Chronology of Provisional IRA actions

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

Incidents resulting in at least three deaths are marked in bold.

1970

26 June: Three Provisional IRA volunteers and two young girls were killed when a bomb being assembled accidentally exploded in Creggan, Derry
Creggan, Derry
Creggan is a large housing estate in Derry in Northern Ireland. It was the first housing estate built in Derry specifically to provide housing for the Catholic majority. It is situated on the outskirts of the city and is built on a hill. The name Creggan is derived from the Gaelic word creagán...

.
27 June: IRA volunteers used firearms to defend Clonard monastery
Clonard monastery
Clonard Monastery is a Roman Catholic church and monastery, located off the Falls Road in Belfast, Northern Ireland.The complex was developed by a Catholic religious order known as the Redemptorist. Members of this religious order came to Belfast originally in 1896. They initially built a small...

in West 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...

, the Short Strand
Short Strand
The Short Strand is a mainly-nationalist area in east Belfast, surrounded by a mainly-unionist area. It is within the townland of Ballymacarret and sits on the east bank of the River Lagan in County Down.-Security issues:...

in East 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...

(see Battle of St. Matthews) and other nationalist
Irish nationalism
Irish nationalism manifests itself in political and social movements and in sentiment inspired by a love for Irish culture, language and history, and as a sense of pride in Ireland and in the Irish people...

areas from attack by loyalist
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...

mobs. Six people (one Catholic IRA volunteer and five loyalist Protestants) were killed in gun battles.
3–5 July: During the Falls Curfew
Falls Curfew
The Falls Curfew was a British Army operation during 3–5 July 1970 in an area along the Falls Road in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The operation started with a weapons search but quickly developed into rioting and gun battles between British soldiers and the Official Irish Republican Army...

the Official IRA and Provisional IRA fought a three day gun battle with 3,000 British troops who imposed a curfew on the Lower Falls area of Belfast. Over 1,500 rounds were fired by British troops
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...

. Four civilians were killed by the British Army.
11 August: Two RUC
RUC
RUC may refer to: or Coimbra University Radio, a Portuguese university station* Rapid Update Cycle, an atmospheric prediction system* Renmin University of China* Roskilde University or Roskilde Universitetscenter...

officers were killed by an IRA booby-trap bomb attached to an abandoned car in Crossmaglen
Crossmaglen
Crossmaglen or Crosmaglen is a village and townland in south County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,459 people in the 2001 Census and is the largest village in south Armagh...

, South Armagh
County Armagh
-History:Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch, whose capital was Emain Macha near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha...

. The bomb contained 20 lb (9.1 kg) of gelignite
Gelignite
Gelignite, also known as blasting gelatin or simply jelly, is an explosive material consisting of collodion-cotton dissolved in either nitroglycerine or nitroglycol and mixed with wood pulp and saltpetre .It was invented in 1875 by Alfred Nobel, who had earlier invented dynamite...

and exploded when one of the officers attempted to open one of the car's doors.
4 September: IRA volunteer Michael Kane (35) was killed when a bomb he was placing at an electricity transformer 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...

exploded accidentally.
16 November: The IRA shot dead two alleged criminals in the Ballymurphy area of Belfast. The men were alleged to have been involved in protection rackets, fencing stolen goods, minor racketeering, moneylending, burglary and robbery.

1971

6 February 1971: A British soldier on security duties, Gunner Robert Curtis, was killed by Billy Reid
Billy Reid (Irish republican)
William "Billy" Reid was a volunteer and Staff Officer in C Company, Third Battalion of the Belfast Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army...

in a gun battle in North Belfast. Curtis was the first British soldier to die in Ireland since the 1920s. IRA volunteer James Saunders (21) was shot dead in a shootout with the British Army in the Bone area of Belfast and the British Army shot dead a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

civilian. Eight British soldiers and five civilians were also injured in various gun battles around Belfast.
9 February 1971: An IRA landmine killed five men near a BBC transmitter on Brougher Mountain in County Tyrone. Two of the dead were BBC engineers, the other three were construction workers. It was believed their vehicle was mistaken for a British Army landrover. British mobile patrols frequently inspected the transmitter.
15 February 1971: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while taking part in a mobile-patrol in the Ardoyne
Ardoyne
Ardoyne is an Irish nationalist, working class and mainly Catholic district in north Belfast, Northern Ireland. It gained notoriety due to the large number of incidents during "The Troubles". It is home to approximately 20,000 inhabitants...

area of Belfast. Two British Army scout cars came under sniper fire and had a bomb thrown at them. The soldier was shot in the head.
26 February 1971: Two RUC officers who were attached to the Special Patrol Group (RUC)
Special Patrol Group (RUC)
The Special Patrol Group in the Royal Ulster Constabulary was a police unit tasked with counter terrorism. Each SPG had 30 members. Many of the SPG units were accused of collusion with the illegal paramilitary group the Ulster Volunteer Force, particularly the actions of a unit based in Armagh.-A...

were killed in a gun battle with the IRA in the Ardoyne area of Belfast.
8 March 1971: IRA volunteer Charles Hughes (26) was shot dead by the Official IRA
Official IRA
The Official Irish Republican Army or Official IRA is an Irish republican paramilitary group whose goal was to create a "32-county workers' republic" in Ireland. It emerged from a split in the Irish Republican Army in December 1969, shortly after the beginning of "The Troubles"...

in the Lower Falls area of Belfast. This was part of an ongoing dispute between the IRA and the OIRA. In response the IRA shot and seriously injured a member of the OIRA.
10 March 1971: The IRA kidnapped three off-duty Scottish soldiers in Belfast and brought them to a mountain road outside the city, lined them up, and shot each of them in the head. They were the first off-duty soldiers to be killed in the conflict.
21 April 1971: The Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

survey launch Stork, attached to HMS Hecate
HMS Hecate (A137)
HMS Hecate was a Royal Navy deep ocean survey vessel of the Hecla-class. She was present at the "presentation of fleet colours" review in Torbay on 29 July 1969. The ship was decommissioned in 1990....

, was towed to open seas and sunk by an IRA unit in Baltimore, Republic of Ireland.
15 May 1971: IRA volunteer Billy Reid (32) was killed during a gun battle between the IRA and the British Army on Academy Street, Belfast. Two British soldiers were wounded in the incident.
25 May 1971: A bomb was thrown into Springfield Road British Army/RUC base 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...

, killing army Sergeant Michael Willetts
Michael Willetts
Michael Willetts, GC was one of the first British soldiers to be killed during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, and the recipient of a posthumous George Cross for his heroism in saving lives during the Provisional Irish Republican Army bombing which claimed his own...

as he shielded civilians from the blast with his body. He was posthumously awarded the George Cross
George Cross
The George Cross is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom, and also holds, or has held, that status in many of the other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations...

. Seven RUC officers, two British soldiers and 18 civilians were injured.
12 July 1971: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper at a British Observation post on Northumberland Street in Belfast. The IRA claimed his death was in retaliation for the killings of two civilians in Derry by the British Army the previous week.
14 July 1971: A British soldier was shot dead in an IRA ambush on a mobile-patrol in the Andersonstown
Andersonstown
Andersonstown is a suburb of Belfast, Northern Ireland.It is overshadowed by the Black Mountain and Divis Mountain and contains a mixture of public and private housing. It is largely populated by the Irish nationalist and Roman Catholic community...

area of Belfast. Three IRA gunmen using automatic weapons fired at least 35 shots at the patrol.
8 August 1971: A British soldier was shot dead in an IRA sniper attack while on foot-patrol in the Ardoyne area of Belfast. The IRA said he was shot in retaliation for the shooting dead of a civilian by the British Army the day before on the Springfield Road.
9 August 1971: 343 suspects were detained as internment
Internment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...

was introduced. In the following two days 17 people were killed in gun battles between the IRA and British Army. The IRA killed one British soldier and one UDR soldier while the British Army shot dead one IRA volunteer, Patrick McAdorey (24) and 14 civilians. Between 1971 and 1975, 1,981 people were interned; 1,874 were Catholic/republican, while only 107 were Protestant/loyalist.
9 August 1971: A UDR soldier was killed in a joined Provisional and Official IRA
Official IRA
The Official Irish Republican Army or Official IRA is an Irish republican paramilitary group whose goal was to create a "32-county workers' republic" in Ireland. It emerged from a split in the Irish Republican Army in December 1969, shortly after the beginning of "The Troubles"...

ambush in Clady, Tyrone.
11 August 1971: IRA volunteer Seamus Simpson (21) was shot dead by the British Army while carrying out a bomb attack on their patrol in the Andersonstown area of Belfast.
16 August 1971: The commander of the Provisionals' Belfast Brigade
Provisional IRA Belfast Brigade
The Belfast Brigade of the Provisional IRA was the largest of the organisation's command areas, based in the city of Belfast. Founded in 1969, along with the formation of the Provisional IRA, it was historically organised into three battalions; the First Battalion based in the...

, Joe Cahill
Joe Cahill
Joe Cahill was a prominent Irish republican and former chief of staff of the Provisional Irish Republican Army .- Background :In May 1920, Cahill was born in Divis Street in West Belfast, Ireland, where his parents had been neighbours of the Scottish-born Irish revolutionary James Connolly.Cahill...

, gave a press conference claiming only 30 IRA volunteers had been interned.
18 August 1971: IRA volunteer Eamon Lafferty (20) was shot dead during a gun battle between the IRA and the British Army in the Creggan
Creggan, Derry
Creggan is a large housing estate in Derry in Northern Ireland. It was the first housing estate built in Derry specifically to provide housing for the Catholic majority. It is situated on the outskirts of the city and is built on a hill. The name Creggan is derived from the Gaelic word creagán...

area of Derry City.
23 August 1971: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper on Flax Street in the Ardoyne area of Belfast. The soldier was shot in the head as he exited a British armoured vehicle. Another British soldier from the same regiment was shot dead by an IRA sniper in Ardoyne during a gun attack on an observation post. He had been shot in the mouth. The Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...

published a picture of the dead soldier, George Crozier, on its front page the next day.
25 August 1971: A civilian was killed when the IRA bombed the NIES office on Malone Road in Belfast. An inadequate warning was given.
29 August 1971: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper near Crossmaglen
Crossmaglen
Crossmaglen or Crosmaglen is a village and townland in south County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,459 people in the 2001 Census and is the largest village in south Armagh...

, County Armagh. The soldier was travelling in a British patrol consisting of two armoured vehicles when they accidentally crossed the border into County Monaghan
County Monaghan
County Monaghan is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County Council is the local authority for the county...

. When attempting to turn back angry locals blocked their way and set one of the vehicles on fire. After eventually managing to get back across the border the patrol had to stop to change a damaged wheel. While this was happening a six man unit from the IRA's Monaghan Brigade arrived on the scene and took up sniping positions in nearby fields. One soldiers was killed after being shot in the neck and another injured when he was struck in the shoulder.
31 August 1971: A British soldier was killed when he was shot by an IRA sniper in Stockmans Lane in the Andersonstown area of Belfast. A single shot was fired by a sniper which passed through the shoulder strap of another soldiers flak-jacket before hitting the other soldier in the head.
3 September 1971: A UDR soldier was shot dead when an IRA unit attacked Kilawley British Army base in County Fermanagh.
9 September 1971: A British Army bomb-disposal expert was killed attempting to defuse an IRA bomb in Drumankelly, County Antrim.
14 September 1971: A British soldier was shot dead during an IRA attack on a British Army mobile-patrol in Edendork, County Tyrone.
15 September 1971: A British soldier was shot dead by the IRA in the grounds of Victoria Hospital in Belfast.
17 September 1971: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on foot-patrol in the Ardoyne area of Belfast.
18 September 1971: An RUC officer was shot dead in an IRA gun attack on his foot-patrol in Strabane
Strabane
Strabane , historically spelt Straban,is a town in west County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It contains the headquarters of Strabane District Council....

, County Tyrone.
23 September 1971: A patrol boat belonging to the Northern Ireland Fishery Conservancy Board was bombed and wrecked by an IRA unit at Derrynver, Lough Neagh
Lough Neagh
Lough Neagh, sometimes Loch Neagh, is a large freshwater lake in Northern Ireland. Its name comes .-Geography:With an area of , it is the largest lake in the British Isles and ranks among the forty largest lakes of Europe. Located twenty miles to the west of Belfast, it is approximately twenty...

.
1 October 1971: A British soldier was shot dead in an IRA gun-attack on a British Army foot-patrol in the Ardoyne area of Belfast.
2 October 1971: IRA volunteer Terence McDermott (19) died after the bomb he was transporting exploded accidentally outside Lisburn.
11 October 1971: A British soldier was shot dead by the IRA while on foot-patrol on the Letterkenny Road in Derry.
15 October 1971: Two RUC officers were shot dead when an IRA unit attacked their patrol car on the Woodvale Road in Belfast.
16 October 1971: A British soldier was shot dead by the IRA during riots in the Bogside area of Derry.
17 October 1971: Two British soldiers were killed when their armoured-mobile-patrol was caught in an IRA sniper ambush in Belfast.
23 October 1971: Two unarmed female IRA volunteers, Maura Meehan (30) and Dorothy Maguire (19), were shot dead by the British Army in the Lower Falls area of Belfast.
24 October 1971: IRA volunteer Martin Forsythe (19) was shot dead by undercover RUC officers during a bomb attack in Donegall Place, Belfast.
27 October 1971: Two British soldiers were killed when the IRA bombed Rosemount British Army base in Derry.
27 October 1971: An RUC officer was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on patrol near Toome, County Antrim.
27 October 1971: A British soldier was killed when a British Army armoured personnel carrier struck an IRA landmine in Kinawley, County Fermanagh.
29 October 1971: An RUC officer was killed when the IRA bombed the RUC base on Antrim Road in Belfast.
30 October 1971: A British soldier was killed when the IRA bombed a British Army Observation Post on the corner of Cupar Street in Belfast.
31 October 1971: A British soldier was killed in an IRA sniper attack on his patrol in Stockmans Lane, Belfast.
1 November 1971: Two RUC officers were shot dead by an IRA unit while investigating a robbery at Avoca Shopping Centre in Belfast.
2 November 1971: Three civilians were killed when the IRA bombed the Ormeau Road RUC base. The three were drinking in the Red Lion bar which is next-door to the base.
4 November 1971: A British soldier was killed in an IRA sniper attack on Henry Taggart British Army base in Ballymurphy, Belfast.
7 November 1971: A British soldier was shot dead in an IRA drive-by attack in Lurgan, County Armagh.
9 November 1971: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper on Foyle Road in Derry City.
11 November 1971: Two RUC officers were shot dead by the IRA in Belfast. They had left the base to go into a shop on the street behind it when they were ambushed by an IRA unit.
18 November 1971: A British soldier was shot dead by the IRA while guarding a bus depot in the Short Strand area of Belfast.
24 November 1971: A civilian was killed in the crossfire during an IRA attack on a British Army base in Strabane.
24 November 1971: A British Army bomb disposal expert was killed attempting to defuse a car-bomb in Lurgan, County Armagh.
27 November 1971: Two Customs Officials were killed when IRA snipers attacked Killeen Customs Post near Newry
Newry
Newry is a city in Northern Ireland. The River Clanrye, which runs through the city, formed the historic border between County Armagh and County Down. It is from Belfast and from Dublin. Newry had a population of 27,433 at the 2001 Census, while Newry and Mourne Council Area had a population...

, County Armagh. The soldiers guarding the post were the intended targets.
27 November 1971: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on foot-patrol in the Falls area of Belfast.
29 November 1971: An off-duty British soldier was shot dead by the IRA near Crossmaglen, County Armagh.
6 December 1971: A civilian was killed in an IRA bomb attack in Belfast. The bomb destroyed a business premises. The damage resulted in one of the walls collapsing in on top of the building next door, crushing a civilian.
7 December 1971: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA in Curlagh, County Tyrone.
8 December 1971: Two British soldiers were killed in separate IRA gun attacks in Belfast.
10 December 1971: A UDR soldier and an ex-soldier were killed when their car was attacked by an IRA unit near Clady. County Tyrone.
11 December 1971: A bomb attack on a furniture shop on the Shankill Road in Belfast killed four Protestant civilians, including two children. No organisation claimed responsibility, but there was speculation that it may have been planted by the IRA in retaliation for the McGurk's Bar bombing
McGurk's Bar bombing
On 4 December 1971, the Ulster Volunteer Force , a loyalist paramilitary group, exploded a bomb at McGurk's Bar in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The pub was in a mainly Catholic and nationalist area. The explosion caused the building to collapse, killing fifteen Catholic civilians and wounding...

of 4 December.
16 December 1971: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper in the Lower Falls area of Belfast.
18 December 1971: IRA volunteers James Sheridan (20), John Bateson (19) and Martin Lee (19) died in Magherafelt
Magherafelt
Magherafelt is a small town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 8,372 people recorded in the 2001 Census. It is the biggest town in the south of County Londonderry and is the social, economic and political hub of the area...

, County Londonderry
County Londonderry
The place name Derry is an anglicisation of the old Irish Daire meaning oak-grove or oak-wood. As with the city, its name is subject to the Derry/Londonderry name dispute, with the form Derry preferred by nationalists and Londonderry preferred by unionists...

, when the bomb they were transporting exploded prematurely.
21 December 1971: A Catholic pub-owner was killed when he picked up and attempted to remove a bomb that had been planted in his pub on Lisburn Road, Belfast. Although Catholic-owned pubs were usually targeted by loyalists, the Sutton database lists the IRA as responsible.
21 December 1971: Unarmed IRA volunteer Gerald McDade (23) was shot after being captured by the British Army in the Ardoyne area of Belfast.
29 December 1971: A British soldier was shot dead in an IRA gun attack on a foot-patrol in the Brandywell area of Derry City.
31 December 1971: IRA volunteer Jack McCabe (55) was killed when a bomb he was assembling exploded accidentally in Santry
Santry
Santry is a suburb on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland, bordering Coolock, Glasnevin and Ballymun. Today it straddles the boundary of Dublin City and Fingal County Council area....

, Dublin.

1972

5 January 1972: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on foot-patrol in the Lower Falls area of Belfast.
7 January 1972: IRA volunteer Daniel O'Neill (20) was killed in a gun-battle with British troops in the Falls area of Belfast.
12 January 1972: An off duty RUC officer was shot dead by an IRA unit in the Lower Falls area of Belfast.
13 January 1972: A UDR soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while driving a van through Newtownabbey
Newtownabbey
Newtownabbey is a large town north of Belfast in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Sometimes considered to be a suburb of Belfast, it is separated from the rest of the city by Cavehill and Fortwilliam golf course...

, County Antrim.
18 January 1972: A Catholic civilian was shot dead, apparently by the IRA, after he came forward as a witness to the IRA hijacking of a bus in The Mount area of Belfast.
21 January 1972: A British soldier was killed when he stepped on an IRA landmine near Keady
Keady
Keady is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is situated south of Armagh city and very close to the border with the Republic of Ireland. The town had a population of 2,960 people in the 2001 Census....

, County Armagh.
26 January 1972: IRA volunteer Peter McNulty (47) was killed when a bomb he was planting at an RUC base in Castlewellan, County Down, exploded accidentally.
27 January 1972: An IRA unit which included Martin Meehan
Martin Meehan (Irish republican)
Martin Meehan was a Sinn Féin politician and former volunteer in the Provisional Irish Republican Army . Meehan was the first person to be convicted of membership of the Provisional IRA, and he spent eighteen years in prison during the Troubles.-Background and IRA activity:Meehan was born in 1945...

fought a 4-hour gun battle with a British Army detachment at Dungooley in south County Armagh. The British Army alone fired over 4,500 rounds while the IRA returned fire with assault rifles and an anti-tank gun. There were no casualties in the battle with the exception of a farmers pig which was caught in the crossfire. 8 IRA volunteers were arrested south of the border but were eventually acquitted.
27 January 1972: Two RUC officers were killed when their patrol vehicle was hit by IRA gunfire in the Creggan area of Derry.
28 January 1972: An off-duty RUC officer was shot dead in an IRA gun attack at a garage in the Oldpark area of Belfast.
30 January 1972: A British soldier died four months after being injured in an IRA sniper attack in the Bogside area of Derry.
1 February 1972: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper in the Lower Falls area of Belfast.
2 February 1972: A bomb exploded at the Catholic-owned Imperial Bar in Stewartstown
Stewartstown, County Tyrone
Stewartstown is a small village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, close to Lough Neagh and about from Cookstown, from Coalisland and from Dungannon. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 608 people.-History:...

, County Tyrone. The pub was officially closed in mourning for those who died on Bloody Sunday, but some customers had gone in through the back door for a drink. One Catholic civilian was killed. There was initial newspaper speculation that the IRA had bombed the bar because it had not closed fully, and the Sutton database lists the IRA as responsible. However, it is generally believed that loyalists were responsible for the attack, which fits the pattern of loyalist attacks in the county.
5 February 1972: IRA volunteers Charles McCann and Phelim Grant were killed when a bomb they were transporting exploded accidentally on a barge
Barge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...

in Lough Neagh
Lough Neagh
Lough Neagh, sometimes Loch Neagh, is a large freshwater lake in Northern Ireland. Its name comes .-Geography:With an area of , it is the largest lake in the British Isles and ranks among the forty largest lakes of Europe. Located twenty miles to the west of Belfast, it is approximately twenty...

.
10 February 1972: IRA volunteer Joseph Cunningham (26) was killed in a gun-battle with the RUC in Newtownabbey, County Antrim.
10 February 1972: Two British soldiers were killed in an IRA landmine attack on their Armoured Personnel Carrier in Cullyhanna
Cullyhanna
Cullyhanna is a small village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It lies on the main road between Newtownhamilton and Crossmaglen. It had a population of 306 in the 2001 Census...

, County Armagh.
13 February 1972: An off-duty British soldier was shot dead by the IRA in Newtownbutler
Newtownbutler
Newtownbutler or Newtown Butler is a small village in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the southeast corner of the County, close to the border with County Monaghan and the town of Clones. It is surrounded by small lakes and bogland and close to Lough Erne...

, County Fermanagh.
16 February 1972: Two British soldiers were killed in separate IRA gun-attacks in Derry and at the Moira
Moira, County Down
Moira is a village in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is in the northwest of the county, near the borders with counties Antrim and Armagh. The M1 motorway and Dublin–Belfast railway line are nearby. The settlement has existed since time immemorial...

roundabout in County Down.
21 February 1972: IRA volunteers Gerard Bell (20), Gerard Steele (27), Joseph Magee (31) and Robert Dorrian (28) died in Belfast when a bomb they were transporting exploded prematurely.
29 February 1972: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA in Lurgan, County Armagh.
1 March 1972: An off-duty UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA at his home in Garrisson, County Fermanagh.
2 March 1972: An RUC officer was shot dead in an IRA ambush in Newry.
3 March 1972: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper team on Manor Street in Belfast.
4 March 1972: IRA volunteer Albert Kavanagh (18) was shot dead by the RUC during a bomb attack on a factory in Boucher Street, Belfast.
4 March 1972: A bomb exploded at the Abercorn Restaurant in Belfast without any warning. Two civilians were killed and over 100 people injured. The IRA were blamed, but denied responsibility.
8 March 1972: A UDR soldier was shot dead at his workplace by the IRA in Middletown, County Armagh.
9 March 1972: IRA volunteers Gerard Crossen (19), Anthony Lewis (16) and Sean Johnson (19) were killed when a bomb they were assembling exploded accidentally in a house in Clonard, Belfast.
14 March 1972: IRA volunteers Colm Keenan (19) and Eugene McGillan (18) were shot dead by the British Army in Dove Gardens, Derry City.
14 March 1972: A two-man IRA unit armed with sub-machine guns ambushed a joint British Army/RUC patrol on Brackaville Road outside Coalisland. Over 50 shots were fired by the unit. The RUC officer who was driving the police patrol vehicle was killed.
14 March 1972: After the end of a three-day cease fire, an IRA bomb caused widespread damage in the main street of Lisburn. Three soldiers and an RUC officer were wounded.
15 March 1972: Two British soldiers were killed in an IRA booby-trap bomb attack in Belfast. An RUC officer was killed in an IRA gun attack in Coalisland
Coalisland
Coalisland is a small town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, with a population of 4,917 people . As its name suggests, it was formerly a centre for coal mining.-History:...

, County Tyrone.
20 March 1972: Two RUC officers, a British soldier and four civilians were killed when the IRA detonated a carbomb on Donegall Street in Belfast. The warning had been inadequate.
20 March 1972: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper on William Street in Derry.
23 March 1972: The IRA detonated two car bombs in Main Street, Bangor.
25 March 1972: IRA volunteer Patrick Campbell (16) was killed when two IRA units engaged each other in error on the Springfield Road in Belfast.
28 March 1972: The IRA carried out a car-bomb attack on Limavady RUC base in County Londonderry. Two civilians who were driving past at the time were killed in the explosion.
29 March 1972: A British soldier was killed in an IRA booby-trap bomb attack on Wellington Street in Belfast.
30 March 1972: A civilian was killed in the crossfire of a gun-battle between the IRA and the British Army in the Andersonstown area of Belfast.
7 April 1972: IRA volunteers Charles McCrystal (17), Samuel Hughes (17) and John McErlean (17) died when a bomb they were assembling exploded accidentally in a garage in the Greencastle area of Belfast.
8 April 1972: A British soldier was killed in an IRA sniper attack on his patrol on the Springfield Road in Belfast.
13 April 1972: The IRA detonated a car-bomb on the Main Street of Ballymoney
Ballymoney
Ballymoney is a small town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 9,021 people in the 2001 Census. It is currently served by Ballymoney Borough Council....

, County Antrim. Despite a warning to evacuate the area, one civilian was killed.
17 April 1972: A British Army officer and three soldiers were shot and wounded by an IRA unit at Divis Flats, Belfast. A nine-year old boy was also injured.
19 April 1972: A UDR soldier was killed after being kidnapped by the IRA near Newtownhamilton, County Armagh.
25 April 1972: A British soldier was shot dead in an IRA gun-attack on a British Army Permanent Vehicle Checkpoint on the Donegall Road in Belfast.
29 April 1972: A civilian was killed in the crossfire between an IRA unit and the British Army outside Oldpark British Army base in Belfast.
10 May 1972: An IRA bomb set a fire that destroyed the Belfast Co-operative store.
11 May 1972: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on patrol in the Lower Falls area of Belfast.
13 May 1972: IRA volunteer John Starrs (19) was killed in a gun-battle with the British Army on William Street in Derry.
13 May 1972: A British soldier was shot dead in a gun-battle with the IRA in Ballymurphy, Belfast.
17 May 1972: A British soldier was shot dead in an IRA sniper attack while repairing a damaged perimeter fence at Crossmaglen British Army base in County Armagh.
18 May 1972: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper on Flax Street in Belfast.
20 May 1972: A UDR soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on patrol in Dungannon, County Tyrone.
23 May 1972: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on foot-patrol in the Ballymurphy area of Belfast.
26 May 1972: The IRA detonated a car-bomb on Oxford Street in Belfast. A civilian was killed in the explosion.
28 May 1972: IRA volunteers Joseph Fitzsimons (17), John McIlhone (17), Edward McDonnell (29) and Martin Engelen (19) along with four civilians were killed when a bomb they were preparing exploded accidentally in the Short Strand area of Belfast.
30 May 1972: Two British soldiers were killed in separate IRA sniper and bomb attacks in Belfast.
2 June 1972: Two British soldiers were killed in an IRA landmine attack on their foot-patrol in Rosslea
Rosslea
Rosslea or Roslea is a small village in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, near the border with County Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland. It stands on the River Finn and is beset by small natural lakes. Roslea Forest is nearby...

, County Fermanagh.
6 June 1972: Two British soldiers were killed in separate IRA sniper attacks in Belfast.
8 June 1972: A member of An Garda Síochána was killed when he set off an IRA booby-trap bomb. He had strayed a few yards across the border into Legkelly, County Fermanagh.
8 June 1972: A UDR soldier was killed by an IRA sniper on the Buncrana Road in Derry.
9 June 1972: A UDR soldier was shot dead by an IRA unit after leaving his workplace in Finaghy, Belfast.
11 June 1972: Colonel Gaddafi
Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...

announced that he had supplied arms to "revolutionaries" in Ireland. There were shooting incidents across Belfast and Northern Ireland, including a gun battle between Loyalist and Republican paramilitaries in the Oldpark area of Belfast. Three civilians and a British soldier were killed.
12 June 1972: A British soldier was shot dead by the IRA during a gun-battle in the Ardoyne area of Belfast.
18 June 1972: Three British soldiers were killed in an IRA booby-trap bomb attack. the bomb had been left in a derelict house in Lurgan, County Armagh.
19 June 1972: An associate of the OIRA was shot dead by the IRA during a dispute in the Cracked Cup Social Club in Belfast.
19 June 1972: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper in Ardoyne, Belfast.
21 June 1972: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on guard duty at a British base in Derry.
24 June 1972: Three British soldiers were killed by an IRA land mine
Land mine
A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....

attack near Dungiven
Dungiven
Dungiven is a small town and townland in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is on the main A6 Belfast to Derry road. It lies where the rivers Roe, Owenreagh and Owenbeg meet at the foot of the Benbradagh. Nearby is the Glenshane Pass, where the road rises to over...

, County Londonderry
County Londonderry
The place name Derry is an anglicisation of the old Irish Daire meaning oak-grove or oak-wood. As with the city, its name is subject to the Derry/Londonderry name dispute, with the form Derry preferred by nationalists and Londonderry preferred by unionists...

.
26 June 1972: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on mobile-patrol in the Short Strand area of Belfast.
26 June–8 July 1972: IRA ceasefire and talks with British government.
27 June 1972: A civilian was shot dead by the IRA after attempting to drive though one of their Vehicle Checkpoints.
7 July 1972: A civilian was shot dead after crashing his car into an IRA roadblock.
9 July 1972: A UDA member was shot dead by the IRA in the Markets area of Belfast.
11 July 1972: A British soldier was shot dead in an IRA gun attack in Derry.
13 July 1972: Four British soldiers and IRA volunteer James Reid (27) were killed in various gun-battles across Belfast. The British Army also killed two civilians.
14 July 1972: IRA volunteer Louis Scullion (27) was shot dead in a gun battle with the British Army. Also killed in the violence were three British soldiers, an OIRA volunteer and a civilian.
15 July 1972: Two British soldiers were killed in separate IRA attacks in Belfast and Armagh.
16 July 1972: Two British soldiers were killed in an IRA landmine attack on their armoured vehicle in Crossmaglen, County Armagh. In Belfast an RUC officer was killed in an IRA gun attack on his patrol car. A member of the IRA Youth Section was killed by a rubber bullet fired by security forces in Strabane, County Tyrone.
18 July 1972: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper at the British Army base in Ballymurphy, Belfast. The IRA also shot dead a civilian who attempted to stop a bomb attack on a building in Belfast.
20 July 1972: A civilian was shot dead attempting to stop an IRA bomb attack on his business premises.
21 July 1972: On "Bloody Friday
Bloody Friday (1972)
Bloody Friday is the name given to the bombings by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in Belfast on 21 July 1972. Twenty-two bombs exploded in the space of eighty minutes, killing nine people and injuring 130....

" 22 bombs in Belfast killed two British soldiers, a UDA member and six civilians and injured 130 others. The IRA officially apologised for this set of attacks in 2002. IRA volunteer Joseph Downey (23) was killed in a gun battle with British troops in the Markets area of Belfast.
23 July 1972: A UDR soldier was kidnapped and shot dead by the IRA in the Ardoyne area of Belfast.
24 July 1972: A Chinese restaurant was destroyed by an IRA bomb in the Dockside area of Derry. As British troops arrived on the scene they were ambushed by a sniper. One civilian was wounded in the crossfire.
24 July 1972: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper in Ballymurphy, Belfast.
26 July 1972: A British soldier was shot dead in an IRA attack on a British foot-patrol in the Unity Flats, Belfast.
28 July 1972: IRA volunteer Seamus Cassidy (22) was shot dead by a British sniper while sitting in a car outside the "Starry Plough Bar" in Belfast.
31 July 1972: Three car bombs exploded in the Claudy bombings, killing nine people on Claudy
Claudy
Claudy is a village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It lies southeast of Derry, where the River Glenrandal joins the River Faughan. Claudy is located in the Faughan Valley....

High Street near Derry. The IRA have always denied involvement, but they are believed to have been responsible. In 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...

, the biggest British military operation since the Suez crisis
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, Suez War was an offensive war fought by France, the United Kingdom, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956. Less than a day after Israel invaded Egypt, Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to Egypt and Israel,...

, the army used 12,000 soldiers supported by tanks and bulldozers to dismantle barricades and take IRA held "no go areas" in Belfast and Derry.
3 August 1972: IRA volunteer Robert McCrudden (19) and a British soldier were killed in separate attacks in Belfast and Tyrone.
4 August 1972: A British soldier was killed by an IRA sniper while on foot-patrol in the Andersonstown area of Belfast.
7 August 1972: Four British soldiers were killed in three separate IRA attacks across Northern Ireland.
9 August 1972: IRA volunteer Colm Murtagh (24) was killed when a bomb exploded accidentally in a garage in Newry.
11 August 1972: IRA volunteers Anne Parker (18) and Michael Clark (22) died when the vanbomb they were transporting exploded prematurely in the Lower Falls, Belfast.
14 August 1972: Two British soldiers were killed in an IRA booby-trap bomb attack at Casement Park British Army base in Belfast. A civilian was also killed in the crossfire between an IRA unit and a British patrol in the Ardoyne area of Belfast.
17 August 1972: A British soldier was shot dead by the IRA in a sniper attack just off the Grosvenor Road in Belfast.
18 August 1972: Two British soldiers were killed in separate IRA sniper attacks in Belfast.
22 August 1972: The IRA shot dead a member of the Loyalist Association of Workers
Loyalist Association of Workers
The Loyalist Association of Workers was a militant unionist organisation in Northern Ireland that sought to mobilise trade union members in support of the loyalist cause...

on Turin Street in Belfast.
22 August 1972: A bomb prematurely exploded at a customs post in Newry, killing nine people, including three IRA volunteers.
23 August 1972: A British soldier was shot dead in an IRA sniper attack in the Andersonstown area of Belfast.
24 August 1972: A British soldier was killed in an IRA landmine attack on a British mobile-patrol in Crossmaglen, County Armagh.
25 August 1972: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper in the Shantallow
Shantallow
Shantallow is an ancient townland now almost totally with the City of Derry and lies in the Roman Catholic parish of Templemore, within the North-West Liberties of Derry....

area of Derry.
26 August 1972: Two UDR soldiers were killed in an IRA remote controlled bomb attack in Cherrymount, County Fermanagh.
26 August 1972: IRA volunteers James Carlin and Martin Curran died in a premature bomb explosion in Downpatrick
Downpatrick
Downpatrick is a medium-sized town about 33 km south of Belfast in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is the county town of Down with a rich history and strong connection to Saint Patrick. It had a population of 10,316 at the 2001 Census...

, County Down.
27 August 1972: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper in Creggan Heights, Derry.
28 August 1972: A British soldier was shot dead in an IRA sniper attack on Beechmount Avenue in Belfast. A civilian was also killed when he triggered a booby-trap bomb near his farm in County Fermanagh. It was reported that the bomb had been intended for soldiers who were patrolling the area following reports of gunfire.
30 August 1972: Two British soldiers were killed in separate IRA gun and bomb attacks in Belfast.
10 September 1972: Three British soldiers were killed in an IRA landmine attack on a British Armoured Personnel Carrier near Dungannon, County Tyrone.
15 September 1972: A British soldier was shot dead in an IRA sniper attack in the Bogside area of Derry.
17 September 1972: IRA volunteer Michael Quigley (19) was shot dead by the British Army during a riot in the Creggan area of Derry.
18 September 1972: A British soldier was shot dead in an IRA gun attack while on foot-patrol in the Lecky Road area of Derry.
20 September 1972: A British soldier was killed in a gun battle with the IRA on Springhill Avenue in Ballymurphy, Belfast.
21 September 1972: A UDR soldier and his wife were killed in an IRA gun attack on their home in Derrylin, County Fermanagh.
22 September 1972: A British soldier was killed in an IRA sniper attack in Crossmaglen, County Armagh.
27 September 1972: A British soldier was killed in an IRA gun attack in Derry. A civilian, who was a member of the Orange Order, was killed in an IRA gun attack at the corner of Ligoniel Road and Mill Avenue, Belfast.
29 September 1972: IRA volunteer James Quigley (18) and a British soldier were killed in a gun-battle in the Lower Falls area of Belfast.
30 September 1972: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper in the Ardoyne area of Belfast.
2 October 1972: An undercover British soldier was shot dead by the IRA in the Twinbrook area of Belfast.
2 October 1972: The IRA kidnapped and killed four alleged informers.
6 October 1972: IRA volunteer Daniel McAreavey (21) was killed during an IRA attack on a British Army base in the Lower Falls, Belfast.
10 October 1972: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA outside his home in Newry.
10 October 1972: IRA volunteers Patrick Maguire (24), Joseph McKinney (17) and John Donaghy (19) died when a bomb they were assembling exploded in a house in the Lower Falls area of Belfast.
13 October 1972: An RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA while driving a car along Castle Street in Belfast.
18 October 1972: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on a British mobile-patrol in the Falls Road area of Belfast.
22 October 1972: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA on his farm in Derrydoon, County Fermanagh.
22 October 1972: Two barges were bombed and sunk by the IRA at Lough Neagh
Lough Neagh
Lough Neagh, sometimes Loch Neagh, is a large freshwater lake in Northern Ireland. Its name comes .-Geography:With an area of , it is the largest lake in the British Isles and ranks among the forty largest lakes of Europe. Located twenty miles to the west of Belfast, it is approximately twenty...

with a loss of £80,000.
24 October 1972: Two British soldiers were killed in separate IRA sniper and bomb attacks in Belfast and Armagh.
28 October 1972: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on foot-patrol on Bishop Street in Derry.
31 October 1971: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on foot-patrol in the New Lodge area of Belfast.
8 November 1972: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA while driving his car through Lurgan, County Armagh.
10 November 1972: A British soldier was shot dead by the IRA while manning a vehicle checkpoint in the Oldpark area of Belfast.
13 November 1972: IRA volunteer Stanislaus Carberry (34) was shot dead by the British Army while driving his car along La Salle Drive in Belfast.
14 November 1972: A British soldier was shot dead by the IRA as he stood guarding homes which were being raided by the British Army in the Unity Flats complex in Belfast.
16 November 1972: An RUC officer was killed by an under-car booby trap bomb which detonated as he drove through Enniskillen, County Fermanagh.
20 November 1972: Two British soldiers were killed by a booby-trap bomb hidden in an abandoned house in Cullyhanna, County Armagh.
22 November 1972: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA at his home near Maghera, County Londonderry.
28 November 1972: An RUC officer was killed in an IRA rocket attack in a Fermanagh border village. This is the first recorded use of an RPG-7
RPG-7
The RPG-7 is a widely-produced, portable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Originally the RPG-7 and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union, and now manufactured by the Bazalt company...

by the IRA. IRA volunteers John Brady (21) and James Carr (19) were killed in a premature bomb explosion in the Bogside area of Derry. A British Army bomb disposal expert was killed attempting to defuse an IRA bomb in the Strand Road area of Derry.
5 December 1972: An off-duty UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA outside a post office in Killeter, County Tyrone.
7 December 1972: Mother of ten, Jean McConville
Jean McConville
Jean McConville was a woman from Northern Ireland who, in 1972, was abducted and killed by the Provisional IRA and secretly buried on a beach in the Republic of Ireland. The IRA subsequently claimed that she had been passing information on republican activities to British security forces...

, was kidnapped and killed by the IRA, allegedly for informing the British Army of IRA activities, although her family contend that she was killed for comforting a wounded British soldier. The IRA denied any involvement in the killing until the 1990s, when it acknowledged its action and helped to locate the body.
8 December 1972: A British soldier was shot dead by the IRA while on mobile patrol in the Ballymurphy area of Belfast.
10 December 1972: A British soldier was killed by a booby-trapped rocket launcher which had been planted by the IRA at Fort Monagh British Army base in the Turf Lodge area of Belfast.
13 December 1972: An off-duty RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA outside the Chester Park Hotel in Belfast.
16 December 1972: IRA volunteer Louis Leonard (26) was shot dead by Loyalists at his butchers shop in Derrylin, County Fermanagh.
18 December 1972: Ulster Unionist Party Councillor William Johnston was kidnapped and shot dead by the IRA in Armagh town. He was also a member of the Police Authority.
20 December 1972: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA in Claudy, County Londonderry.
24 December 1972: A British soldier was killed after being shot by an IRA sniper on Lecky Road in Derry.
27 December 1972: IRA volunteer Eugene Devlin (22) was killed by the British Army while carrying out a gun attack on their patrol in Strabane, County Tyrone.
29 December 1972: IRA volunteer James McDaid (30) was shot dead by the British Army while out walking in Ballyarnet, County Londonderry.

1973

4 January 1973: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA outside his home in Straidarran, County Londonderry.
5 January 1973: A civilian was shot dead by the IRA outside a filling station in Belfast. He had been mistaken for an off-duty British soldier.
14 January 1973: Three members of the RUC were killed in separate IRA bomb attacks in Cappagh and Derry City.
16 January 1973: An off-duty UDR soldier was kidnapped and shot dead by the IRA in Belfast. his body was dumped in an abandoned car.
18 January 1973: IRA volunteer Francis Liggett (25) was shot dead by the British Army during an attempted robbery in the grounds of the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.
25 January 1973: A judge was shot dead by the IRA on the Falls Road in Belfast.
30 January 1973: A UDA member was kidnapped and shot dead by the IRA near Rodney Parade in Belfast. It was alleged that the UDA member had been involved in the killing of a 15 year old Catholic boy the day before.
1 February 1973: A British soldier was shot dead in an IRA sniper attack while he was manning a vehicle checkpoint in Strabane, County Tyrone.
2 February 1973: A UDA member was killed in an IRA drive-by gun attack on the Oldpark Road in Belfast.
4 February 1973: IRA volunteer Anthony Campbell (19), along with three civilians, were shot dead by British Army snipers in the New Lodge area of Belfast.
6 February 1973: A British soldier was killed in an IRA rocket attack on a British Army Armoured Personnel carrier in the Lower Falls area of Belfast.
7 February 1973: A UDA member was kidnapped by the IRA and later found shot dead in the New Lodge area of Belfast.
8 February 1973: An RUC officer was killed by an IRA sniper as he sat in a stationary patrol car in Dungannon, County Tyrone.
10 February 1973: IRA volunteers Leonard O'Hanlon (23) and Vivienne Fitzsimons (17) were killed when a bomb they were assembling exploded prematurely near Strangford
Strangford
Strangford is a small village at the mouth of Strangford Lough in County Down, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 475 people at the 2001 Census.On the other side of the lough is Portaferry and there is a ferry service between the two villages...

, County Down.
14 February 1973: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while patrolling the Divis Flats complex in west Belfast.
20 February 1973: Two British soldiers were killed when their mobile-patrol was ambushed by IRA snipers in Cupar Street, Belfast.
21 February 1973: A British soldier was killed in an IRA gun attack on Fort Pegasus British Army base in the Whiterock area of Belfast.
25 February 1973: A nine year old child was killed after he triggered an IRA booby trap bomb which had been planted at the rear of his house.
27 February 1973: Two RUC officers were killed when their patrol was ambushed by an IRA sniper in Aghagallon, County Antrim.
28 February 1973: A British soldier was killed in an IRA gun attack on a patrol in the Ardoyne area of Belfast.
3 March 1973: An off-duty UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA in Mullennan, County Londonderry.
4 March 1973: A British soldier was killed when the IRA carried out a gun attack on a British Army unit which was raiding homes in the Lower Falls area of Belfast.
6 March 1973: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while patrolling the Ballymurphy area of Belfast.Another British soldier was wounded by an IRA booby-trap bomb planted in a derelict house near Forkill, County Armagh. He died on 8 March 1973.
8 March 1973: The Provisional IRA conducted its first operation in mainland Britain, planting four car bombs in London. Two bombs exploded, killing one person and injuring 265 others. Ten members of the IRA team, including Gerry Kelly
Gerry Kelly
Gerard "Gerry" Kelly is an Irish republican politician and former Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteer who played a leading role in the negotiations that led to the Good Friday Agreement on 10 April 1998...

, Dolours Price
Dolours Price
Dolours Price is a former volunteer of the Provisional Irish Republican Army . She is also a politicial activist and critic of Gerry Adams and the current leadership of Sinn Féin.-Early life:...

and Marian Price
Marian Price
Marian Price , also known by her married name as Marion McGlinchey, is an Irish republican militant, one of the so-called "Price sisters", who was jailed for her part in the IRA London bombing campaign of 1973. Price was part of a unit who placed four car bombs in London on 8 March 1973...

, were arrested at Heathrow Airport trying to leave the country.
8 March 1973: During the Border-Poll a number of polling stations came under IRA attack with a British soldier being shot dead by the IRA at a station in the Lower Falls.
13 March 1973: A British soldier was killed by an IRA booby trap bomb while on patrol in Crossmaglen, County Armagh.
16 March 1973: A UDR soldier was kidnapped by the IRA and shot dead on the New Lodge Road in Belfast.
17 March 1973: A British soldier was killed in an IRA landmine attack on his armoured patrol near Dungannon, County Tyrone.
23 March 1973: Three British soldiers were killed by the IRA after being lured to a house on Antrim Road in Belfast. All three were shot dead.
27 March 1973: A British soldier was killed in an IRA landmine attack on a British mobile patrol in Ballygawley, County Tyrone.
29 March 1973: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on foot patrol in Andersonstown, Belfast.
7 April 1973: Two British soldiers were killed in an IRA landmine attack on a British armoured patrol near Newtownhamilton
Newtownhamilton
Newtownhamilton is a small village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is within the townland of Tullyvallan and the barony of Upper Fews. It is part of the Newry and Mourne District Council area...

, County Armagh.
9 April 1973: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on foot patrol in Lurgan, County Armagh.
11 April 1973: A British soldier was shot dead by the IRA while on foot-patrol in the Bogside
Bogside
The Bogside is a neighbourhood outside the city walls of Derry, Northern Ireland. The area has been a focus point for many of the events of The Troubles, from the Battle of the Bogside and Bloody Sunday in the 1960s and 1970s...

area of Derry City.
12 April 1973: IRA volunteer Edward O'Rawe (27) was shot dead by the British Army in the Lower Falls area of Belfast.
17 April 1973: IRA volunteer Brian Smyth (32) was shot dead by a British Army sniper while standing talking with a number of men in the Ardoyne area of Belfast.
28 April 1973: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper in Shantallow
Shantallow
Shantallow is an ancient townland now almost totally with the City of Derry and lies in the Roman Catholic parish of Templemore, within the North-West Liberties of Derry....

, Derry City.
29 April 1973: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on mobile-patrol in the New Lodge area of Belfast.
3 May 1973: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on foot patrol on the Foyle Road in Derry City.
5 May 1973: Three British soldiers were killed in an IRA landmine attack on their foot patrol in Crossmaglen, County Armagh.
10 May 1973: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA in Aughnacloy, County Tyrone. In Fermanagh, IRA volunteer Anthony Ahern (18) from Cork City was killed when a landmine he was preparing near Rosslea exploded.
13 May 1973: Two British soldiers were killed when the IRA detonated a remote-controlled bomb as their foot patrol passed on the Donegall Road in Belfast. In Tyrone, IRA volunteer Kevin Kilpatrick (21) was killed as he attempted to smash his car through a British Army UDR checkpoint near Coagh.
14 May 1973: A civilian was killed when he triggered an IRA booby-trap bomb hidden in a derelict cottage on Moy Road in Portadown, County Armagh. The bomb was intended for the security forces.
17 May 1973: A booby trap bomb in Omagh
Omagh
Omagh is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers Drumragh and Camowen meet to form the Strule. The town, which is the largest in the county, had a population of 19,910 at the 2001 Census. Omagh also contains the headquarters of Omagh District Council and...

, County Tyrone
County Tyrone
Historically Tyrone stretched as far north as Lough Foyle, and comprised part of modern day County Londonderry east of the River Foyle. The majority of County Londonderry was carved out of Tyrone between 1610-1620 when that land went to the Guilds of London to set up profit making schemes based on...

killed four off-duty British soldiers. A fifth soldier died of his injuries on 3 June.
18 May 1973: IRA volunteer Sean McKee (17) was shot dead by the British Army while carrying out a sniper attack on a British patrol.
24 May 1973: Two British soldiers were killed in an IRA remote-controlled bomb attack as they searched houses in Cullaville
Cullaville
Cullaville or Culloville is a small village and townland near Crossmaglen in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is the southernmost settlement in the county and one of the southernmost in Northern Ireland, straddling the Irish border. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 400 people...

, County Armagh.
26 May 1973: A civilian was killed during an IRA sniper attack on a British Army foot patrol on Finaghy Road North, Belfast.
5 June 1973: The IRA shot dead a patrolling RUC officer on Belmore Street in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh.
5 June 1973: A civilian was found shot dead near Clogher, County Tyrone. The IRA said he was killed for being an informer.
12 June 1973: Six civilians were killed by an IRA car bomb on Railway Road in Coleraine, County Londonderry. The warning given by the IRA had been inadequate.
21 June 1973: A British soldier was killed by an IRA booby-trap bomb in an empty building on Lecky Road, Derry.
21 June 1973: A British soldier was killed by an IRA booby-trap bomb in an empty building in Strabane, County Londonderry.
25 June 1973: Three IRA volunteers were killed when the bomb they were transporting exploded prematurely in their car on Gortin Road near Omagh, County Tyrone.
26 June 1973: The IRA shot dead a civilian who worked for the British Army as he left Bligh's Lane British Army Base, Derry.
1 July 1973: An IRA sniper shot dead a patrolling British soldier at Bull Ring, Belfast.
10 July 1973: The IRA shot dead a former UDR soldier outside Tully's Bar in Belleek, County Armagh.
17 July 1973: Two British soldiers were killed by an IRA booby-trap bomb in an electricity junction box at Divis Flats, Belfast.
18 July 1973: A patrolling British soldier was wounded by an IRA landmine near Clogher, County Tyrone. He died on 22 July 1973.
20 July 1973: A patrolling British soldier was killed by an IRA booby-trap bomb in Middletown, County Armagh.
20 July 1973: The IRA shot dead an off-duty UDR soldier outside his home in Ballintemple, County Armagh. He was also a member of the Orange Order.
21 July 1973: Two IRA volunteers were killed when the bomb they were transporting exploded prematurely in their car in Newcastle, County Down.
3 August 1973: IRA members shot dead a civilian who was delivering wages to the British Leyland factory on Cashel Road, Dublin. They were carrying-out an armed robbery.
11 August 1973: An IRA volunteer died when the bomb he was transporting exploded prematurely in a car at Kilclean, County Donegal.
11 August 1973: An IRA assault team consisting of over 20 volunteers surrounded Crossmaglen RUC barracks. The barracks was hit with rockets, mortars and machine gun fire. The RUC fired a large number of shots at the unit. There were no serious injuries on either side.
13 August 1973: The IRA shot dead an off-duty RUC Reservist at his workplace on Cathedral Road, Armagh town.
26 August 1973: Two IRA volunteers were killed when a mortar prematurely exploded duringan attack on Pomeroy British Army/RUC base, County Tyrone.
18 August 1973: Two IRA firebombs exploded at Harrods Department store in London causing slight damage.
20 August 1973: Book bombs were sent to a number of places in London including the Old Bailey and the Union Jack Club. Ten incendiary devices were also defused in Londons West End.
22 August 1973: An IRA book bomb exploded at the Conservative Party Central Office in London.
23 August 1973: The IRA accidentally shot dead a civilian as she drove her car at Tullyvallan, County Armagh. The sniper had mistaken her car for that of a UDR soldier.
23 August 1973: A book bombs was sent to the Lieutenant General of the Ministry of Defence in London but was defused. An IRA bomb in a tube station in London was also defused.
24 August 1973: A civilian was found shot dead in a car on Buncrana Road, Derry. The IRA said it killed him for being an informer.
24 August 1973: One person was injured when an IRA letterbomb exploded at the London Stock Exchange.
25 August 1973: One person was injured when an IRA letterbomb exploded at the Banl of England in London. An IRA bomb was also defused in Oxford Street.
25 August 1973: The IRA shot an undercover British soldier outside Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast. He died on 18 September 1973.
27 August 1973: The IRA destroyed The Royal Bastion monument to British Governor Walker in Derry with a large bomb.
28 August 1973: The IRA shot dead a UDR soldier in the Culdee area of Armagh town.
29 August 1973: Two IRA bombs exploded in Solihull
Solihull
Solihull is a town in the West Midlands of England with a population of 94,753. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is located 9 miles southeast of Birmingham city centre...

Shopping Centre in England. A building society was extensively damaged.
30 August 1973: A British Army officer was killed while trying to defuse an IRA bomb at Tullyhommon Post Office, County Fermanagh.
23 August 1973: Two IRA volunteers were hurt in a premature explosion in a house on Elaine Street, Belfast. One died on 30 August and the other died on 1 September 1973.
30 August 1973: A shoe shop in London was destroyed by an IRA firebomb and a bomb was defused at Baker Street tube station.
31 August 1973: One IRA volunteer was killed and another wounded in a shootout with the British Army on Ballymurphy Road, Belfast. The other died on 22 September 1973.
31 August 1973: Three vehicles were damaged when an IRA bomb exploded on Old Quebec Street in London.
5 September 1973: A civilian was killed when he triggered a booby-trap bomb by driving his tractor into a field near Belcoo, County Fermanagh. It is believed it was planted by the IRA and intended for the security forces. The RUC had just removed a dummy bomb at the scene.
7 September 1973: The IRA shot dead an off-duty UDR soldier near Belcoo, County Fermanagh.
8 September 1973: An IRA bomb exploded at the ticket office in Victoria Station, London, injuring five people.
10 Septepmber 1973: The IRA detonated bombs at two train stations in London. Injuring 13 people.
12 September 1973: Two Police officers were injured when an IRA bomb exploded at the offices of the Royal Naval Association in London. A woman collapsed and died during an evacuation following a hoax bomb alert at Euston Station in London.
17 September 1973: A British Army bomb disposal expert was wounded attempting to defuse an IRA bomb which had been planted in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

, England. He died on 23 September 1973. Another IRA bomb was discovered at a Household Cavalry camp in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...

.
20 September 1973: Five people were injured when an IRA bomb exploded at the Headquarters of the Duke of York
Duke of York
The Duke of York is a title of nobility in the British peerage. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of the British monarch. The title has been created a remarkable eleven times, eight as "Duke of York" and three as the double-barreled "Duke of York and...

in London.
22 September 1973: A civilian was found shot dead on Foyle Road, Derry. The IRA claimed it killed him for being an informer.
2 October 1973: An IRA incendiary bomb caused extensive damage to a department store in Colchester
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...

, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

. Another IRA firebomb damaged Heathrow airport.
3 October 1973: A British soldier was killed by a booby-trap bomb in a parcel left at Bligh's Lane British Army Base, Derry.
3 October 1973: The IRA shot dead a former UDR soldier in Lurgan, County Armagh. He was also a member of the Orange Order.
4 October 1973: Four people were injured when an IRA bomb exploded at a British Army careers office in London.
16 October 1973: The IRA shot dead a patrolling RUC officer on Antrim Road, Belfast.
28 October 1973: An IRA sniper shot dead a patrolling British soldier in Crossmaglen, County Armagh.
28 October 1973: The IRA shot dead an off-duty RUC officer near Lifford
Lifford
Lifford is the county town of County Donegal, Ireland. It is the administrative capital of the county and the seat of Donegal County Council, although the town of Letterkenny is often mistaken for fulfilling this role...

, County Donegal.
31 October 1973: Mountjoy Prison helicopter escape
1973 Mountjoy Prison helicopter escape
The Mountjoy Prison helicopter escape occurred on 31 October 1973 when three Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteers escaped from Mountjoy Prison in Dublin, Ireland, aboard a hijacked Alouette II helicopter, which briefly landed in the prison's exercise yard...

. Three IRA volunteers escaped from Mountjoy Prison
Mountjoy Prison
Mountjoy Prison , founded as Mountjoy Gaol, nicknamed The Joy, is a medium security prison located in Phibsboro in the centre of Dublin, Ireland. It has the largest prison population in Ireland.The current prison governor is Mr...

, Dublin after a hijacked helicopter landed in the exercise yard. One of the escapees was former IRA Chief of Staff Seamus Twomey
Seamus Twomey
Seamus Twomey was an Irish republican and twice chief of staff of the Provisional IRA.-Biography:Born in Belfast, Twomey lived at 6 Sevastopol Street in the Falls district...

.
6 November 1973: An IRA sniper shot dead a patrolling British soldier in Newtownhamilton, County Armagh.
13 November 1973: A civilian was found shot dead near the Floral Hall on Antrim Road, Belfast. The IRA said it killed him because he was an informer.
14 November 1973: A civilian was killed during an IRA sniper attack on a British Army observation post on Moira Street, Belfast.
14 November 1973: A civilian was killed during an IRA sniper attack on a British Army patrol on Lecky Road, Derry.
15 November 1973: The RUC shot dead an IRA volunteer during a gun attack on Keady
Keady
Keady is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is situated south of Armagh city and very close to the border with the Republic of Ireland. The town had a population of 2,960 people in the 2001 Census....

British Army/RUC base, County Armagh.
24 November 1973: A patrolling British soldier was killed by an IRA landmine near Crossmaglen, County Armagh.
24 November 1973: The British Army shot dead a Fianna member during a bomb attack on a British Army patrol at Divis Flats, Belfast.
25 November 1973: The IRA shot dead two patrolling British soldiers at Rossville Flats, Derry.
27 November 1973: The British Army shot dead an IRA volunteer as he tried to hijack a car in Coalisland, County Tyrone.
1 December 1973: An IRA sniper shot dead a patrolling RUC officer on Edward Street, Lurgan, County Armagh.
3 December 1973: The British Army shot dead an IRA volunteer at Central Drive, Derry. The IRA unit was attempting to ambush a British patrol.
10 December 1973: An IRA sniper shot dead a patrolling British soldier on Leeson Street, Belfast.
11 December 1973: An RUC officer was killed by an IRA booby-trap bomb attached to his car at his home in Newcastle, County Down.
15 December 1973: The IRA shot dead a former RUC officer at Derrynoose near Keady, County Armagh.
15 December 1973: An IRA volunteer died when the bomb he was carrying exploded pematurely as he walked across a bridge near Clady, County Donegal.
17 December 1973: One person was injured when an IRA letterbomb exploded at Collier House in London.
18 December 1973: The IRA carried out a series of attacks in London. IN one attack two police officers were injured in an explosion in Ronan Way. 52 People were injured when a bomb exploded at Horseferry House and six people were injured when a bomb exploded at a Postal sorting office.
19 December 1973: One person was injured when an IRA letterbomb exploded at a postal sorting office in London.
20 December 1973: The IRA accidentally shot dead a civilian on Atlantic Avenue, Belfast. An RUC Reservist was the intended target.
23 December 1973: The IRA carried out a series of bombings in London. Bombs exploded at Kensington police station, Hammersmith offices, George Wimpey and outside the White Lion pub.
24 December 1973: The Provisional IRA left two packages which exploded almost simultaneously in the late evening on Christmas Eve. One was in the doorway of the North Star public house South Hampstead, which exploded injuring six people, and the other exploded on the upstairs verandah of the nearby Swiss Cottage Tavern where an unspecified number of people were injured.
24 December 1973: Three IRA volunteers were killed when their bomb prematurely exploded in Clarke's Bar on Monaghan Street, Newry.
26 December 1973: One person was injured when an IRA bomb exploded at Stage Door public house in London.
31 December 1973: An IRA sniper shot dead a British soldier who was traveling in an APC on Beechmount Avenue, Belfast.

1974

1 January 1974: A civilian was shot dead during an IRA sniper attack attack on a British Army patrol on McClure Street, Belfast.
17 January 1974: The IRA shot dead an off-duty UDR soldier near his home at Trillick
Trillick
Trillick is a small village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 303 people in the 2001 Census. Trillick lies within the civil parish of Cleenish and the barony of Clanawley.-History before the 18th century:...

, County Fermanagh.
20 January 1974: A UDR soldier was found shot dead in a field near Aughnacloy, County Tyrone. He had been shot by the IRA.
21 January 1974: A British soldier was killed by an IRA remote-controlled bomb hidden in an electricity distribution box on Lone Moor Road, Derry. It was detonated when a British foot-patrol passed.
23 January 1974: An IRA unit which included Rose Dugdale
Rose Dugdale
Bridget Rose Dugdale , better known as Rose Dugdale, is a former debutante who rebelled against her wealthy upbringing, becoming a volunteer in the militant Irish republican organisation, the Provisional Irish Republican Army...

and Eddie Gallagher
Eddie Gallagher
Eddie Gallagher is a retired Scottish professional football striker. He played in his homeland for Partick Thistle, Hamilton Academical, Dunfermline Athletic, Dundee and St. Mirren before a spell in Hong Kong at Instant-Dict....

hijacked a helicopter and used it to drop bombs on Strabane RUC station. One of the bombs landed on the grounds of the station, but failed to explode.
25 January 1974: A British soldier was killed by an IRA landmine as he and his patrol searched a field near Ballyronan, County Londonderry.
26 January 1974: The IRA shot dead a patrolling RUC officer on Antrim Road in Newtownabbey, County Antrim.
29 January 1974: An IRA sniper fired at a bus carrying Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

(RAF) personnel at Shimna Parade in Newcastle, County Down. The RAF personnel returned fire, killing a civilian.
29 January 1974: The IRA shot dead a patrolling RUC officer on Dungiven Road in Derry.
4 February 1974: Twelve people were killed in the M62 Coach Bombing
M62 coach bombing
The M62 coach bombing happened on 4 February 1974 on the M62 motorway in northern England, when a Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb exploded in a coach carrying off-duty British Armed Forces personnel and their family members. Twelve people were killed by the bomb, which consisted of of...

, when a bomb exploded on a coach as it was travelling along the M62 motorway
M62 motorway
The M62 motorway is a west–east trans-Pennine motorway in Northern England, connecting the cities of Liverpool and Hull via Manchester and Leeds. The road also forms part of the unsigned Euroroutes E20 and E22...

at Birkenshaw
Birkenshaw, West Yorkshire
Birkenshaw is a village in the county of West Yorkshire, England. It lies at the crossroads between the A58 Leeds to Halifax road and the A651 Bradford to Heckmondwike road....

. The dead included nine soldiers, and two young children.
18 February 1974: A British soldier was killed by an IRA booby-trap bomb while on foot-patrol at Moybane, County Armagh.
23 February 1974: A large gun battle between the IRA and the British army occurred near Strabane, County Tyrone. The engagement also involved mortar rounds fired by the IRA. Some 25 gypsy caravans were trapped between the warrying factions, and one of the vehicles was destroyed by a mortar bomb.
24 February 1974: A civilian was found shot dead at Rathlin Drive in Derry. He was killed by the IRA as it believed he was an informer.
2 March 1974: The IRA shot dead a patrolling RUC officer on Donegall Street, Belfast.
3 March 1974: An IRA landmine exploded and killed an UDR soldier at Donaghmore, County Tyrone.
10 March 1974: Two civilians were killed by an IRA booby-trap bomb hidden in a car at Drumintee, County Armagh. It was meant for a British foot-patrol.
12 March 1974: A Fine Gael
Fine Gael
Fine Gael is a centre-right to centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland. It is the single largest party in Ireland in the Oireachtas, in local government, and in terms of Members of the European Parliament. The party has a membership of over 35,000...

senator, Billy Fox, was kidnapped by the IRA and later found shot dead near Clones
Clones
Clones is a small town in western County Monaghan, in the 'border area' of the Republic of Ireland. The area is part of the Border Region, earmarked for economic development by the Irish Government due to its currently below-average economic situation...

, County Monaghan.
13 March 1974: The IRA shot dead a British soldier at a checkpoint on Chapel Lane, Belfast.
15 March 1974: Two IRA volunteers were killed when their landmine prematurely exploded on Aughnacloy Road in Dungannon, County Tyrone.
15 March 1974: A civilian was killed by an IRA lorry bomb on Queen Street in Magherafelt, County Londonderry. The warning sent by the IRA had been inadequate.
16 March 1974: IRA snipers shot dead two patrolling British soldiers at Moybane, County Armagh.
17 March 1974: An IRA sniper shot dead a patrolling RUC officer in Craigavon, County Armagh.
17 March 1974: An IRA sniper shot dead a patrolling British soldier on Foyle Road, Derry.
19 March 1974: An off-duty RUC officer was killed by an under-car booby-trap bomb at his home on Glenkeen Avenue in Greenisland
Greenisland
Greenisland is a village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It lies 7 miles north-east of Belfast and 3 miles south-west of Carrickfergus. The village is on the coast of Belfast Lough and is named after a tiny islet to the west, the Green Island....

, County Antrim.
21 March 1974: An IRA sniper shot a patrolling British soldier on Antrim Road, Belfast. He died on 28 March.
23 March 1974: The IRA shot dead a former British soldier as he sat in his car in Mountfield, County Tyrone. He had recently retired.
26 March 1974: A civilian was killed by an IRA car bomb on Springfield Road, Belfast. He had been driving past at the time.
9 April 1974: The IRA shot dead a British commanding officer at his home near Otterburn Training Area
Otterburn Training Area
The Otterburn Army Training Estate was established in 1911 and covers about 230 square kilometres of the Southern Cheviots. It is owned by the Ministry of Defence , and used for training some 30,000 soldiers a year...

in Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...

, England.
10 April 1974: The IRA shot dead a former UDR soldier at his workplace in Derrylin
Derrylin
Derrylin is a small village and townland in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is on the A509 road between Enniskillen and the border with County Cavan . It had a population of 423 in the 2001 Census.-History:...

, County Fermanagh.
11 April 1974: A patrolling British soldier was killed by an IRA landmine near Lisnaskea, County Fermanagh.
11 April 1974: A patrolling UDR soldier was killed by a remote controlled bomb in Dungannon, County Tyrone.
14 April 1974: The IRA shot dead an undercover British soldier who was watching a republican commemoration parade at Meenan Square, Derry.
16 April 1974: An IRA sniper shot dead an RUC officer outside Newtownhamilton RUC base, County Armagh.
18 April 1974: A civilian was killed when he triggered a booby-trap bomb near Loup, County Londonderry. It exploded about 8 ft from his tractor as he drove past Saltersland church hall. There had been a small explosion there earlier in the day. It is believed both bombs were planted by the IRA and that the second bomb was for security forces investigating the first.
20 April 1974: A civilian was found shot dead by the side of Upper Springfield Road, Belfast. The IRA shot him because it believed he was an informer.
22 April 1974: A civilian who worked for the British Army was found shot dead in his car at Silverbridge, County Armagh.
2 May 1974: Up to 40 members from the Provisional IRA East Tyrone Brigade
Provisional IRA East Tyrone Brigade
The East Tyrone Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army , also known as the Tyrone/Monaghan Brigade was one of the most active republican paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland during "the Troubles"...

attacked a British army/UDR base at the Deanery in Clogher
Clogher
Clogher is a village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Blackwater, south of Omagh. The United Kingdom Census of 2001 recorded a population of 309.-History:...

, County Tyrone
County Tyrone
Historically Tyrone stretched as far north as Lough Foyle, and comprised part of modern day County Londonderry east of the River Foyle. The majority of County Londonderry was carved out of Tyrone between 1610-1620 when that land went to the Guilds of London to set up profit making schemes based on...

with machine gun and RPG fire resulting the death of one female UDR soldier.
10 May 1974: The IRA shot dead two patrolling RUC officers on Finaghy Road North, Belfast.
13 May 1974: Two IRA volunteers were killed when their bomb prematurely exploded at a petrol station at Donnydeade, County Tyrone.
31 May 1974: A former Royal Navy serviceman was killed by a booby-trap bomb left in a bin at his home on Strabane Old Road, Derry. He worked for the Department of Environment at Ebrington British Army base in Derry. It is believed to have been planted by the IRA.
5 June 1974: An IRA sniper shot dead a patrolling British soldier on Irish Street in Dungannon, County Tyrone.
17 June 1974: A bomb exploded at the Houses of Parliament in London, causing extensive damage and injuring 11 people.
18 June 1974: A patrolling RUC officer was killed by an IRA booby-trap bomb in an entry off Market Street, Lurgan, County Armagh.
22 June 1974: An RUC officer was shot dead from a passing car driven by IRA volunteers in Belfast.
22 June 1974: An IRA sniper shot dead a patrolling British soldier on New Lodge Road, Belfast.
24 June 1974: Two IRA volunteers died when the bomb they were planting in Derry exploded prematurely.
29 June 1974: An IRA sniper shot a patrolling British soldier on Whiterock Road, Belfast. He died on 4 July.
2 July 1974: A patrolling British soldier was killed by an IRA booby-trap bomb in a derelict house near Newtownhamilton, County Armagh.
12 July 1974: The IRA shot dead a UDA member at Tiger's Bay, Belfast.
17 July 1974: The IRA bombed the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...

. One civilian was killed.
20 July 1974: A former British soldier was found shot dead in a derelict house on Arundel Street, Belfast.
23 July 1974: A UDR soldier is killed by an IRA car bomb on Bridge Street, Garvagh, County Londonerry.
30 July 1974: The IRA devastated the commercial centre of Bangor town, County Down, in an overnight firebomb attack.
30 July 1974: An IRA sniper shot dead a patrolling British soldier on Hillman Street, Belfast.
13 August 1974: Two Royal Marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...

were killed when the IRA detonated a remote-controlled bomb in their observation post at Drummuckavall, County Armagh.
23 August 1974: The IRA shot dead an undercover RUC officer in Diamond Bar on George Street, Omagh, County Tyrone.
23 August 1974: The IRA shot dead a former UDR soldier at Cabragh, County Tyrone.
26 August 1974: A patrolling British soldier was killed by an IRA sniper in Craigavon, County Armagh.
27 August 1974: An IRA volunteer died when his bomb prematurely exploded in a house on Barcroft Park, Newry.
7 September 1974: A civilian was shot dead during an IRA sniper attack on a British patrol in Dungannon, County Tyrone.
8 September 1974: A Catholic man died three weeks after being shot on Newington Street, Belfast. A piece of cardboard was found nearby that had written on it: "this is the penalty for a sexual assault on a child of seven years old at the Waterworks". After the shooting a caller rang the Irish News and said it had been a "punishment shooting" carried out by the IRA.
16 September 1974: The IRA shot dead a judge and a magistrate in Belfast. The judge was shot dead at his home in Beechlands and the magistrate was shot dead at his home on Belmont Road.
22 September 1974: The IRA shot dead a former prison officer at his home on Hillmount Gardens, Belfast.
29 September 1974: Twenty-three mortar bombs were launched by the IRA at a British Army facility in Crossmaglen. The facility was also hit by automatic fire. The attack was to be combined with an air strike that was eventually called off.
29 September 1974: An aerial bombing was attempted on the British Army base at Crossmaglen by two IRA members who hijacked a three-seat Cessna
Cessna
The Cessna Aircraft Company is an airplane manufacturing corporation headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, USA. Their main products are general aviation aircraft. Although they are the most well known for their small, piston-powered aircraft, they also produce business jets. The company is a subsidiary...

plane from a flying club at Dundalk
Dundalk
Dundalk is the county town of County Louth in Ireland. It is situated where the Castletown River flows into Dundalk Bay. The town is close to the border with Northern Ireland and equi-distant from Dublin and Belfast. The town's name, which was historically written as Dundalgan, has associations...

, while another two IRA men remained on the ground to prevent the members of the club from raising the alarm. The IRA unit loaded the aircraft with four cylinder bombs and forced the pilot to fly over the border. The attack failed after the hijackers became lost, and one of them launched a bomb five miles away from the intended target before flying back to the Republic. The dropping of the bomb was witnessed by British soldiers manning a border outpost. The Cessna eventually made a safe landing in a field near Ravensdale, County Louth
County Louth
County Louth is a county of Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Louth. Louth County Council is the local authority for the county...

. The strike was intended to support the mortar attack on the same compound.
5 October 1974: A civilian was killed during an IRA sniper attack on an RUC patrol at Greenhaw Road, Derry.
5 October 1974: Guildford pub bombing
Guildford pub bombing
The Guildford pub bombings occurred on 5 October 1974. The Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated two 6-pound gelignite bombs at two pubs in Guildford, England. The pubs were targeted because they were popular with British Army personnel...

- four British soldiers and a civilian were killed and 182 were hurt when the IRA bombed a pub frequented by off-duty soldiers. Four people, dubbed the "Guildford Four
Guildford Four
The Guildford Four and the Maguire Seven were two sets of people whose convictions in English courts for the Guildford pub bombings in the 1970s were eventually quashed...

", would be convicted for the bombing and imprisoned for life. Fifteen years later Lord Lane of the Court of Appeal would overturn their convictions noting "the investigating officers must have lied". Some had spent the entire 15 years in prison, years after the IRA volunteers who carried out the attacks came forward. No police officer was ever charged.
8 October 1974: An RUC officer was killed by an IRA booby-trap bomb on West Street in Stewartstown, County Tyrone.
21 October 1974: The IRA kidnapped and shot dead a British Territorial Army soldier in Belfast. His body was found in a derelict house.
23 October 1974: A British soldier died three weeks after being shot by an IRA sniper on Racecourse Road, Derry.
28 October 1974; The IRA detonated a van bomb outside the British Army base at Ballykinlar in County Down, killing two soldiers.
30 October 1974: An IRA volunteer died when his bomb prematurely exploded at a garage on Strand Road, Derry.
6 November 1974: An IRA sniper shot dead two patrolling British soldiers in Crossmaglen, County Armagh.
7 November 1974: Two British soldiers were killed by an IRA booby-trap bomb at an electricity substation near Stewartstown, County Tyrone.
7 November 1974: An off-duty British soldier and a civilian were killed when a bomb was thrown through the window of the Kings Head
Kings Arms, Woolwich
The Kings Arms is a public house in Woolwich, London that was bombed in 1974 and is now a landmark on the route of the London Marathon.Standing at 1 Frances Street by Woolwich Dockyard, it was built in the nineteenth century...

pub in Woolwich
Woolwich
Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...

, England. Twenty-eight people were injured. Two British soldiers were killed by a bomb near Stewartstown, County Tyrone.
12 November 1974: Two civilians who worked for the British Army were found shot dead by the side of Sheriffs Road near Derry.
14 November 1974: An IRA volunteer died after the bomb he was planting outside a telephone exchange in Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...

exploded prematurely.
15 November 1974: A patrolling British soldier was killed by an IRA sniper in Strabane, County Londonderry.
16 November 1974: A patrolling UDR soldier was killed by an IRA sniper in Newry.
20 November 1974: An RUC officer was killed by an IRA booby-trap bomb in Craigavon, County Armagh.
21 November 1974: The Birmingham pub bombings
Birmingham pub bombings
The Birmingham pub bombings occurred on 21 November 1974 in Birmingham, England. The explosions killed 21 people and injured 182. The devices were placed in two central Birmingham pubs – the Mulberry Bush and the Tavern in the Town . Although warnings were sent, the pubs were not evacuated in time...

kill 19 people. The "Birmingham Six
Birmingham Six
The Birmingham Six were six men—Hugh Callaghan, Patrick Joseph Hill, Gerard Hunter, Richard McIlkenny, William Power and John Walker—sentenced to life imprisonment in 1975 in the United Kingdom for the Birmingham pub bombings. Their convictions were declared unsafe and quashed by the Court of...

" would be tried for this and convicted. Many years later, after new evidence of police fabrication and suppression of evidence, their convictions would be quashed and they would be released. The IRA has never claimed responsibility.
2 December 1974: A British soldier was killed by an IRA booby-trap bomb in a field near Derrylin, County Fermanagh.
2 December 1974: An IRA volunteer was wounded when her bomb prematurely exploded in a house on Crawford Square, Derry. She died on 7 December.
7 December 1974: An IRA volunteer died when his bomb prematurely exploded in a house on Bridge Street, Derry.
14 December 1974: IRA snipers shot dead a British soldier and an RUC officer at Killeavy, County Armagh.
17 December 1974: An IRA bomb exploded at Tottenham Court Road, London, killing a passer-by.
21 December 1974: A bomb was defused in Harrods
Harrods
Harrods is an upmarket department store located in Brompton Road in Brompton, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. The Harrods brand also applies to other enterprises undertaken by the Harrods group of companies including Harrods Bank, Harrods Estates, Harrods Aviation and Air...

department store in Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge is a road which gives its name to an exclusive district lying to the west of central London. The road runs along the south side of Hyde Park, west from Hyde Park Corner, spanning the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...

, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. A second bomb was defused in the King's Arms public house in Warminster
Warminster
Warminster is a town in western Wiltshire, England, by-passed by the A36, and near Frome and Westbury. It has a population of about 17,000. The River Were runs through the town and can be seen running through the middle of the town park. The Minster Church of St Denys sits on the River Were...

, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...

.
22 December 1974: The IRA leadership declared a temporary ceasefire, pending talks with British government officials. Shortly before the ceasefire came into effect, the IRA bombed the London home of the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

leader and former Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...

Edward Heath
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party ....

.

1975

10 January 1975: The British Army shot dead unarmed IRA volunteer John Green (27) in a shed in Castleblaney in County Monaghan. The incident is notable as British troops crossed the border to kill an unarmed IRA man at his home.
20 January 1975: IRA volunteer Kevin Coen (28) was shot dead by the British Army in Fermanagh.
21 January 1975: Two IRA volunteers, John Kelly (26) & John Stone (23) driving along Victoria Street, Belfast were killed when the bomb they were transporting exploded prematurely. There were also a series of bomb attacks across Belfast.
24 January 1975: A British soldier was killed in an IRA bomb attack on Colinward Street, Belfast.
31 January 1975: An RUC officer was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on foot-patrol in Dungannon, County Tyrone.
8 February 1975: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on foot-patrol in the village of Mullan, County Fermanagh.
10 February 1975: The IRA leadership declare a truce. The ceasefire was to last officially until 23 January 1976, however it was not respected by all IRA units and violence continues throughout the year.
27 February 1975: Off-duty police officer Stephen Tibble
Stephen Tibble
PC Stephen Andrew Tibble, QPM, was a police officer in London's Metropolitan Police Service. During a chase through central London, Tibble was fatally shot by Liam Quinn, a member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army....

was shot dead as he joined in the chase of a suspect on his motorbike in Barons Court, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. The suspect had been spotted by a detective coming out of a house which was later discovered to be an IRA bomb factory.
17 March 1975: Unarmed IRA volunteer Thomas Smith (28) was shot dead by the Irish Army
Irish Army
The Irish Army, officially named simply the Army is the main branch of the Defence Forces of Ireland. Approximately 8,500 men and women serve in the Irish Army, divided into three infantry Brigades...

while attempting to escape from Portlaoise Prison
Portlaoise Prison
Portlaoise Prison is the Republic of Ireland's only high security prison. It is located in Portlaoise, County Laois. It should not be confused with the Midlands Prison, which is a newer, medium security prison situated directly beside it....

, County Laois.
24 March 1975: A post office official was shot dead when he arrived at the scene of a robbery at the post office in Silverbridge, County Armagh. It is alleged that the IRA was responsible and that the gunmen thought he was an RUC officer.
25 April 1975: A UDA member was shot dead as he walked along Bachelor's Walk in Portadown, County Armagh. Gunmen, thought to be IRA volunteers, pulled-up alongside him in a car and opened fire. Although the Sutton Database lists him as a civilian, Lost Lives lists him as a "high-ranking local UDA member".
2 May 1975: A UDA member was shot dead by the IRA at Ardoyne
Ardoyne
Ardoyne is an Irish nationalist, working class and mainly Catholic district in north Belfast, Northern Ireland. It gained notoriety due to the large number of incidents during "The Troubles". It is home to approximately 20,000 inhabitants...

Bus Depot in Belfast.
10 May 1975: An RUC officer was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on foot-patrol on Waterloo Road in Derry.
18 May 1975: IRA volunteer Francis Rice (17) was stabbed to death in a lane by the UVF in a lane outside Rathfriland
Rathfriland
Rathfriland is a village in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is a hilltop Plantation of Ulster settlement between the Mourne Mountains, Slieve Croob and Banbridge. It had a population of 2,079 people in the 2001 Census.-History:...

, County Down.
31 May 1975: The IRA kidnapped and shot dead one of their own members from Belfast who they alleged was an informer. His body was returned to his family by the IRA in 1999.
3 June 1975: A UDR soldier and two civilians were found shot dead in a car in Killeen, County Armagh. The IRA are believed to have been responsible. The UDR soldier was also a member of the Orange Order.
4 June 1975: IRA volunteer Francis Jordan (21) was shot dead by British soldiers outside the British Army barracks in Bessbrook, County Armagh.
10 June 1975: A UVF member was shot dead by the IRA in a shop on the Crumlin Road in Belfast.
7 July 1975: An RUC officer was killed in an IRA booby-trap bomb attack in Lurgan, County Armagh.
12 July 1975: A UDA member was found shot dead on Old Templepatrick Road at Ballyutoag, County Antrim. He was a doorman at a UDA club. It is believed the IRA was responsible. Although the Sutton Database lists him as a civilian, Lost Lives lists him as UDA member.
17 July 1975: The IRA killed four British soldiers in a remote controlled bomb attack near Forkill, County Armagh.
2 August 1975: The IRA shot dead a former UDR soldier near his home in Moy, County Tyrone. He was also a member of the Orange Order.
13 August 1975: Four Protestant civilians and a member of the UVF were killed in a gun and bomb attack on the Bayardo Bar in Belfast.
13 August 1975: The IRA kidnapped and shot dead a former RUC officer in County Armagh. His body was found near Newtownhamilton on 15 August 1975. He was also a member of the Orange Order.
15 August 1975: The IRA shot dead a Protestant civilian at Camrick Bar on Market Street, Armagh town. He was a close friend of Harris Boyle, one of the UVF men killed the month before in the Miami Showband massacre. He and Boyle were often seen together. The IRA said it killed him because of an alleged association with Captain Robert Nairac
Robert Nairac
Captain Robert Laurence Nairac GC was a British Army officer who was abducted from a pub in south County Armagh during an undercover operation and killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army on his fourth tour of duty in Northern Ireland as a Military Intelligence Liaison Officer...

and claimed it was in possession of his diary, which had been stolen in Portadown.
27 August 1975: A bomb exploded without warning at the Caterham Arms public house in Caterham
Caterham
Caterham is a town in the Tandridge District of Surrey, England. The town is geographically divided into two sections: Caterham on the Hill and Caterham Valley - the main town centre. The town lies close to the A22, a few miles south of Croydon, in a valley cut into the dip slope of the North Downs...

, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...

, England. Ten off-duty British soldiers and 23 civilians were injured.
28 August 1975: Seven people were injured when a bomb exploded in Oxford Street
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, United Kingdom. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, as well as its most dense, and currently has approximately 300 shops. The street was formerly part of the London-Oxford road which began at Newgate,...

, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. A telephone warning was issued to The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...

newspaper five minutes before the explosion.
29 August 1975: A British Army bomb-disposal expert attached to the police was killed attempting to defuse an IRA bomb which had been left in a shoe shop on Kensington Church Street, Kensington
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...

, London.
30 August 1975: The IRA shot dead a UDR soldier near Whitecross, County Armagh.
31 August 1975: The IRA shot dead a UDR soldier on his farm near Keady, County Armagh. He was also a member of the Orange Order.
5 September 1975: Two people are killed and 63 injured when an IRA bomb exploded in the lobby of the Hilton hotel in London.
8 September 1975: A UDA member was shot dead by the IRA in the Markets area of Belfast.
3 October 1975: A bomb exploded at a shop on Albertbridge Road in Belfast, which was owned by Red Hand Commandos
Red Hand Commandos
The Red Hand Commando is a small loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland, which is closely linked to the Ulster Volunteer Force...

leader John McKeague
John McKeague
John McKeague was a prominent Ulster loyalist who founded the paramilitary group the Red Hand Commando in 1972. Authors on the Troubles in Northern Ireland claim that McKeague, a homosexual, was a paedophile who abused young boys during the Kincora Boys' Home scandal and was a long-time agent of...

. A Catholic civilian was hurt and died of her injuries on 6 October 1975. It is believed that the IRA was responsible.
6 October 1975: An RUC officer was killed in an IRA bomb attack near Limavady
Limavady
Limavady is a market town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, with Binevenagh as a backdrop. It lies east of Derry and south west of Coleraine. It had a population of 12,135 people in the 2001 Census, an increase of some 17% compared to 1991...

, in County Londonderry.
9 October 1975: A British soldier was killed in an IRA landmine attack on a British Armoured Patrol in Crossmaglen
Crossmaglen
Crossmaglen or Crosmaglen is a village and townland in south County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,459 people in the 2001 Census and is the largest village in south Armagh...

, County Armagh.
9 October 1975: A civilian was killed when an IRA bomb exploded outside Greenpark Underground Station in London, England.
10 October 1975: A UDA member was shot dead in his home by an IRA unit on the Ormeau Road in Belfast.
14 October 1975: An RUC officer was killed in an IRA booby-trap bomb attack in Portadown, County Armagh.
29 October 1975: The IRA shot dead Robert Elliman (27), then a member of the Official IRA
Official IRA
The Official Irish Republican Army or Official IRA is an Irish republican paramilitary group whose goal was to create a "32-county workers' republic" in Ireland. It emerged from a split in the Irish Republican Army in December 1969, shortly after the beginning of "The Troubles"...

(OIRA), in McKenna's Bar in the Markets area of Belfast. Between 29 October 1975 and 12 November 1975, 11 people were to die in the continuing feud between the two wings of the IRA. Most of those killed were members of the 'official' republican movement.
31 October 1975: The IRA shot dead an OIRA volunteer in the Short Strand area of Belfast.
31 October 1975: IRA volunteer Seamus McCusker (40) was shot dead by the OIRA in the New Lodge area of Belfast.
3 November 1975: The IRA shot dead a Republican Clubs member in the Ballymurphy area of Belfast. Part of the ongoing IRA/OIRA feud.
3 November 1975: A 33 year old lawyer was injured by a car bomb in Connaught Square, London W2.
6 November 1975: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA near Newtownhamilton, County Armagh.
9 November 1975: The IRA shot dead an OIRA volunteer in the New Lodge area of Belfast.
10 November 1975: A UDR soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper outside Gough British Army Base at Carramoyle, County Armagh.
11 November 1975: The IRA shot dead an OIRA volunteer, A Republican Clubs member and his relative in separate attacks in Belfast. Part of the ongoing IRA/OIRA feud.
12 November 1975: A civilian was killed when an IRA unit threw a bomb into Scott's Restaurant on Mount Street, in the upper-class Mayfair area of London.
16 November 1975: An RUC officer was killed in an IRA landmine attack on a patrol in Sixmilecross
Sixmilecross
Sixmilecross is a small village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Its toponym is said to be derived from a Celtic cross that stood in a field at the top of the village and also from its distance of six Irish miles from Omagh. The village has a wide, tree lined main street and a population of 282...

in County Tyrone.
18 November 1975: Two civilians were killed when an IRA unit threw a bomb into Walton's Restaurant on Walton Street, in the Chelsea
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...

area of London.
21 November 1975: A British soldier was killed by an IRA booby-trap bomb when he picked up a rifle which was left in an abandoned car in Forkill, County Armagh.
22 November 1975: Three British soldiers were killed in a gun battle when an IRA unit attacked their undercover observation post at Drummuckavall, County Armagh. See Drummuckavall ambush
Drummuckavall Ambush
The Drummuckavall Ambush was a Provisional Irish Republican Army attack on a British Army observation post southeast of Crossmaglen, County Armagh, along the border with the Republic of Ireland...

.
25 November 1975: Two RUC officers were killed when their patrol was caught in an IRA sniper ambush in Pomeroy, County Tyrone. In a separate incident a British soldier was shot dead by the IRA in the Fountain area of Derry City.
27 November 1975: The IRA killed businessman and TV personality Ross McWhirter
Ross McWhirter
Alan Ross Mayfield McWhirter , known as Ross McWhirter, was, with his twin brother, Norris McWhirter, co-founder of the Guinness Book of Records and a contributor to Record Breakers...

, who with his brother Norris McWhirter
Norris McWhirter
Norris Dewar McWhirter, CBE was a writer, political activist, co-founder of the Freedom Association, and a television presenter. He and his twin brother, Ross, were known internationally for the Guinness Book of Records, a book they wrote and annually updated together between 1955 and 1975...

, had offered reward money to anyone who would inform on the IRA.
1 December 1975: IRA volunteers Paul Fox (20) and Laura Crawford (25) where killed when the bomb they were transporting exploded accidentally on King Street in Belfast.
6 December 1975: IRA volunteers Sean Campbell (20) and James Lochrie (19) died when the landmine they were setting exploded accidentally in Killeen, County Armagh.
6–12 December 1975: Four IRA volunteers held two people hostage in the Balcombe Street Siege
Balcombe Street Siege
The Balcombe Street Siege was an incident involving members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army and the Metropolitan Police Service of London, England lasting from 6 December to 12 December 1975. The siege ended with the surrender of the four IRA volunteers and the release of their two hostages...

.
18 December 1975: The IRA killed two British soldiers in a bomb attack in Derry. It was later established that the soldiers had been lured out of the sangar by children who offered them sweets. While they were distracted the IRA lowered a bomb onto the roof of their sangar which exploded a few minutes later.

1976

13 January 1976: IRA volunteers Rosemary Bleakley (19) and Martin McDonagh (23), along with two civilians, were killed when the bomb they were transporting exploded prematurely in North Street, Belfast.
17 January 1976: A British soldier was shot dead in an IRA gun attack on a British checkpoint in Derry City.
17 January 1976: A civilian was shot dead by the IRA in the Andersonstown area of Belfast. The IRA claimed he was an informer.
22 January 1976: A UDR soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper in Claudy
Claudy
Claudy is a village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It lies southeast of Derry, where the River Glenrandal joins the River Faughan. Claudy is located in the Faughan Valley....

, County Londonderry.
22 January 1976: A civilian was shot dead by the IRA in Dungannon, County Tyrone. The IRA claimed he was an informer.
23 January 1976: The IRA ceasefire was officially called off.
30 January 1976: A civilian was killed when an IRA carbomb exploded outside Klondyke Bar, a pub frequented by loyalist paramilitaries in the Sandy Row
Sandy Row
Sandy Row is a Protestant working-class community in south Belfast, Northern Ireland. It has a population of about 3,000. It is a staunchly loyalist area of Belfast, being a traditional heartland for affiliation with the paramilitary Ulster Defence Association and the Orange Order.-Location:Sandy...

area of Belfast.
6 February 1976: Two RUC officers were shot dead in an IRA gun attack on their patrol in the Cliftonville area of Belfast.
7 February 1976: Two civilians were killed when they triggered an IRA booby-trap bomb, which had been placed in a crashed car in Cookstown, County Tyrone. The bomb was intended for members of the security forces.
12 February 1976: IRA volunteer Frank Stagg
Frank Stagg
Frank Stagg -Background:Stagg was the seventh child in a family of thirteen children, born at Hollymount near Ballinrobe, County Mayo,...

(34) died on his 62nd day of hungerstrike in Wakefield Prisonin England.
12 February 1976: An RUC Officer was shot dead in an IRA gun-attack on a foot-patrol in Claudy, County Londonderry.
13 February 1976: IRA volunteer Sean Bailey (20) died in a premature explosion in the Falls Road area of Belfast.
15 February 1976: IRA volunteer James McGrillen (25) was shot dead by the British Army while escaping from a gun attack on the Ballygomartin Road in Belfast.
22 February 1976: A civilian was shot dead by the IRA during an attempted hijacking of her car near Killeen, County Armagh.
26 February 1976: Joseph McCullough, a UDR soldier, was stabbed to death by an IRA unit while arriving to his farm in Newtownhamilton, County Armagh. IRA member Anthony McCooey, later convicted for taking part in the killing, claimed that another IRA man slit the soldier throat with a bayonet
Bayonet
A bayonet is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit in, on, over or underneath the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear...

. McCullough was also a member of the Orange Order. In 1998, author Toby Harnden
Toby Harnden
Toby Harnden is an Anglo-American journalist and author. He has been US editor of The Daily Telegraph since 2006.-Background:...

interviewed a Real IRA member which told him that McCullough was targeted because he supplied the Loyalist with arms and was also involved in the Dublin and Monaghan bombings
Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
The Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 17 May 1974 were a series of car bombings in Dublin and Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland. The attacks killed 33 civilians and wounded almost 300 – the highest number of casualties in any single day during the conflict known as The Troubles.A loyalist...

of 1974.
27 February 1976: A UVF member was shot dead by the IRA in a drive-by shooting in the Donegall Pass area of Belfast.
27 February 1976: A civilian was wounded when he triggered an IRA booby-trap bomb in a derelict house on Landseer Street, Belfast. The man was an electricity meter-reader and accidentally triggered the anti-handling device on a bomb hidden in the meterbox. It is believed a British foot-patrol was the intended target. The man died on 28 February.
7 March 1976: The IRA launched six mortar rounds into Belfast International Airport
Belfast International Airport
Belfast International Airport is a major airport located northwest of Belfast in Northern Ireland. It was formerly known and is still referred to as Aldergrove Airport, after the village of the same name lying immediately to the west of the airport. Belfast International shares its runways with...

, injuring an RUC member and damaging cars in a parking area and the arrival lounge door.
10 March 1976: A UDA member was shot dead by the IRA on Alliance Avenue in Belfast.
13 March 1976: An ex-British soldier was shot dead on Alliance Avenue in Belfast.
15 March 1976: A Tube-train driver was shot dead by the IRA shortly after a bomb exploded prematurley on his train.
30 March 1976: A British soldier was killed by an IRA booby-trap bomb left near an Orange Order hall at Ballygargan, County Armagh.
31 March 1976: Two British soldiers were killed when their patrol-vehicle detonated an IRA landmine near Belleeks, County Armagh.
1 April 1976: A UDR soldier was killed in an IRA gun attack in Castledawson, County Londonderry.
2 April 1976: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA in Maghera, County Londonderry.
5 April 1976: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA at his home near Newtownhamilton, County Armagh. He was also a member of the Orange Order.
5 April 1976: IRA volunteer Sean McDermott (20) was shot dead by the RUC shortly after carrying out a bomb attack on the Conway Hotel in Dunmurry, County Antrim.
6 April 1976: A UDR soldier was shot dead in an IRA sniper attack on a British mobile-patrol near Middletown, County Armagh.
7 April 1976: Three civilians were killed when IRA firebombs exploded in their Drapery shop at The Square in Dromore
Dromore, County Down
Dromore is a small market town in the Banbridge District of County Down, Northern Ireland. It is south-west of Belfast, on the A1 Belfast – Dublin road. The 2001 Census recorded a population of 4,968 people....

, County Down. They lived above the shop. The owner was a member of the Royal Black Perceptory.
15 April 1976: IRA volunteer Peter Clearly (25) was shot dead by the British Army shortly after having being arrested near Forkill, County Armagh.
16 April 1976: Two civilians were killed when a bomb exploded inside their workplace on Servia Street, Belfast. Although no group claimed responsibility it was reported that the blast was likely caused by "an IRA bomb stored on the premises".
19 April 1976: A Prison Officer was shot dead by the IRA in Dunmurry, County Antrim.
22 April 1976: An RUC Officer was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on patrol in Coalisland, County Tyrone.
29 April 1976: A UDR soldier and a civilian were killed in an IRA gun-attack in Dunamony, County Tyrone.
15 May 1976: Three RUC officers were killed in an IRA landmine attack on their patrol in Belcoo, Fermanagh. Another RUC officer was killed in a sniper attack in Warrenpoint, County Down.
16 May 1976: The IRA shot dead an RUC officer outside his home in Derryfubble, County Tyrone. Two civilians were shot dead as they stood outside a social club on Alliance Road, Belfast.
17 May 1976: IRA volunteer James Gallagher (20) was killed when British soldiers opened fire on a bus in the Strand Road, Derry.
21 May 1976: A civilian was killed when a bomb exploded on a train near Moira, County Down. A warning was given but the bomb detonated before the area could be evacuated.
22 May 1976: An RUC officer was shot dead in an IRA gun attack in Dungannon, County Tyrone.
2 June 1976: Two RUC officers were shot dead in separate IRA attacks in Derry and Belfast.
2 June 1976: A UDA member was shot dead at his home on the Shankill Road in Belfast by an IRA unit.
19 June 1976: A UDA member was shot dead at his home in Dunmurry, County Antrim.
28 June 1976: A British soldier was killed in an IRA landmine attack on his patrol near Crossmaglen, County Armagh.
30 June 1976: A British soldier was shot dead in an IRA gun-attack on the Springfield Road in Belfast.
30 June 1976: IRA volunteer Brenard Coyle (17) was killed during an attack on a British patrol when a grenade
Grenade
A grenade is a small explosive device that is projected a safe distance away by its user. Soldiers called grenadiers specialize in the use of grenades. The term hand grenade refers any grenade designed to be hand thrown. Grenade Launchers are firearms designed to fire explosive projectile grenades...

he was handling exploded prematurely.
1 July 1976: A civilian was shot dead by the IRA in the Finaghy area of Belfast. The IRA claimed he was an informer.
3 July 1976: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while manning a checkpoint on Butcher Street in Derry.
6 July 1976: A civilian was shot dead by the IRA in Hannahstown, Belfast. The IRA claimed he was an informer.
7 July 1976: Two senior RUC officers were seriously injured after an IRA double agent led them to an arms dump outside Portadown. When the officers picked up one of the weapons it triggered a booby trap which detonated. One of the officers lost an arm, a leg and an eye in the explosion.
17 July 1976: IRA volunteers Peter McElcar (24) and Patrick Cannon (20) died when the bomb they were transporting exploded accidentally near Castlederg, Tyrone.
18 July 1976: A civilian was killed by a booby-trap bomb planted in the laneway of his home at Drumgole, County Fermanagh. It is thought that the bomb was planted by the IRA and was meant for two close relatives who were RUC reserve officers.
21 July 1976: An IRA landmine killed Christopher Ewart-Biggs
Christopher Ewart-Biggs
Christopher Ewart-Biggs, CMG, OBE was the British Ambassador to Ireland and an author. He was assassinated by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in Sandyford, Dublin....

, the newly appointed British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

ambassador to the Republic of Ireland
Republic 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 his secretary Judith Cook. A British soldier was also killed in a bomb attack in Derry City.
30 July 1976: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA in Moneymore, County Londonderry.
31 July 1976: An RUC officer was shot dead by an IRA sniper on Church Street in Lurgan.
8 August 1976: A British soldier was killed by an IRA bomb hidden in a booby-trapped bicycle in Crossmaglen.
10 August 1976: IRA volunteer Daniel Lennon (23) was killed when he was shot while escaping from a British Army patrol. After being shot his car went out of control, crashing and killing three children.
11 August 1976: A civilian was killed during an IRA gun attack on a British observation post at Meenan Square, Derry.
19 August 1976: There was a gun attack on the home of the Grand Master of the Orange Order at West Circular Crescent, Belfast. His son was shot and died of his wounds on 26 August 1976. The attack was blamed on the IRA. The Grand Master, a frequent critic of the IRA, was thought to have been the target.
26 August 1976: An RUC officer was shot dead by an IRA unit in the Andersonstown area of Belfast.
14 September 1976: The blanket protest
Blanket protest
The blanket protest was part of a five year protest during the Troubles by Provisional Irish Republican Army and Irish National Liberation Army prisoners held in the Maze prison in Northern Ireland. The republican prisoners' status as political prisoners, known as Special Category Status, had...

began when IRA prisoner Kieran Nugent
Kieran Nugent
Kieran "Header" Nugent was a volunteer in the Provisional Irish Republican Army and best known for being the first IRA 'blanket man' in the H-Blocks...

refused to wear prison clothing, in protest at the loss of Special Category Status
Special Category Status
In July 1972, William Whitelaw, the British government's Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, granted Special Category Status to all prisoners convicted of Troubles-related offences...

.
18 September 1976: An RUC officer was shot dead by an IRA unit while directing traffic in Portadown.
1 October 1976: A Protestant man died one month after being shot at his relative's house on Copperfield Street, Belfast. The Sutton Database claims he was a civilian who was shot by the IRA. However, Lost Lives claims he was a former British soldier. It also notes that a man was imprisoned for his murder but that there was no charge of IRA membership.
8 October 1976: An RUC officer and a Prison Officer were killed in IRA gun attacks in Derry.
9 October 1976: A civilian was killed when IRA firebombs exploded in a shop on Bridge Street, Ballymena.
13 October 1976: The IRA shot dead a UVF member outside his home in Annaghmore
Annaghmore
Annaghmore is a small village and townland near Loughgall in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 255 people. It is within the Armagh City and District Council area.-Places of interest:...

, County Armagh. IRA volunteers opened fire on his car as he arrived home. Although the Sutton Database lists him as a civilian, Lost Lives lists him as a UVF member and notes that he had received a two-year suspended sentence for handling ammunition which he was said to have bought from a UDR soldier. His son was wounded in the attack and died on 25 October 1976.
16 October 1976: Garda Michael Clerkin was killed in a booby-trap bomb attack in Mountmellick
Mountmellick
Other than that its a 15th-century settlement on the narrow Owenass river with an encampment on its banks at Irishtown. Overlooking this valley with its trees and wildlife was a small church called Kilmongan which was closed by the Penal Laws in 1640...

, near Portlaoise in County Laois
County Laois
County Laois is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It was formerly known as Queen's County until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. The county's name was formerly spelt as Laoighis and Leix. Laois County Council...

.
16 October 1976: IRA volunteers Paul Marlowe (31), Francis Fitzsimmons (28) and Joseph Surgenor (23) died when a bomb they were transporting exploded accidentally at Belfast Gas Works.
24 October 1976: Two British soldiers were killed when an IRA sniper team ambushed a British patrol in Ardoyne, Belfast.
26 October 1976: A UDR soldier was shot dead at his workplace on Eglish Street, Armagh town.
28 October 1976: A UDR soldier was killed in an IRA gun-attack in Pomeroy, County Tyrone.
2 November 1976: An Undercover RUC Officer was shot dead by the IRA on the Falls Road in Belfast.
7 November 1976: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA outside his home on Abercorn Road, Derry.
9 November 1976: A UDR soldier was shot dead in an IRA gun-attack in Desertmartin, County Londonderry.
11 November 1976: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA outside his home in Kilrea, County Londonderry.
11 November 1976: A former IRA quartermaster was shot dead inside a social club on Saul Street, Belfast. He allegedly gave information to the RUC under interrogation and was then ordered to leave the district. It was reported he was shot for repeatedly returning to the district.
15 November 1976: A UDR soldier was killed in an IRA sniper attack on a British foot-patrol in Lurgan.
18 November 1976: A UDR soldier was shot dead in an IRA attack in Altnagelvin
Altnagelvin
Altnagelvin is a townland in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is also the name of an electoral ward of Derry City Council. Formerly a small village, it has been absorbed into the Waterside neighbourhood, within the larger Derry Urban Area. Situated within Altnagelvin is Altnagelvin Area...

, Derry.
27 November 1976: In Lurgan, a civilian accidentally triggered an IRA booby-trap bomb attached to a derelict house on Mary Street that had been used as a British Army observation post. In Derry, a civilian accidentally triggered an IRA booby-trap bomb left in an entry off Lecky Road. The IRA admitted planting the Derry bomb, which was also intended for the security forces. Apologising, the IRA statement said that when it was clear the bomb plan had failed they had contacted the British Army and a local priest. Soldiers and the priest had then warned people to stay away.
3 December 1976: An RUC Officer was shot dead by the IRA in Dungannon.
11 December 1976: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on patrol in the Bogside area of Derry.
15 December 1976: An RUC Officer was shot dead by an IRA unit while manning a security barrier in Portadown.

1977

1 January 1977: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper in Crossmaglen. The IRA also carried out a carbomb attack at Harmin Park, Newtownabbey. A civilian was killed after an inadequate warning was given.
9 January 1977. A British soldier was killed in an IRA booby trap bomb attack on his patrol near Newtownbutler, County Fermanagh.
11 January 1977: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper at a security barrier in the Oldpark area of Belfast.
14 January 1977: An RUC officer was killed in an IRA bomb attack in Innishrush, County Londonderry.
16 January 1977: IRA volunteer Seamus Harvey (20) was shot dead by undercover British soldiers near Crossmaglen, County Armagh.
19 January 1977: A number of IRA booby trap bombs targeted security force members.
27 January 1977: An RUC officer was shot dead by an IRA unit on the Strand Road in Derry.
29 January 1977: Seven IRA bombs explode in Londons West End. Warnings are given and there are no casualties.
2 February 1977: Jeffrey Agate (59), then Managing Director of the American Du Pont factory in Derry was shot dead by members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) outside his home at Talbot Park, Derry. This killing marked the beginning of a series of attacks on businessmen. There were further killings on 2 March 1977 and 14 March 1977.
4 February 1977: An IRA bomb factory is discovered by police in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

, England.
5 February 1977: An RUC officer was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on patrol in Gilford, County Down.
12 February 1977: An RUC officer was shot dead by an IRA unit in Cloughmills
Cloughmills
Cloughmills or Cloghmills is a village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Ballymoney is 15km to the north-west and Ballymena is 16km to the south...

, County Antrim.
23 February 1977: A UDR soldier was shot dead by an IRA unit in the Waterside area of Derry City.
24 February 1977: An RUC officer was shot dead by an IRA unit while manning a security barrier in Lurgan
Lurgan
Lurgan is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is near the southern shore of Lough Neagh and in the north-eastern corner of the county. Part of the Craigavon Borough Council area, Lurgan is about 18 miles south-west of Belfast and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway...

, County Armagh.
26 February 1977: A Judge was shot dead by the IRA in Newry.
27 February 1977: An ex-British soldier was shot dead by the IRA in the Ardoyne
Ardoyne
Ardoyne is an Irish nationalist, working class and mainly Catholic district in north Belfast, Northern Ireland. It gained notoriety due to the large number of incidents during "The Troubles". It is home to approximately 20,000 inhabitants...

area of Belfast.
2 March 1977: A senior English businessman was shot dead by the IRA in Belfast.
4 March 1977: A senior Judge was shot dead by the IRA in Coalisland
Coalisland
Coalisland is a small town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, with a population of 4,917 people . As its name suggests, it was formerly a centre for coal mining.-History:...

, Tyrone.
9 March 1977: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA on his farm near Caledon, Tyrone.
10 March 1977: A civilian was shot dead by the IRA during a bomb attack on a business on York Street, Belfast.
13 March 1977: An RUC officer was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on patrol in Lisnaskea
Lisnaskea
Lisnaskea is the second-biggest settlement in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 2,739 people in the 2001 Census. The town is built around the long main street, which bends at almost 90 degrees along its course.- History :...

, County Fermanagh.
14 March 1977: A senior English businessman was shot dead when his car was ambushed by an IRA unit in Belfast.
15 March 1977: A UDR soldier was shot dead by an IRA unit in Bellaghy
Bellaghy
Bellaghy , is a village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It lies north west of Lough Neagh and about 5 miles north of Magherafelt. At the centre of the village lies the junction of three main roads leading to Magherafelt, Portglenone and Toome. It had a population of 1,063 people in the...

, County Londonderry.
25 March 1977: A UDR soldier was shot dead by an IRA unit in Coalisland, County Tyrone.
28 March 1977: A civilian was shot dead by an IRA unit in Crosskeys, County Antrim. Her son, an RUC officer, was the intended target.
4 April 1977: A British soldier was killed in an IRA landmine attack on an Armoured Personnel Carrier near Belleek, County Fermanagh.
6 April 1977: A UDR soldier was shot dead while driving a vehicle in the Northland Road area of Derry City.
8 April 1977: Two RUC officers were shot dead in an IRA ambush in Moneymore
Moneymore
Moneymore is a village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,369 in the 2001 Census.It is an example of a Plantation village in Mid-Ulster. It was the first town in Ulster to have piped water.-Geography:...

, County Londonderry.
9 April 1977: A civilian was shot dead by the IRA in Hannahstown, near Belfast. The IRA claimed he was a British informer.
10 April 1977: The relative of an OIRA volunteer was shot dead by the IRA in the Turf Lodge area of Belfast. This was part of an ongoing feud.
15 April 1977: A British soldier was shot dead by the IRA in the City Cemetery in Dery City.
17 April 1977: IRA volunteer Trevor McKibben was shot dead by a British Army sniper on Flax Street in the Ardoyne area of Belfast.
23 April 1977: IRA volunteer Brendan O'Callaghan was shot dead by the British Army while in a car park in the Stewardstown area of Belfast.
29 April 1977: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA outside his home in Dungannon, County Tyrone.
3 May 1977: A civilian was found shot dead in a field off Glen Road, Belfast. He was shot by the IRA as it is believed he was an informer.
5 May 1977: An ex-British soldier was shot dead by the IRA in the Andersonstown area of Belfast.
12 May 1977:A Judge was shot dead by the IRA in Rosslea, County Fermanagh.
14 May 1977: Undercover British Army and SAS operative Captain Robert Nairac
Robert Nairac
Captain Robert Laurence Nairac GC was a British Army officer who was abducted from a pub in south County Armagh during an undercover operation and killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army on his fourth tour of duty in Northern Ireland as a Military Intelligence Liaison Officer...

was captured by the IRA in south County Armagh. He was shot dead. His body has never been found.
20 May 1977: An off-duty UDR soldier was shot dead while driving a school bus in near Benburb, County Tyrone.
21 May 1977: An ex-RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA in the Lisburn Road area of Belfast.
30 May 1977: A civilian was shot dead by the IRA in College Square, Belfast. He was mistaken for an off-duty member of the British Army.
2 June 1977: Three members of a Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) mobile patrol were shot dead by Irish Republican Army (IRA) snipers near Ardboe, County Tyrone. Part of ongoing attacks on Police and Army.
8 June 1977: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA after leaving the Victoria Hospital on the Falls Road, Belfast.
22 June 1977: A Prison Officer was shot dead by the IRA in a drive-by attack outside the Crumlin Road Prison in Belfast.
29 June 1977: Two British soldiers were killed when their patrol was ambushed by IRA snipers outside North Howards Street British Army base in Belfast.
6 July 1977: An RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA while sitting in a stationary patrol vehicle in Aughnacloy, County Tyrone.
22 July 1977: A Prison Officer was shot dead in Ballymoney, County Antrim.
27 July 1977: The IRA shot dead a UDR soldier at his home on Woodvale Avenue, Belfast.
27 July 1977: The IRA shot dead a Republican Clubs (political wing of OIRA) member at Alexander House, Belfast. Part of a republican feud.
27 July 1977: IRA volunteer Thomas Toland was shot dead by the OIRA as he drove along Divismore Crescent, Ballymurphy. Part of a republican feud.
9 August 1977: Fianna Éireann
Fianna Éireann
The name Fianna Éireann , also written Fianna na hÉireann and Na Fianna Éireann , has been used by various Irish republican youth movements throughout the 20th and 21st centuries...

(IRA youth wing) volunteer Paul McWilliams was shot dead by a British Army sniper in the Ballymurphy area of Belfast.
9 August 1977: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper outside Henry Taggart British Army base in the Ballymurphy area of Belfast.
10 August 1977: The IRA planted a small bomb in the grounds of the New University of Ulster, which Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...

was visiting. The bomb exploded shortly after the Queen had left. There were no injuries.
12 August 1977: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on patrol in the Turf Lodge area of Belfast.
22 August 1977: A civilian was kidnapped from his home near Crossmaglen by the IRA and shot dead. The IRA claimed he was a British informer.
28 August 1977: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on foor patrol in the Ardoyne area of Belfast.
31 August 1977: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on a British Army mobile patrol in the Antrim Road area of Belfast.
7 September 1977: A civilian was shot dead by the IRA in a bar in Dublin. The IRA claimed he was an informer.
8 September 1977: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA in the Finaghy area of Belfast.
13 September 1977: A UDR soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while driving a vehicle in Gortin
Gortin
Gortin is a village and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is ten miles north of Omagh in the valley of the Owenkillew river, overlooked by the Sperrins. It had a population of 360 at the 2001 Census.-Geography:...

, County Tyrone.
25 September 1977: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA in Brantry, County Tyrone.
7 October 1977: A Prison Officer was shot dead by the IRA in the Wellington Park area of Belfast.
8 October 1977: A female UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA in Tynan, County Armagh.
12 October 1977: The IRA shot dead a civilian near Ballygawley, County Tyrone. The victim was mistaken for an off-duty UDR soldier.
18 October 1977: An ex-RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA near Keady, County Armagh.
19 October 1977: The IRA shot dead a civilian at his home on Ainsworth Pass, Belfast. The motive for the killing remains unclear.
2 November 1977: A UDR soldier was killed in an IRA booby-trap bomb attack in Magherafelt, County Londonderry.
11 November 1977: The IRA detonated a car bomb on King Street, Belfast. A warning was given to evacuate the area although one civilian was killed.
15 November 1977: A British soldier was shot dead by the IRA while visiting his mother in Andersonstown, Belfast.
3 December 1977: Seamus Twomey
Seamus Twomey
Seamus Twomey was an Irish republican and twice chief of staff of the Provisional IRA.-Biography:Born in Belfast, Twomey lived at 6 Sevastopol Street in the Falls district...

, a former Chief of Staff of the IRA was arrested in Dublin.
14 December 1977: An Undercover British soldier was shot dead in an IRA ambush in the Turf Lodge area of Belfast.
21 December 1977: Five hotels across 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...

were damaged when IRA firebombs exploded in them.
22 December 1977: The IRA announced a Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

ceasefire.

1978

12 January 1978: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA in Newry.
13 January 1978: The IRA seriously damaged the Guildhall in Derry in a bomb attack. There were no injuries.
23 January 1978: A number of British soldiers were wounded and had to be airlifted to hospital following an IRA mortar attack on Forkill British Army/RUC base in County Armagh. A booby-trapped lorrybomb also exploded nearby.
30 January 1978: A supermarket employee was shot and wounded during a robbery of the premises in Killygordon
Killygordon
Killygordon , is a small village in the Finn Valley of east County Donegal, Ireland. It has a population of 114 and is located on the N15 between Ballybofey and Castlefin. The separate townland of the Crossroads lies half a mile from Killygordon, however, they are often regarded as one...

, County Donegal. The man died of his injuries five days later.
4 February 1978: A civilian was accidentally shot dead during an IRA attack on an RUC foot patrol on Shore Road, Belfast.
7 February 1978: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA near Pomeroy
Pomeroy, County Tyrone
Pomeroy is a small village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is in the townland of Cavanakeeran, about from Cookstown, from Dungannon and from Omagh. The 2001 Census recorded a population of 604 people....

, County Tyrone.
8 February 1978: A UDR soldier and his 10 year old son were killed in an under-car booby-trap bomb attack outside their home in Maghera, County Londonderry.
17 February 1978: Eleven Protestant civilians and an RUC officer were killed and 23 badly injured in the La Mon Restaurant Bombing
La Mon Restaurant Bombing
The La Mon restaurant bombing was an incendiary bomb attack by the Provisional Irish Republican Army on 17 February 1978. The target was a hotel/restaurant near Belfast, Northern Ireland. The IRA unit who planted the bomb tried to send warnings by telephone, but was unable to do so until nine...

, at Gransha near Belfast.
17 February 1978: A British Lieutenant Colonel was killed and two other soldiers injured when the Gazelle
Aérospatiale Gazelle
The Aérospatiale Gazelle is a five-seat light helicopter, powered by a single turbine engine. It was designed and manufactured in France by Sud Aviation . It was also manufactured under licence by Westland Aircraft in the United Kingdom , by SOKO in Yugoslavia and ABHCO in Egypt...

helicopter he was travelling in was attacked by an IRA unit. The helicopter crashed while taking evasive manoeuvers during the engagement.
26 February 1978: IRA volunteer Paul Duffy was shot dead by an undercover British Army unit at an arms-dump in Ardboe
Ardboe
Ardboe is a small village in the north east of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is near the western shore of Lough Neagh and lies within the Cookstown District Council area...

, County Tyrone.
28 February 1978: An RUC officer was shot dead in an IRA sniper attack in the Rosemount area of Derry City.
1 March 1978: A British soldier was killed in an IRA machine-gun attack on British Army patrol on the Cliftonpark Avenue in Belfast.
3 March 1978: The IRA launched a gun attack on a British Army checkpoint on Donegall Street, Belfast. A civilian who helped the British Army to search people was shot dead.
4 March 1978: A British soldier was killed in a booby-trap bomb attack in Crossmaglen
Crossmaglen
Crossmaglen or Crosmaglen is a village and townland in south County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,459 people in the 2001 Census and is the largest village in south Armagh...

, County Armagh. The soldier was killed while attempting to remove an Irish flag from a telegraph poll. The flag was wired to a landmine below the poll and exploded when it was removed.
17 March 1978: An IRA unit and an SAS unit became embroiled in a gun battle in a field near Maghera, County Londonderry. One British soldier was killed in the battle. Prominent IRA member Francis Hughes
Francis Hughes
Francis Hughes was an Irish volunteer in the Provisional Irish Republican Army . Hughes was the most wanted man in Northern Ireland until his arrest following a shoot-out with the Special Air Service in which an SAS soldier was killed...

was wounded and arrested after the shoot out.
14 April 1978: A UDR soldier was shot dead while driving a school bus near Pomeroy, County Tyrone.
15 April 1978: An RUC officer was killed in a booby-trap bomb attack outside his home near Armoy
Armoy
Armoy is a small village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is 9 km southwest of Ballycastle and 13 km northeast of Ballymoney. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 414 people. The village is on the River Bush between two of the nine Glens of Antrim; Glenshesk and Glentaisie...

, County Antrim.
22 April 1978: An RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA at his home in Lisburn.
25 May 1978: Two civilians were kidnapped by the IRA in Belfast and later killed and secretly buried. Their remains were found in 1999 in County Monaghan. It was revealed that the two had been executed for robbing an IRA-run bar. They had also admitted stealing IRA weapons for use in robberies, but had apparently handed back the weapons and any money they gained from robberies.
3 June 1978: An alleged criminal was shot dead by the IRA near Jonesborough, County Armagh.
10 June 1978: IRA volunteer Denis Heaney was shot dead by undercover British soldiers while hijacking a car in the Bogside
Bogside
The Bogside is a neighbourhood outside the city walls of Derry, Northern Ireland. The area has been a focus point for many of the events of The Troubles, from the Battle of the Bogside and Bloody Sunday in the 1960s and 1970s...

area of Derry City.
16 June 1978: An RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA in the Foyle Street area of Derry.
17 June 1978: An IRA unit ambushed an RUC vehicle near Camlogh, County Armagh. One RUC officer was killed outright and another was captured. The IRA gave back the body of the second officer on 9 July. A post-mortem revealed that he had in fact died of his wounds soon after the ambush. The second officer was also a member of the Orange Order.
20 June 1978: Three IRA volunteers and a passing UVF member were shot dead by undercover British soldiers during an attempted bombing at a Post Office depot on Ballysillan Road, Belfast.
25 June 1978: A UDR soldier was shot dead by during a bomb and sniper ambush of a British military convoy near Belcoo
Belcoo
Belcoo is a small village and townland in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, 10 miles from Enniskillen. It is on the County Fermanagh/County Cavan border beside the village of Blacklion in the Republic of Ireland...

, County Fermanagh.
4 July 1978: An RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA outside Castlederg
Castlederg
Castlederg is a village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Derg and is close to the border with County Donegal. The village has a ruined castle and two ancient tombs known as the Druid's Altar and Todd's Den...

RUC barracks in County Tyrone.
12 July 1978: A British soldier was killed in an IRA radio-controlled booby-trap bomb attack while on foot-patrol in Crossmaglen, County Armagh.
19 July 1978: A British soldier was killed in an IRA remote-controlled bomb attack in Dungannon
Dungannon
Dungannon is a medium-sized town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the third-largest town in the county and a population of 11,139 people was recorded in the 2001 Census. In August 2006, Dungannon won Ulster In Bloom's Best Kept Town Award for the fifth time...

, County Tyrone.
2 August 1978: An RUC officer was shot dead in an IRA drive-by shooting while on foot-patrol in Ballymena, County Antrim.
8 August 1978: A civilian was wounded when a bomb exploded near her home on Forfar Street, Belfast. It is thought that it was planted by the IRA and meant for a British Army patrol. She died of her wounds on 27 September 1978.

11 August 1978: An undercover British soldier was shot dead in an IRA ambush on the Letterkenny Road in Derry.
17 August 1978: A British soldier was killed in an IRA carbomb attack on a British patrol in Forkill, County Armagh.
19 August 1978: Two ex-British soldiers were killed in IRA gun attacks in Belfast and Keady.
5 September 1978: A British soldier was shot dead by the IRA in Newry.
11 September 1978: The IRA shot dead an off-duty RUC officer in Loughmacrory
Loughmacrory
Loughmacrory is a small village and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is beside 8 miles east of Omagh, beside a small lake called Lough Macrory. It had a population of 237 in the 2001 Census. Loughmacrory has houses, shops, a church and a primary school...

, County Tyrone.
21 September 1978: The IRA carried out a large bomb attack against Eglington airfield. The Terminal building, two hangars and four planes were destroyed in the attack. There were no injuries.
28 September 1978: The IRA launched a gun attack on a British Army foot-patrol on Waterloo Place, Derry. A civilian who helped the British Army to search people was shot dead.
29 September 1978: The IRA fired shots at the car of an RUC officer in Newry. A civilian who was travelling in the car was accidentally shot dead.
6 October 1978: A UDR soldier was shot dead while at a cattlemart in Newry.
12 October 1978: A civilian was killed when the IRA bombed a train at Belfast Central station. A bomb warning was given but there was not enough time to carry out a full evacuation.
12 November 1978: A British soldier was killed when an IRA booby trap bomb detonated as a British patrol passed by in Crossmaglen, County Armagh.
14 November 1978: The IRA launched a large-scale bombing offensive in towns across Northern Ireland. Serious damage was caused to the centres of Castlederg, Enniskillen, Armagh, Belfast and Cookstown. There were 37 injuries in the attacks although warnings were issued.
16 November 1978: A firefighter was killed when an IRA grenade exploded in a house which had been set alight in a bomb attack in the Andersonstown area of Belfast.
24 November 1978: IRA volunteer Patrick Duffy was shot dead in an undercover British Army ambush in Maureen Avenue in Derry.
26 November 1978: The Deputy-Governor of Long Kesh Prison was assassinated by the IRA outside his home in Belfast.
27 November 1978: An off-duty UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA near Durham Street, Belfast.
30 November 1978: The IRA carried out 14 bomb attacks in towns and villages across Northern Ireland. The IRA also issued a statement saying it was preparing for a "long-war".
1 December 1978: The IRA carried out 11 bomb attacks on towns across Northern Ireland. There were no injuries.
14 December 1978: A Prison Officer who worked at Crumlin Road Jail was shot dead by the IRA while leaving the prison.
17 December 1978: The IRA carried out bomb attacks on cities in England including Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

, Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...

, Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

and Southhampton.
19 December 1978: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while guarding other soldiers who were raiding a house in the New Lodge area of Belfast.
21 December 1978: A four man IRA unit ambushed a British patrol near St. Patricks church in Crossmaglen, County Armagh. The IRA unit fired a large number of shots from three Armalites and one AK-47. Three British soldiers were killed in the ambush. The British Army unit returned fire but the IRA unit made their escape in a van which had been fitted with armour-plating.

1979

5 January 1979: Two IRA volunteers were killed in Ardoyne, Belfast, when the bomb they were transporting in a car exploded prematurely.
4 February 1979: Former prison officer Patrick MacKin (60), and his wife Violet (58), were shot dead by the IRA at their home in Oldpark Road, Belfast. This was part of an escalating campaign against prison officers, co-inciding with the Dirty protest
Dirty protest
The dirty protest was part of a five year protest during the Troubles by Provisional Irish Republican Army and Irish National Liberation Army prisoners held in the Maze prison and Armagh Women's Prison in Northern Ireland.-Background:Convicted paramilitary prisoners were treated as ordinary...

and Blanket protest
Blanket protest
The blanket protest was part of a five year protest during the Troubles by Provisional Irish Republican Army and Irish National Liberation Army prisoners held in the Maze prison in Northern Ireland. The republican prisoners' status as political prisoners, known as Special Category Status, had...

in the Maze prison.
14 February 1979: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper on the Abercorn road in Derry.
19 March 1979: An IRA unit launched a mortar attack on Newtownhamilton British army base. One British soldier was killed.
22 March 1979: Richard Sykes
Richard Sykes (diplomat)
Sir Richard Sykes was the British Ambassador to the Netherlands, who was killed by the IRA in The Hague in 1979. Footman Karel Straub was also killed, both being shot in the head as they left the ambassador's residence for the short trip to the embassy.He served in Havana, Peking and Washington,...

, then British Ambassador to the Netherlands, and his Dutch valet, Krel Straub, were killed in a gun attack in Den Haag, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

. The IRA also carried out 24 bomb attacks across Northern Ireland.
5 April 1979: Two British soldiers were killed when IRA snipers attacked Andersonstown British Army barracks in Belfast.
11 April 1979: Two British soldiers were killed when IRA snipers ambushed their armoured mobile patrol in the Ballymurphy area of Belfast.
13 April 1979: An off-duty UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA in Tynan, County Armagh. He was also a member of the Orange Order.
16 April 1979: An IRA unit shot dead a Prison Officer in Clogher, County Tyrone.
17 April 1979: Four RUC officers were killed when the IRA exploded an estimated 1,000 pound van bomb at Bessbrook, County Armagh, believed to be the largest bomb used by the IRA up to that point. Three of the officers were also a member of the Orange Order.
19 April 1979: A prion officer was killed and three others seriously injured in an IRA gun and bomb attack outside Armagh Prison. The injured officers claimed IRA volunteers later showed up at the hospital dressed as doctors to "finish them off" but ran off after one of the officers noticed them and started screaming. In Belfast a British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper.
25 April 1979: A UDR soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while driving a lorry in County Tyrone.
29 April 1979: A UDR soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper in Edendork, Tyrone.
6 May 1979: Two undercover British soldiers were shot dead by an IRA unit in Lisnaskea, County Fermanagh. The IRA unit ambushed their car.
9 May 1979: A British soldier was killed in an IRA bomb attack on his foot-patrol in the Turf Lodge area of Belfast.
19 May 1979: An ex-UDR man was shot dead by the IRA while delivering bread to a shop in Garrison, County Fermanagh (www.operationbanner.com)
20 May 1979: An RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA outside of a church in Derry.
3 June 1979: Two RUC officers were killed when the IRA detonated a bomb underneath their patrol vehcile near Crossmaglen, County Armagh.
6 June 1979: A UDR soldier was shot dead in an IRA attack on a British Army base on the Malone Road in Belfast.
9 June 1979: During a gun battle between the IRA and the British Army, an IRA volunteer was shot dead.
19 June 1979: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA in Omagh, County Tyrone.
22 June 1979: An RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA near Coagh, County Tyrone.
24 June 1979: An off-duty UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA while at his home in Markethill, County Armagh.
8 July 1979: A British soldier was killed in an IRA bomb attack on his foot patrol in Crossmaglen, County Armagh.
15 July 1979: A Catholic civilian was shot dead in the car-park of Falls Bowling Club on Andersonstown Road, Belfast. The Sutton Database claims that he was shot by the IRA. However, Lost Lives claims that the IRA denied responsibility and says that there is no obvious motive.
17 July 1979: An IRA unit launched a bomb attack on a British Army patrol in Roslea, County Fermanagh. A civilian who was in the area was killed by shrapnel.
2 August 1979: Two British soldiers were killed by the IRA in a landmine attack at Cathedral Road, Armagh town. In Belfast an RUC officer was shot dead by an IRA sniper
7 August 1979: A civilian was shot dead by the IRA during a raid on a bank in Tramore, County Waterford
Waterford
Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...

.
27 August 1979: An IRA bomb killed Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas George Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, DSO, PC, FRS , was a British statesman and naval officer, and an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...

at Mullaghmore, County Sligo the British Queen's first cousin, as well as The Dowager Baroness Brabourne
Doreen Knatchbull, Baroness Brabourne
Doreen Knatchbull, Baroness Brabourne, CI was an Anglo-Irish aristocrat, socialite and victim of the Provisional IRA.-Family life:...

, Mountbatten's elder daughter's mother-in-law (aged 83), The Hon. Nicholas Knatchbull, Mountbatten's elder daughter's fourth son (aged 14) and Paul Maxwell, a 15 year old Protestant youth from County Fermanagh who was working as a crew member. On the same day, the IRA launched the Warrenpoint ambush
Warrenpoint ambush
The Warrenpoint ambush or the Warrenpoint massacre was a guerrilla assault by the Provisional Irish Republican Army on 27 August 1979. The IRA attacked a British Army convoy with two large bombs at Narrow Water Castle , Northern Ireland...

, which resulted in the death of 18 British soldiers at Narrow Water Castle
Narrow Water Castle
Narrow Water Castle is a famous tower house near Warrenpoint in Northern Ireland, located on the County Down bank of the Clanrye River, which enters Carlingford Lough a mile to the south. Narrow Water Castle was given into state care in 1956 and is one...

, near Warrenpoint, County Down. As a British convoy passed, the IRA unit detonated a roadside bomb, killing six soldiers. IRA sniper fire then drove the soldiers to cover behind a nearby gatehouse, where a second bomb was detonated and killed a further twelve.
14 September 1979: A Prison Officer was shot dead by the IRA off the Crumlin Road in Belfast.
19 September 1979: Another Prison Officer was shot dead by the IRA outside the Crumlin Road Prison in Belfast.
8 October 1979: An undercover British soldier was shot dead when his car was ambushed by an IRA unit on the Falls Road, Belfast.
12 October 1979: The IRA shot dead a solicitor as he left Andersonstown British Army/RUC base in Belfast.
15 October 1979: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA in Roslea, County Fermanagh.
19 October 1979: An off-duty UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA in Fintona
Fintona
Fintona is a village and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the second largest settlement in the Omagh District Council area, after Omagh itself. Its 2010 population was estimated to be 1,410.-History:...

, County Tyrone.
28 October 1979: A British soldier and an RUC officer were killed when an IRA unit launched a heavy machine gun attack on Springfield Road Barracks, Belfast,
29 October 1979: An off-duty UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA in Dungannon
Dungannon
Dungannon is a medium-sized town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the third-largest town in the county and a population of 11,139 people was recorded in the 2001 Census. In August 2006, Dungannon won Ulster In Bloom's Best Kept Town Award for the fifth time...

, County Tyrone.
5 November 1979: A Prison Officer was shot dead by the IRA outside the Crumlin Road Prison, in Belfast.
13 November 1979: A British Beaver reconnaissance aircraft
De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver
The de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver is a single-engined, high-wing, propeller-driven, STOL aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, primarily known as a bush plane. It is used for cargo and passenger hauling, aerial application , and has been widely adopted by armed forces as a utility aircraft...

was hit six times by an IRA unit which had mounted a roadblock in south County Armagh. In Crossmaglen a British soldier was killed in an IRA booby-trap bomb attack.
23 November 1979: A Prison Officer was shot dead by the IRA while at his home in Glengormley, County Antrim.
3 December 1979: A Prison Officer was shot dead by the IRA at his home in Belfast.
16 December 1979: A landmine bomb killed four British soldiers near Dungannon
Dungannon
Dungannon is a medium-sized town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the third-largest town in the county and a population of 11,139 people was recorded in the 2001 Census. In August 2006, Dungannon won Ulster In Bloom's Best Kept Town Award for the fifth time...

, County Tyrone. Another soldier was killed by a booby-trap bomb at Forkill, County Armagh. A former member of the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR), James Fowler, was shot dead by the IRA in Omagh, County Tyrone.
17 December 1979: A Prison Officer was shot dead by the IRA off the Crumlin Road in Belfast.
22 December 1979: An off-duty RUC officer was shot dead by an IRA sniper while travelling in his car in County Monaghan
Monaghan
Monaghan is the county town of County Monaghan in Ireland. Its population at the 2006 census stood at 7,811 . The town is located on the main road, the N2 road, from Dublin north to both Derry and Letterkenny.-Toponym:...

.