Ronnie Bunting
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Ronnie Bunting (10 January 1948 – 15 October 1980) was a
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
Irish republican and
socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
activist in
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. He became a member of the Official IRA in the early 1970s and was a founder-member of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) in 1974. He became leader of the INLA in 1978 and was assassinated in 1980 aged 32.


Background

Bunting came from an Ulster Protestant family in East
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
. His father, Ronald Bunting, had been a major in 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 ...
and Ronnie grew up in various military barracks around the world. Ronnie's father became a supporter and associate of Ian Paisley and ran for election under the Protestant Unionist Party banner. Journalist Walter Ellis, who was Bunting's cousin and also a Protestant left-wing advocate of a
united Ireland United Ireland (), also referred to as Irish reunification or a ''New Ireland'', is the proposition that all of Ireland should be a single sovereign state. At present, the island is divided politically: the sovereign state of Ireland (legally ...
, recalled him in their teenage years as domineering with violent tendencies. Ellis was expelled from Orangefield High School after setting fire to the prefects' room at Bunting's urging. Having completed his education and graduating from
Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...
, Ronnie Bunting briefly became a history teacher in Belfast, but later become involved in the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association and then with Irish republican organisations.''Lost Lives: The Stories of the Men, Women and Children who Died as a Result of the Northern Ireland Troubles'' by David McKittrick, et al. Mainstream Publishing (May 10, 2001); , Unlike most Protestants in Northern Ireland, Bunting became a militant republican. His father, by contrast, was a committed
Ulster loyalist Ulster loyalism is a strand of Unionism in Ireland, 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 I ...
, who organised armed stewards for counter-demonstrations (against civil rights marches) called by Ian Paisley, most infamously at the Burntollet Bridge incident, when his followers attacked a People's Democracy civil rights march on 4 January 1969. Despite their political differences, Ronnie remained close to his father. Bunting was briefly a member of People's Democracy between 1968 and 1970, before joining Official Sinn Féin (which used the name '' Republican Clubs'' in Northern Ireland). Bunting married his wife Suzanne in 1969 while still a student.


Membership of the Official IRA

Some time around 1970, as a result of his left wing,
secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...
interpretation of
Irish republicanism Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish Republic, Irish republic, void of any British rule in Ireland, British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously ...
, as well as a belief in the necessity of armed revolution, Bunting joined the Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA). (The other wing of the IRA—the
Provisional Irish Republican Army The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...
—was more nationalist and Catholic in its outlook.) At the time, the communal conflict known as
the Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
was beginning and the Official IRA was involved in shootings and bombings. Along with many others, Bunting was interned in November 1971, and held in Long Kesh until the following April (see also Operation Demetrius).


Membership of the INLA

In 1974, Bunting followed
Seamus Costello Seamus Costello (, 1939 – 5 October 1977) was an Irish politician. He was a leader of Official Sinn Féin and the Official Irish Republican Army and latterly of the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) and the Irish National Liberation Army ...
and other militants who disagreed with the OIRA's ceasefire of 1972, into a new grouping called the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA). Immediately, a violent feud broke out between the OIRA and the INLA. In January 1975, Costello made a scathing accusation against the Belfast leadership of the Official IRA, accusing them of drawing up a death list of four individuals associated with the IRSP, one of which was Bunting. He stated that masked men had visited the Bunting home looking for Ronnie. Discovering he wasn't home, they fired two shots and narrowly missed his wife and infant daughter. In February 1975, the Official IRA attacked a house where Bunting and Seán and Harry Flynn were hiding in near the Antrim Road with a machine gun. On 5 March 1975, Bunting survived an assassination attempt when he was shot by an Official IRA sniper when driving out of the Turf Lodge area of West Belfast. He was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital on the Falls Road and survived. The attempts on Bunting's life caused serious distress to his wife, resulting in him and his family moving to
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
until July 1975, when he moved to
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
. He later returned to Belfast in late 1976, becoming the Commanding officer of the Belfast INLA. For the remaining two years of his life, Bunting was the military leader of the INLA. The grouping regularly attacked the British Army and
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) in Belfast. Bunting called in claims of responsibility to the media by the code name "Captain Green", mimicking the Ulster Freedom Fighters' code name of "Captain Black". The first instance of this was on 24 November 1976, when a Royal Welsh Fusilier patrol responded to a robbery at Monagh Post Office and Corporal Andrew Crocker was then killed by a sniper. Initially claimed by the Provisional IRA, it was later attributed to the INLA when Bunting called the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
, using the "Captain Green" code name, and gave technical details of the killing. Following the Sallins Train Robbery, Bunting was one of 40 who were arrested under section 30 of the Offences against the State Act in early April 1976. On his release, Bunting reported that special branch detectives had beaten him and told him that he was “Northern scum” and that he had no legal rights. He was eventually released In April 1977, the INLA kidnapped the son of a banker who lived in Whitehead for ransom. Initially believing loyalists were behind the kidnapping, they were surprised to see a Turf Lodge location for the ransom drop-off. The RUC attempted to capture those collecting the £25,000 ransom, but failed. Bunting later discovered the RUC were looking for him in relation to the kidnapping, and turned himself in to the nearest police station alongside the SDLP's Paddy Devlin. Bunting was then taken to Castlereagh interrogation centre, where he claimed he was abused, beaten and had the initials 'UVF' scratched on his arm. On being released, he lodged a complaint against the RUC, who in turn charged him with wasting their time. He was convicted and fined a year later, though this decision was reversed on appeal. In May 1978, Bunting was involved in an attempted INLA robbery of a bank in Mallow,
County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...
. The plan failed when one of the unit trigger an alarm, however, a security van was spotted during the escape and gave them ideas for a future robbery. During the June holiday weekend, the same unit, now including Patsy O'Hara, posed as council workers and robbed a security van in the Barna gap,
County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...
. Seizing £460,000, they discovered the getaway car's ignition had burned out and had to use a German tourist's car that had stopped at the fake road works to escape. The money and weapons were then hidden in a forest. During the October 1979 Ard Fhéis, Vinty Fegan proposed granting party membership to Bunting. While Bunting was a senior figure in the INLA, and often mistaken as a founder of the IRSP, he had never formally joined the IRSP. He subsequently became a member on the IRSP Ard Chomhairle as the regional delegate for Belfast. In his final arrest on 8 August 1980, Bunting was arrested alongside Seán Flynn and Francis Barry (a member of the
Troops Out Movement The Troops Out Movement (TOM) was an Irish republican organisation formed in the United Kingdom in 1973, following actions by the British Army in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, including the Bloody Sunday and Ballymurphy massacres by the ...
) and taken to Castlereagh interrogation centre for questioning. He was held for several days, refusing to answer questions. After he was released he gave a statement to the Association for Legal Justice. In it he alleged that he was threatened by two detectives, with one saying ''"Look at my face. This is the face you’ll see before I kill you."'' He then requested the names of the detectives, which they refused to answer.


Assassination

At about 4:30 a.m. on 15 October 1980, the Buntings were awoken by the sound of banging coming from men with sledgehammers breaking down their door. Within seconds, several gunmen wearing balaclavas stormed the Bunting's home in the Downfine Gardens area of Turf Lodge. They shot Bunting, his wife Suzanne and another INLA man and ex-member of the Red Republican Party, Noel Lyttle, who had been staying there after his recent release from detention. According to ''The Guardian'' report by David Beresford,
The shots woke the Buntings' children, age 7 and 3, who ran screaming into the street after discovering their parents lying together at the top of the stairs, covered in blood. Mr Lyttle was shot in bed, near a cot in which the Buntings' baby son was sleeping.
Both Ronnie Bunting and Lyttle were killed. Suzanne Bunting, who was shot in the face, survived her serious injuries. From her hospital bed she stated that the RUC ''"know, as I do, that the people who killed Ronnie and Noel knew where they could be found, in what rooms, and how best to break down the doors. I told the police what I believe and know in all my heart, that it was the SAS."'' The attack was claimed by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), but the INLA claimed the
Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling, and in 1950 it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terr ...
were involved. Despite seven doors being at the top of the stairs, all of the attackers went straight for the Bunting's bedroom. Upon his death, Bunting's body was kept in a funeral parlour on the Newtownards Road opposite the headquarters of the UDA. On the day of the funeral, as the coffin was being removed, UDA members jeered from their building. The IRSP had wanted a republican paramilitary-style funeral for Bunting but his father refused and had Bunting buried in the family plot of a
Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...
cemetery near Donaghadee.Henry McDonald & Jackie Holland ''INLA Deadly Divisions'', Torc (1994); ,


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bunting, Ronnie 1980 deaths Deaths by firearm in Northern Ireland Irish National Liberation Army members Irish republicans Irish republicans interned without trial Official Irish Republican Army members People killed by the Ulster Defence Association Protestant Irish nationalists 1948 births