Red Lion Pub bombing
Red Lion Pub bombing | |
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Part of Provisional IRA |
The Red Lion Pub bombing was a bomb attack on 2 November 1971 in
Background
Since the
Bombing
At around 4:25 pm on Tuesday 2 November, three IRA members entered the Red Lion pub, beside Ballynafeigh RUC station on the Ormeau Road in Belfast. Two of them planted a bomb while the other guarded them with a gun. Before leaving the pub, one of the IRA men shouted "you have ten seconds to get out".[4] Some customers ran out the front door, but others who tried to leave by the side door found it had been locked for security reasons.[4] The bomb exploded only about six seconds after the warning.[4] The walls collapsed and the roof fell in; around thirty people were injured and many of them were buried under rubble.[4] Three Protestant civilians were killed: John Cochrane (67), Mary Gemmell (55), and William Jordan (31), who died two days later.[5]
At the same time, another bomb exploded in a shop on the other side of the RUC station. The Belfast Telegraph reported: "There is no doubt in the minds of police that the police station was the target [...] both bombs were placed against the inner walls of the pub and the shop in an attempt to bring down the station on top of the RUC men inside".[4] An RUC spokesman added: "even if they did miscalculate the fuse of the bomb, ten seconds was certainly not nearly enough to allow everyone to get out".[4]
See also
References
- ^ Melaugh, Dr Martin. "CAIN: Events: Internment: main menu". cain.ulst.ac.uk. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
- ^ "The Troubles 7". Issuu. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
- ^ Aaron Edwards - UVF: Behind The Mask pp.44
- ^ a b c d e f McKittrick, David (2001). Lost Lives: The Stories of the Men, Women and Children who Died as a Result of the Northern Ireland Troubles. Random House. pp. 114–115.
- ^ "Chronology of the Conflict: 1971". Conflict Archive on the Internet. Retrieved 31 July 2018.