Gillian Johnston
Encyclopedia
Gillian Johnston, chemist and shop worker, killed by the IRA
, 18 March 1988, aged 21.
. She was engaged for two years, having dated her fiance since she was fifteen. Johnston and her fiance were sitting in her father's car, outside her home, when members of the IRA fired 47 bullets into Johnston, killing her and wounding her fiance.
The IRA later claimed the killing was a mistake and that the intended target was Johnston's brother, whom they had supposed to be a member of the UDR
. The IRA later admitted that they had been mistaken about Johnston's brother as well.
The IRA disbanded the unit which carried out the attack in reaction to public revulsion at the killing of Johnston and the killing of Harry Keys. The Gardai linked a man in his mid-twenties, a key member of the Ballyshannon
ASU
, to the death of Keys, Johnston, and the murders of William Hassard and Frederick Love. There was unconfirmed speculation that this unit was responsible for the Remembrance Day bombing
in Enniskillen
in November 1987.
Gillian Johnston was described by her employer as:
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
, 18 March 1988, aged 21.
Overview
Johnston was a twenty-one year old chemist and shop worker from Tonaghgorm, Legg, near Belleek, County FermanaghBelleek, County Fermanagh
Belleek is a village in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. While the greater part of the village lies within County Fermanagh, part of it crosses the border into County Donegal, a part of Ulster that lies in the Republic of Ireland. This makes Belleek the western-most village in the United Kingdom...
. She was engaged for two years, having dated her fiance since she was fifteen. Johnston and her fiance were sitting in her father's car, outside her home, when members of the IRA fired 47 bullets into Johnston, killing her and wounding her fiance.
The IRA later claimed the killing was a mistake and that the intended target was Johnston's brother, whom they had supposed to be a member of the UDR
UDR
UDR may refer to:*Ulster Defence Regiment*União Democrática Ruralista , a Brazilian right-wing association of farmers*Union des Démocrates pour la République, French political party*Union for Democracy and the Republic , Chadian political party...
. The IRA later admitted that they had been mistaken about Johnston's brother as well.
The IRA disbanded the unit which carried out the attack in reaction to public revulsion at the killing of Johnston and the killing of Harry Keys. The Gardai linked a man in his mid-twenties, a key member of the Ballyshannon
Ballyshannon
Ballyshannon is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is located where the N3 and N15 cross the River Erne, and claims to be the oldest town in Ireland.-Location:...
ASU
ASU
ASU may refer to:* ASU-57, Soviet airborne support gun* ASU-85, Soviet airborne support gun* Aikido Schools of Ueshiba* Air separation unit* Airport Security Unit...
, to the death of Keys, Johnston, and the murders of William Hassard and Frederick Love. There was unconfirmed speculation that this unit was responsible for the Remembrance Day bombing
Remembrance Day Bombing
The Remembrance Day bombing took place on 8 November 1987 in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland...
in Enniskillen
Enniskillen
Enniskillen is a town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is located almost exactly in the centre of the county between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,599 in the 2001 Census...
in November 1987.
Gillian Johnston was described by her employer as:
See also
- Nick Spanos and Stephen MelroseNick Spanos and Stephen MelroseNick Spanos and Stephen Melrose were Australian tourists killed by the IRA on 27 May 1990.-Overview:A native of Sydney who relocated to London, Spanos was a twenty-eight year old Australian traveling with twenty-four year old Stephen Melrose, , and their partners on a four-day holiday to see a Van...
- The Hanna familyThe Hanna familyRobert James Hanna, Maureen Hanna and their only child David Hanna were killed by a Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb on 23 July 1988.-Overview:Robert Hanna was a forty-five year old building contractor married to Maureen, aged forty-four...
- Jean McConvilleJean McConvilleJean 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...
- Thomas Oliver (farmer)Thomas Oliver (farmer)Thomas Oliver, farmer, killed by the IRA on 19 July 1991.-Overview:A farmer with no connection to paramilitary group or the security forces, Oliver was a thirty-seven year-old father of seven children, and a native of Riverstown on the Cooley peninsula, near Dundalk...