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The Ballykelly disco bombing occurred on December 6, 1982 when a small bomb killed seventeen people in the Droppin Well disco and bar in the Northern Irish town of Ballykelly. The RUC believed that the bomb was small enough to fit into a handbag, but because the building had been poorly constructed the weak supports for the heavy concrete roof gave way under the force of the blast, bring tons of concrete down onto the people inside. December 6 is the 340th day (341st on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Dieu et mon droit (motto) (French for God and my right)2 Northern Irelands location within the UK Main language English Other recognised languages Irish, Ulster Scots Capital and largest city Belfast First Minister Office suspended Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Peter Hain MP Area - Total Ranked 4th...
Ballykelly (Baile UÃ Cheallaigh) is a village 3 miles west of Limavady and contains some of the most interesting buildings erected in Ulster by the Plantation companies. ...
The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was name of the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. ...
The disco was targeted because it was a routine location for British Army soldiers from the nearby Shackleton Barracks to unwind at a weekend and meet some local girls, who were predominately Protestant (although at least one Roman Catholic was killed in the explosion). Following the blast, it took many hours to pull survivors from the rubble, as the club had been overfull with an estimated 150 patrons at the time of the blast. Ultimately, 17 people were found to have died, or died in hospital from their injuries, and over thirty seriously injured, some permanently. The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ...
Protestantism is a movement within Christianity, representing the splitting away from the Roman Catholic Church during the mid-to-late Renaissance in Europe—a period known as the Protestant Reformation. ...
The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ...
Suspicion immediately fell upon the Provisional Irish Republican Army, who denied involvement. Shortly afterwards, the Irish National Liberation Army, a smaller republican paramilitary group, admitted culpability, claiming: The Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA; more commonly referred to as the IRA, the Provos, or by some of its supporters as the army or the RA) is an Irish Republican paramilitary organisation dedicated to the end of British rule in Northern Ireland and to a United Ireland. ...
The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) is an Irish republican paramilitary organization which was formed on December 8, 1974. ...
"We believe that it is only attacks of such a nature that bring it home to people in Britain and the British establishment. The shooting of an individual soldier, for the people of Britain, has very little effect in terms of the media or in terms of the British administration."
The attack was criticised by many on both sides of the conflict in Northern Ireland due to the high loss of civilian lives, six of whom were killed, none older than 26. Of the eleven soldiers who died, eight were from the 1st battalion, Cheshire Regiment, two of the Army Catering Corps and one from The Light Infantry. The 22nd (Cheshire) Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales Division. ...
The Light Infantry is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Light Division. ...
An INLA operation six days after the bombing in Armagh was stopped by RUC officers, who killed Seamus Grew and Rodney Carroll in a gun battle near a checkpoint.
Four years after the attack, five people were convicted of involvement in the expolsion. Four were given life sentances for multiple murder charges, whilst the fifth, the daughter and girlfriend of two of the other suspects was given 10 years for manslaughter, as the court believed she had been coerced into involvement.
- Anna Moore, 40
- Helena Semple, 29
- Eamon Moore, 25
- Patrick Shotter, 40
- Jacqueline Ann Moore, 19 (received 10 years)
A memorial stone has been raised at the site of Shackleton Barracks to the seventeen fatal casualties of the attack.
The dead
- Private Terence Adams, 20
- Alan Callaghan, 17
- Private Paul Delaney, 18
- Ruth Dixon, 17
- Lance Corporal Steven Bagshaw, 21
- Lance Corporal Clinton Collins, 20
- Patricia Cooke, 21 (Died on the 16th in hospital)
- Angela Hoole, 19
- Lance Corporal Philip McDonough, 26
- Valerie McIntyre, 21
- Private David Murray, 18
- Corporal David Salthouse, 23
- Private Steven Smith, 24
- Carol Watts, 25
- Private Neil Williams, 18
- Private Anthony S. Williamson, 20
- Lance Corporal David Wilson-Stitt, 27
See also The Troubles is a term used to describe two periods of violence in Ireland during the twentieth century. ...
The whole of Northern Ireland has, in some way, been caught up in the Troubles and subsequent peace process. ...
External links - Sutton CAIN Chronological Index
- Irish News Article
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