reunification and bring about an independent republic encompassing all of Ireland. It was the most active republican paramilitary group during the Troubles. It saw itself as the successor to the original IRA and called itself simply the Irish Republican Army (IRA), or Óglaigh na hÉireann in Irish, and was broadly referred to as such by others. The IRA was designated a terrorist organisation in the United Kingdom and an illegal organisation in the Republic of Ireland.

The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC). At its peak the force had around 8,500 officers with a further 4,500 who were members of the RUC Reserve. During the Troubles, 319 members of the RUC were killed and almost 9,000 injured in paramilitary assassinations or attacks, mostly by the Provisional IRA, which made the RUC, by 1983, the most dangerous police force in the world in which to serve. In the same period, the RUC killed 55 people, 28 of whom were civilians.

1973

5 June 1973 - David Purvis (22), member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, was shot on foot patrol from a passing car on Belmore Street in Enniskillen.

1981

25 November 1981 - Angela D'Arcy (24), civilian, was shot by an off-duty member of the British Army while walking on Middleton Street, Enniskillen.

The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of British Armed Forces. As of 2018, the British Army comprises just over 81,500 trained regular (full-time) personnel and just over 27,000 trained reserve (part-time) personnel.

1982

9 November 1982 - Garry Ewing (31), off duty member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, and Helen Woodhouse (29), civilian, were killed by a Provisional Irish Republican Army booby trap bomb attached to Ewings’ car parked outside the Lakeland Forum Leisure Centre, Enniskillen.

In general, a civilian is "a person who is not a member of the military or of a police or firefighting force". The definition distinguishes from persons whose duties involves risking their lives to protect the public at large from hazardous situations such as terrorism, riots, conflagrations, or wars. "Criminals" are also excluded from the category.

1983

19 February 1983 - Alan Price (53), civilian, was shot dead while delivering post in Arney outside Enniskillen. It is believed that the intended target was an off-duty postman who was also a member of the Ulster Defence Regiment.

1984

18 May 1984 - Thomas Agar (35), Robert Huggins (29) and Peter Gallimore (27), all off duty members of the British Army, were killed by a Provisional Irish Republican Army booby trap bomb attached to their car, outside the Lakeland Forum Leisure Centre, Enniskillen. Gallimore died on 18 October 1984.

1985

3 March 1985 - Hugh McCormac (40), off-duty member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, was shot dead in front of his family and other worshippers while leaving Mass at the Passionist Father's St. Gabriel's Retreat, the Graan.
7 April 1985 - Martin Love (24), civilian, was shot dead while walking along Factory Row in Enniskillen. The shooting is believed to have been carried out by the Ulster Freedom Fighters.

1987

9 January 1987 - Ivan Crawford (49), member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, was killed when a remote control bomb was detonated in a litter bin which he passed while on foot patrol on High Street, Enniskillen.
8 November 1987 - Remembrance Day bombing - Edward Armstrong (52), off duty member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, Marie Wilson (20), Samuel Gault (49), Georgina Quinton (72), John Megaw (68), Wesley Armstrong (62), Bertha Armstrong (53), William Mullan (72), Agnes Mullan (70), Kit Johnston (70), Jessie Johnston (66) and Ronnie Hill (68), civilians, were killed by a Provisional Irish Republican Army time bomb which exploded near the war memorial, just before the Remembrance Day ceremony. Hill died on 28 December 2000, after being in a coma since the incident.

Related Research Articles

This is a chronology of activities by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) from 1970 to 1979. For actions after this period see Chronology of Provisional Irish Republican Army actions.

The Troubles in Crossmaglen recounts incidents during, and the effects of, the Troubles in Crossmaglen, County Armagh, Northern Ireland.

The Troubles in Derrylin recounts incidents during, and the effects of, The Troubles in Derrylin, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.

The Troubles in Dungannon recounts incidents during, and the effects of, The Troubles in Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

The Troubles in Killeen recounts incidents during, and the effects of, The Troubles in and around the village of Killeen, County Armagh, Northern Ireland.

The Troubles in Newry recounts fatalities during The Troubles in Newry, County Armagh/County Down, Northern Ireland.

The Troubles in Newtownbutler recounts incidents during, and the effects of, The Troubles in Newtownbutler, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.

The Troubles in Lisnaskea recounts incidents during, and the effects of, The Troubles in Lisnaskea, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.

The Troubles in Forkhill recounts incidents during, and the effects of, the Troubles in Forkhill, County Armagh, Northern Ireland.

The Troubles in Cookstown recounts incidents during, and the effects of, The Troubles in Cookstown, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

The Troubles in Lisburn recounts incidents during, and the effects of, the Troubles in Lisburn, County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

The Troubles in Belcoo recounts incidents during, and the effects of, The Troubles in Belcoo, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.

The Troubles in Castlederg recounts incidents during, and the effects of the Troubles in Castlederg, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

The Troubles in Armagh recounts incidents during The Troubles in Armagh City, County Armagh, Northern Ireland; the violence was substantial enough for the city to be referred to by some as "Murder Mile". Over the span of 36 years, although mainly concentrated in the years from 1969 until 1994, the small city of around 15,000 people, including some outlying areas, seen 86 deaths in the Troubles, including those of a number of people from the city who lost their lives elsewhere in Troubles-related incidents.

The Troubles in Ardboe recounts incidents during and the effects of the Troubles in Ardboe, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

A total of seven people were killed in Troubles-related violence in or near the County Londonderry village of Moneymore, of whom six were Protestant and one Catholic. All were killed by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) except 71-year-old Protestant Samuel Miller, who was beaten to death by the Ulster Defence Association after witnessing a robbery.

The Troubles in Strabane lists incidents during the Troubles in Strabane, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

The Troubles in Lurgan recounts incidents during the Troubles in Lurgan, County Armagh, Northern Ireland resulting in two or more fatalities.

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.

On 11 August 1970, two Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers were killed by a booby-trap bomb planted under a car by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) near Crossmaglen, in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. They were the first RUC officers to be killed by republicans during the Troubles and the first security forces to be killed in South Armagh, an IRA stronghold for much of the conflict.

References

↑ "Extradition hearing over 1972 IRA car bomb murders adjourned". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. 23 November 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2019.

NI Conflict Archive on the Internet

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "Extradition hearing over 1972 IRA car bomb murders adjourned". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. 23 November 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2019.