The Charlemont pub attacks were co-ordinated militant

Loyalist paramilitary Ulster loyalism is a strand of Ulster unionism associated with working class Ulster Protestants in Northern Ireland. Like other unionists, loyalists support the continued existence of Northern Ireland (and formerly all of Ireland) within the U ...

attacks on two

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

s in the small village of

Charlemont, County Armagh Charlemont ( Irish: ''Achadh an Dá Chora'', "field of the two weirs") is a small village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It sits on the right bank of the River Blackwater, five miles northwest of Armagh, and is linked to the neighbourin ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, carried out by the

Ulster Volunteer Force The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalism, Ulster loyalist paramilitary group based in Northern Ireland. Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former Royal Ulster Rifles soldier from North ...

(UVF) on 15 May 1976. The attacks have been attributed to the

Glenanne gang The Glenanne gang or Glenanne group was a secret informal alliance of Ulster loyalists who carried out shooting and bombing attacks against Catholics and Irish nationalists in the 1970s, during the Troubles.

which was a coalition of

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

Loyalist paramilitaries and subversive members inside the

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the ...

(RUC), the Ulster Defense Regiment (UDR) and the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

Background

Since late 1975 there had been a number of deadly sectarian attacks carried out by both

Irish Republican Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish republic, void of any British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously elective and militant and has been both w ...

and

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

paramilitaries in

County Armagh County Armagh ( ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh. It borders t ...

. On 15 December, 17 year old Catholic civilian Ronald Trainor, a member of the

Irish Republican Socialist Party The Irish Republican Socialist Party or IRSP () is a minor communist, Marxist–Leninist and Irish republican party in Ireland. It is often referred to as the "political wing" of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) paramilitary group. ...

(believed to be the political wing of the

Irish National Liberation Army The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA, ) is an Irish republicanism, Irish republican Socialism, socialist paramilitary group formed on 8 December 1974, during the 30-year period of conflict known as "the Troubles". The group seeks to remove ...

), was killed by the UVF in

Portadown Portadown ( ) is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is based on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population ...

. On 19 December 1975 the Loyalist

Red Hand Commando The Red Hand Commando (RHC) is a small secretive Ulster loyalism#Paramilitary and vigilante groups, Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland that is closely linked to the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). Its aim was to combat Irish r ...

claimed responsibility for killing three Catholic civilians in a pub in

Silverbridge, County Armagh Silverbridge is a small village in the townland of Legmoylin in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is within the Newry and Mourne District Council area. In the 2011 Census it had a recorded population of 112. The local GAA club is Silverbr ...

. On 31 December the Irish National Liberation Army using the covername "Armagh People's Republican Army" killed three Protestant civilians when they bombed a pub near Portadown. At the start of January 1976 Loyalists gunmen killed six Catholic civilians in a double attack in County Armagh. The next day a group calling itself the

South Armagh Republican Action Force The South Armagh Republican Action Force (SARAF) shortened simply to the Republican Action Force (RAF) for a small number of attacks in Belfast was an Irish republican paramilitary group that was active from September 1975 to April 1977 during th ...

killed 10 Protestant civilian workmen in what became known as the

Kingsmill massacre The Kingsmill massacre, also referred to as the Whitecross massacre, was a mass shooting that took place on 5 January 1976 near the village of Whitecross, County Armagh, Whitecross in south County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Gunmen stopped a mini ...

Attacks

Locals claimed that the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) had been patrolling the village for a number of nights beforehand, but were absent the night of the attacks. On the night of 15 May 1976 at around 10:50 pm the Eagles Bar in Charlemont in Armagh was sprayed with gunfire from a

Sten The STEN (or Sten gun) is a British submachine gun chambered in 9×19mm which was used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and during the Korean War. The Sten paired a simple design with a low production co ...

submachine gun A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine (firearms), magazine-fed automatic firearm, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to descri ...

, four people had been hit and injured in the attack. Probably more would have been injured but the owner of the bar placed security shutters on the windows in case of an attack. One of those who was injured was Fred McLoughlin (47) who died two weeks later in hospital from his injuries. Almost instantly after the gunfire had stopped a loud bang was heard, this was the bomb that had gone off at Clancy's bar only a short distance away. The bomb had been placed at the front of the pubs door by the UVF unit and exploded right after the attack on the other pub had ended. The force of the blast brought the ceiling crashing down on the people inside the pub. Three people were killed in this bomb attack including Sean O'Hagan (22), Robert McCullough (41) and the pubs owner Felix "Vincy" Clancy (54) the pubs owner who had only just returned from the Eagle Bar a few minutes earlier. About 15 people had been injured in the attack, some of them seriously. On the same day as the Charlemont attacks the members of the UVF's Belfast Brigade carried out another bomb attack on a public house, called the Avenue Bar, on Union Street in the city center of Belfast killing two more Catholic civilians in the process. This brought the total to six dead Catholic civilians killed by the UVF for the day.

Aftermath

A member of the British Territorial Army Gerald Beattie and British UDR soldier David Kane were convicted of the shooting at the Eagle's Bar, and a RUC reservist Joseph Lutton for the bombing at Clancy's Bar, although Lutton named Beattie and Kane as having also taken part in the bombing at Clancy's they were given no further time on to their sentences or even interviewed about the bombing. Two days after the Charlemont attacks the

Republican Action Force The South Armagh Republican Action Force (SARAF) shortened simply to the Republican Action Force (RAF) for a small number of attacks in Belfast was an Irish republican paramilitary group that was active from September 1975 to April 1977 during th ...

claimed responsibility for killing Protestant civilians Robert and Thomas Dobson in

Moy, County Tyrone Moy () is a village and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland about southeast of Dungannon and beside the smaller village of Charlemont, County Armagh, Charlemont. Charlemont is on the east bank of the River Blackwater, Northern Ireland, ...

, apparently in retaliation for 15 May pub attacks.Anne Cadwallader - Lethal Allies: British Collusion In Ireland pp.14

References

{{Ulster Volunteer Force 1976 crimes in the United Kingdom 1976 in Northern Ireland Terrorist incidents in the United Kingdom in 1976 1976 murders in Ireland Mass murder in 1976 May 1976 in the United Kingdom 1976 mass shootings in Europe 1976 murders in the United Kingdom 1970s murders in Northern Ireland 1976 building bombings 1970s mass shootings in the United Kingdom Terrorist incidents in Ireland in the 1970s 20th-century mass murder in Northern Ireland Building bombings in Northern Ireland Terrorist incidents in Northern Ireland Deaths by firearm in Northern Ireland People killed by security forces during The Troubles (Northern Ireland) People killed by the Ulster Volunteer Force Police misconduct in Northern Ireland Spree shootings in Northern Ireland Attacks on bars in Northern Ireland Royal Ulster Constabulary The Troubles in County Armagh

Background

Attacks

Aftermath

See also

References