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Bloody Friday (1972)
Encyclopedia
Bloody Friday is the name given to the bombings by the Provisional Irish Republican Army
(IRA) in Belfast
on 21 July 1972. Twenty-two bombs exploded in the space of eighty minutes, killing nine people (including two British soldiers) and injuring 130.
The bombings were part of a concerted bombing campaign carried out by the IRA against economic, military and political targets in Northern Ireland
. It carried out a total of 1,300 bombings in 1972, following the failure of secret talks with the British government
in London.
, claimed that the warnings for the two bombs that claimed lives were deliberately disregarded by the British for strategic policy reasons. Along with some accurate warnings given by the IRA, two more hoax warnings were called in, which impeded the evacuation of the area. The Royal Ulster Constabulary
and British Army
only effectively cleared a small number of areas before the bombs went off. In addition, because of the large number of bombs in the confined area of Belfast city centre, people evacuated from the site of one bomb were accidentally moved into the vicinity of other bombs.
Thirty years after the attack the IRA formally apologised for harming civilians.
(GMT+1). The details are based on a number of secondary reports and accounts.
The first bomb exploded. The bomb had been left in a car in an enclosed yard at the Smithfield Bus Station. Extensive damage was done to the surrounding area.
A bomb (estimated at 50 pounds (23 kg) of explosive) exploded at the Brookvale Hotel on Brookvale Avenue, north Belfast. The bomb was left in a suitcase and was planted by three men armed with sub-machine guns. The area had been cleared and no injuries occurred.
A suitcase bomb exploded on the platform, doing extensive damage to the inside of the railway station and blowing the roof off.
Two bombs (both estimated at 50 pounds (23 kg) of explosive) exploded at the Star Garage on Crumlin Road. There were no serious injuries.
A car-bomb exploded outside the Ulsterbus
depot on Oxford Street, the busiest bus station in Northern Ireland. An Austin 1100 saloon car containing explosives had been driven to the rear of the depot. The consequent explosion resulted in the greatest loss of life and the greatest number of casualties. Some of the victims were virtually blown to pieces which led authorities to give an initial estimate of 11 deaths. The area was being cleared but was still crowded when the bomb exploded. Two British Army soldiers, Stephen Cooper (19) and Philip Price (27), were close to the car bomb at the moment of detonation and died instantly. Three Protestant civilians who worked for Ulsterbus were killed: William Crothers (15), Thomas Killops (39) and Jackie Gibson (45). One other Protestant Ulsterbus employee, who was a member of the Ulster Defence Association
, was also killed in the blast: William Irvine (18). Close to 40 people were injured.
A car bomb (estimated at 50 pounds (23 kg) of explosive) exploded outside the Ulster Bank
on Limestone Road, north Belfast. The site of this bomb was a few hundred yards from the first bomb. This area had not been cleared. There were several injuries in this blast.
A car bomb (estimated at 50 pounds (23 kg) of explosive) exploded outside Botanic railway station
. There was considerable damage to property but no serious injuries.
A car bomb (estimated at 160 pounds (73 kg) of explosive) exploded without warning on the Queen Elizabeth Bridge. There was some damage to the structure of the bridge but no serious injuries.
A bomb (estimated at 50 pounds (23 kg) of explosive) exploded in the Liverpool Bar on Donegall Quay.
A car bomb (estimated at 50 pounds (23 kg) of explosive) exploded without warning on Ormeau Avenue. There were no serious injuries.
A car bomb (estimated at 30 pounds (14 kg) of explosive) exploded without warning outside a group of houses on Agnes Street, a mainly loyalist area. There were no serious injuries.
A bomb (estimated at 30 pounds (14 kg) of explosive) exploded on the bridge over the M2 motorway
at Bellevue in north Belfast. There were no serious injuries.
A car bomb (estimated at 150 pounds (68 kg) of explosive) destroyed Eastwood's Garage on Donegall Road. There were no serious injuries.
A bomb, thought to have been abandoned on the Stewartstown Road, exploded but caused no serious injuries.
A car bomb (estimated at 50 pounds (23 kg) of explosive) exploded without warning outside a row of single storey shops near the top of Cavehill Road, north Belfast. The shops were in a religiously-mixed residential area. Two women and a man died in this blast. Margaret O'Hare (37), a Catholic mother of seven children, died in her car. Her 11-year-old daughter was with her in her car and was badly injured. Catholic Brigid Murray (65) and Protestant teenager Stephen Parker (14) were also killed. Many others were seriously injured. Stephen Parker's father, the Rev. Joseph Parker, was only able to identify his son's body at the mortuary by the box of trick matches in his pocket, and the shirt and scout belt he had been wearing.
A car bomb exploded outside an electricity sub-station at Salisbury Avenue, north Belfast. An alert member of the public raised the alarm and the area was being evacuated when the bomb exploded, but there were no serious injuries.
and elsewhere. Leader of the Opposition Harold Wilson
described the events as "a shocking crime against an already innocent population". The Irish Times wrote, "The chief injury is not to the British Army, to the Establishment or to big business but to the plain people of Belfast and Ireland. Anyone who supports violence from any side after yesterday's events is sick with the same affliction as those who did the deed." Television images of fire-fighters shovelling body parts into plastic bags at the Oxford Street bus station were the most shocking of the day.
Twenty-five years later, a police officer who had been at Oxford Street bus station described to journalist Peter Taylor
the scene he came upon in the wake of the bombing:
479 people died in the Troubles in 1972, more than in any other year of the conflict. Ten days after the bombings the British Army launched Operation Motorman
, to retake IRA-controlled republican areas in Belfast and Derry. There were also several revenge attacks by loyalists
. Bloody Friday itself was seen by some as a reprisal attack for Bloody Sunday
in Derry six months earlier.
The City of Belfast Youth Orchestra set up a Stephen Parker Memorial Trust in memory of teenager Stephen Parker, who had been a music student and played the French Horn in the orchestra at the time he was killed. Stephen had also been posthumously awarded the Queen's Commendation for bravery as he had died while trying to warn others about the bomb car left outside the row of shops in Cavehill Road.
, which read:
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
(IRA) in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
on 21 July 1972. Twenty-two bombs exploded in the space of eighty minutes, killing nine people (including two British soldiers) and injuring 130.
The bombings were part of a concerted bombing campaign carried out by the IRA against economic, military and political targets in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. It carried out a total of 1,300 bombings in 1972, following the failure of secret talks with the British government
Government of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Government is the central government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Government is led by the Prime Minister, who selects all the remaining Ministers...
in London.
Overview
A total of 22 bombs were planted and, in the resulting explosions, nine people were killed and a further 130 civilians injured, many horrifically mutilated. Of the 130 people injured, 77 were women and children. The IRA gave warnings to the security forces via the local media before the bombs exploded—with 30 minutes' warning given for the first bomb and about 70 minutes' warning given for the last bomb. The IRA chief of staff, Seán Mac StíofáinSeán Mac Stíofáin
Seán Mac Stíofáin was an Irish republican paramilitary activist born in London, who became associated with the republican movement in Ireland after serving in the Royal Air Force...
, claimed that the warnings for the two bombs that claimed lives were deliberately disregarded by the British for strategic policy reasons. Along with some accurate warnings given by the IRA, two more hoax warnings were called in, which impeded the evacuation of the area. The Royal Ulster Constabulary
Royal Ulster Constabulary
The Royal Ulster Constabulary was the name of the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2000. Following the awarding of the George Cross in 2000, it was subsequently known as the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC. It was founded on 1 June 1922 out of the Royal Irish Constabulary...
and British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
only effectively cleared a small number of areas before the bombs went off. In addition, because of the large number of bombs in the confined area of Belfast city centre, people evacuated from the site of one bomb were accidentally moved into the vicinity of other bombs.
Thirty years after the attack the IRA formally apologised for harming civilians.
Timeline
The accounts of the events that appeared in the first editions of local and national newspapers were, naturally enough, somewhat confused about the details of the events of the day. The timetable compiled by CAIN below is approximate and given in BSTBritish Summer Time
Western European Summer Time is a summer daylight saving time scheme, 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used in the following places:* the Canary Islands* Portugal * Ireland...
(GMT+1). The details are based on a number of secondary reports and accounts.
- 2:10 pm (Smithfield Bus Station)
The first bomb exploded. The bomb had been left in a car in an enclosed yard at the Smithfield Bus Station. Extensive damage was done to the surrounding area.
- 2:16 pm (Brookvale Hotel, Brookvale Avenue)
A bomb (estimated at 50 pounds (23 kg) of explosive) exploded at the Brookvale Hotel on Brookvale Avenue, north Belfast. The bomb was left in a suitcase and was planted by three men armed with sub-machine guns. The area had been cleared and no injuries occurred.
- 2:23 pm (LMS Railway Station, York Road)
A suitcase bomb exploded on the platform, doing extensive damage to the inside of the railway station and blowing the roof off.
- 2:45 pm (Crumlin RoadCrumlin RoadThe Crumlin Road is a main road in north-west Belfast, Northern Ireland. The road runs from north of Belfast City Centre for about four miles to the outskirts of the city. It also forms part of the longer A52 road.-Lower Crumlin Road:...
)
Two bombs (both estimated at 50 pounds (23 kg) of explosive) exploded at the Star Garage on Crumlin Road. There were no serious injuries.
- 2:48 pm (Oxford Street Bus Depot, Oxford Street)
A car-bomb exploded outside the Ulsterbus
Ulsterbus
Ulsterbus is a public transport operator in Northern Ireland and operates bus services outside Belfast. It is part of Translink , which also includes Northern Ireland Railways, Metro Belfast and Flexibus.-Services:Ulsterbus is responsible for most of the province-wide bus...
depot on Oxford Street, the busiest bus station in Northern Ireland. An Austin 1100 saloon car containing explosives had been driven to the rear of the depot. The consequent explosion resulted in the greatest loss of life and the greatest number of casualties. Some of the victims were virtually blown to pieces which led authorities to give an initial estimate of 11 deaths. The area was being cleared but was still crowded when the bomb exploded. Two British Army soldiers, Stephen Cooper (19) and Philip Price (27), were close to the car bomb at the moment of detonation and died instantly. Three Protestant civilians who worked for Ulsterbus were killed: William Crothers (15), Thomas Killops (39) and Jackie Gibson (45). One other Protestant Ulsterbus employee, who was a member of the Ulster Defence Association
Ulster Defence Association
The Ulster Defence Association is the largest although not the deadliest loyalist paramilitary and vigilante group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 and undertook a campaign of almost twenty-four years during "The Troubles"...
, was also killed in the blast: William Irvine (18). Close to 40 people were injured.
- 2:50 pm (Ulster Bank, Limestone Road)
A car bomb (estimated at 50 pounds (23 kg) of explosive) exploded outside the Ulster Bank
Ulster Bank
Ulster Bank is a large commercial bank, one of the Big Four in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The Ulster Bank Group is subdivided into two separate legal entities, Ulster Bank Limited and Ulster Bank Ireland Limited...
on Limestone Road, north Belfast. The site of this bomb was a few hundred yards from the first bomb. This area had not been cleared. There were several injuries in this blast.
- 2:52 pm (Botanic Railway Station, Botanic Avenue)
A car bomb (estimated at 50 pounds (23 kg) of explosive) exploded outside Botanic railway station
Botanic railway station
.Botanic railway station serves the Botanic area in south Belfast, Northern Ireland and students for Queen's University Belfast. It is named after the nearby Belfast Botanic Gardens...
. There was considerable damage to property but no serious injuries.
- 2:55 pm (Queen Elizabeth Bridge)
A car bomb (estimated at 160 pounds (73 kg) of explosive) exploded without warning on the Queen Elizabeth Bridge. There was some damage to the structure of the bridge but no serious injuries.
- 2:57 pm (Liverpool Bar, Donegall Quay)
A bomb (estimated at 50 pounds (23 kg) of explosive) exploded in the Liverpool Bar on Donegall Quay.
- 2.57 pm (Ormeau Avenue)
A car bomb (estimated at 50 pounds (23 kg) of explosive) exploded without warning on Ormeau Avenue. There were no serious injuries.
- 3:02 pm (Agnes Street)
A car bomb (estimated at 30 pounds (14 kg) of explosive) exploded without warning outside a group of houses on Agnes Street, a mainly loyalist area. There were no serious injuries.
- 3:02 pm (M2 motorway bridge, Bellevue)
A bomb (estimated at 30 pounds (14 kg) of explosive) exploded on the bridge over the M2 motorway
M2 motorway (Northern Ireland)
The M2 is a motorway in Belfast and County Antrim in Northern Ireland. It is in two sections, the southern section running from north Belfast to Antrim and the northern section acts as a bypass of Ballymena, with the A26 road linking the two sections. In total it is 22 miles...
at Bellevue in north Belfast. There were no serious injuries.
- 3:12 pm (Eastwood's Garage, Donegall Road)
A car bomb (estimated at 150 pounds (68 kg) of explosive) destroyed Eastwood's Garage on Donegall Road. There were no serious injuries.
- 3:15 pm (Stewartstown Road)
A bomb, thought to have been abandoned on the Stewartstown Road, exploded but caused no serious injuries.
- 3:15 pm (Cavehill Road)
A car bomb (estimated at 50 pounds (23 kg) of explosive) exploded without warning outside a row of single storey shops near the top of Cavehill Road, north Belfast. The shops were in a religiously-mixed residential area. Two women and a man died in this blast. Margaret O'Hare (37), a Catholic mother of seven children, died in her car. Her 11-year-old daughter was with her in her car and was badly injured. Catholic Brigid Murray (65) and Protestant teenager Stephen Parker (14) were also killed. Many others were seriously injured. Stephen Parker's father, the Rev. Joseph Parker, was only able to identify his son's body at the mortuary by the box of trick matches in his pocket, and the shirt and scout belt he had been wearing.
- Time TBC (Salisbury Avenue, North Belfast)
A car bomb exploded outside an electricity sub-station at Salisbury Avenue, north Belfast. An alert member of the public raised the alarm and the area was being evacuated when the bomb exploded, but there were no serious injuries.
Reactions and consequences
Speaking in the House of Commons on 24 July, Home Secretary William Whitelaw called the bombings "appallingly bloodthirsty". He also drew attention to the Catholic victims, and mentioned the revulsion in the Republic of IrelandRepublic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
and elsewhere. Leader of the Opposition Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
described the events as "a shocking crime against an already innocent population". The Irish Times wrote, "The chief injury is not to the British Army, to the Establishment or to big business but to the plain people of Belfast and Ireland. Anyone who supports violence from any side after yesterday's events is sick with the same affliction as those who did the deed." Television images of fire-fighters shovelling body parts into plastic bags at the Oxford Street bus station were the most shocking of the day.
Twenty-five years later, a police officer who had been at Oxford Street bus station described to journalist Peter Taylor
Peter Taylor (Journalist)
Peter Taylor born in Scarborough, North Riding of Yorkshire is a British journalist and documentary-maker who had covered for many years the political and armed conflict in Northern Ireland, widely known as the Troubles...
the scene he came upon in the wake of the bombing:
"The first thing that caught my eye was a torso of a human being lying in the middle of the street. It was recognisable as a torso because the clothes had been blown off and you could actually see parts of the human anatomy. One of the victims was a soldier I knew personally. He'd had his arms and legs blown off and some of his body had been blown through the railings. One of the most horrendous memories for me was seeing a head stuck to the wall. A couple of days later, we found vertebrae and a rib cage on the roof of a nearby building. The reason we found it was because the seagulls were diving onto it. I've tried to put it at the back of my mind for twenty-five years."
479 people died in the Troubles in 1972, more than in any other year of the conflict. Ten days after the bombings the British Army launched Operation Motorman
Operation Motorman
Operation Motorman was a large operation carried out by the British Army in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. The operation took place in the early hours of 31 July 1972 with the aim of retaking the "no-go areas" that had been established in Belfast, Derry and other large towns.-Background:The...
, to retake IRA-controlled republican areas in Belfast and Derry. There were also several revenge attacks by loyalists
Ulster loyalism
Ulster loyalism is an ideology that is opposed to a united Ireland. It can mean either support for upholding Northern Ireland's status as a constituent part of the United Kingdom , support for Northern Ireland independence, or support for loyalist paramilitaries...
. Bloody Friday itself was seen by some as a reprisal attack for Bloody Sunday
Bloody Sunday (1972)
Bloody Sunday —sometimes called the Bogside Massacre—was an incident on 30 January 1972 in the Bogside area of Derry, Northern Ireland, in which twenty-six unarmed civil rights protesters and bystanders were shot by soldiers of the British Army...
in Derry six months earlier.
The City of Belfast Youth Orchestra set up a Stephen Parker Memorial Trust in memory of teenager Stephen Parker, who had been a music student and played the French Horn in the orchestra at the time he was killed. Stephen had also been posthumously awarded the Queen's Commendation for bravery as he had died while trying to warn others about the bomb car left outside the row of shops in Cavehill Road.
Provisional IRA statement of apology
On 16 July 2002, the Provisional IRA issued a statement of apology to An PhoblachtAn Phoblacht
An Phoblacht is the official newspaper of Sinn Féin in Ireland. It is published once a month, and according to its website sells an average of up to 15,000 copies every month and was the first Irish paper to provide an edition online and currently having in excess of 100,000 website hits per...
, which read:
Sunday 21 July marks the 30th anniversary of an IRA operation in Belfast in 1972 which resulted in nine people being killed and many more injured.
While it was not our intention to injure or kill non-combatants, the reality is that on this and on a number of other occasions, that was the consequence of our actions.
It is therefore appropriate on the anniversary of this tragic event, that we address all of the deaths and injuries of non-combatants caused by us.
We offer our sincere apologies and condolences to their families.
...