The Belfast Bomb Blitz and Bloody Friday are among the names given to the bombings by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) in and around Belfast, Northern Ireland on July 21, 1972. The bombings were part of a concerted bombing campaign carried out by the Provisional IRA against economic and military targets in Northern Ireland. The group carried out a total of 1,300 bombings in 1972. WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 54. ... Anthem: UK: God Save the Queen Regional: (de facto) Londonderry Air Capital Belfast Largest city Belfast Official languages English (de facto), Irish, Ulster Scots 3, Northern Ireland Sign Language, Irish Sign Language Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Office... July 21 is the 202nd day (203rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 163 days remaining. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... A Republican mural in Belfast depicting the hunger strikes of 1981. ... A Republican mural in Belfast depicting the hunger strikes of 1981. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 54. ... Anthem: UK: God Save the Queen Regional: (de facto) Londonderry Air Capital Belfast Largest city Belfast Official languages English (de facto), Irish, Ulster Scots 3, Northern Ireland Sign Language, Irish Sign Language Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Office... July 21 is the 202nd day (203rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 163 days remaining. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Anthem: UK: God Save the Queen Regional: (de facto) Londonderry Air Capital Belfast Largest city Belfast Official languages English (de facto), Irish, Ulster Scots 3, Northern Ireland Sign Language, Irish Sign Language Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Office...

Overview

A total of 22 bombs were planted and, in the resulting explosions, 11 people were killed and a further 130 seriously injured. Warnings were given by the IRA via the local media to the security forces before the bombs exploded with 30 minutes' warning given for the first bombing and around 70 minutes' warning for the last bomb. The IRA leader, Sean MacStiofain, claimed that the warnings were ignored by the British Army to cause civilian casualties that would discredit the IRA^{[citation needed]}, however this is not widely deemed to be credible. Along with some accurate warnings which were given by the PIRA, two more hoax warnings were called in, which impeded the evacuation of the area. As a result, the Royal Ulster Constabulary and British Army only effectively cleared a relatively small number of areas before the bombs went off. In addition, because of the large number of bombs in the confined area of Belfast city centre, people evacuated from the site of one bomb were accidentally moved into the vicinity of other bombs. Seán Mac Stíofáin (17 February 1928- 18 May 2001) was an Irish republican and first chief of staff of the Provisional IRA. Sean MacStiofain // Childhood Although he used the Gaelicised version of his name in later life, Mac Stíofáin was born an only child as... The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was name of the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ...

Thirty years after the killings the IRA issued a statement of apology. A Republican mural in Belfast depicting the hunger strikes of 1981. ...

Sequence of events - 21 July 1972

The accounts of the events that appeared in the first editions of local and national newspapers were, naturally enough, somewhat confused about the details of the events of the day. The following details are based on a number of secondary reports and accounts. The timings referred to below are approximate and given in BST/IST (UTC+1). Time zones of Europe: Light colours indicate countries not observing daylight saving British Summer Time (BST) is the changing of the clocks in effect in the United Kingdom and Irish Summer Time (IST) in Republic of Ireland between the last Sunday in March and the last Sunday in October each...

2:09 p.m. (Windsor Park, Belfast)
A bomb (estimated at 30 pounds (14 kg) of explosive) was detonated on the footbridge over the Dublin to Belfast railway line at Windsor Park. There were no injuries in the explosion. WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 53. ... Windsor Park - a view from the Kop Stand, showing the two-tiered North Stand and the low Railway stand behind the opposite goal Windsor Park is the home ground of the Northern Irish football club, Linfield FC, in Belfast. ...

2:36 p.m. (Brookvale Hotel, Brookvale Avenue, north Belfast)
A bomb (estimated at 50 pounds (23 kg) of explosive) exploded at the Brookvale Hotel, in Brookvale Avenue, north Belfast. The bomb was contained in a suitcase and was planted by two men. The area had been cleared and no injuries occurred.

Bomb warnings about other devices planted in Belfast were being received every few minutes.

2:40 p.m. (Ulster Bank, Limestone Road, north Belfast)
The car bomb (estimated at 50 pounds (23 kg) of explosive) exploded outside the branch of the Ulster Bank on the Limestone Road, north Belfast. The site of this bomb was a few hundred yards from the first bomb. This area had not been cleared. A local Catholic woman was caught in the blast and lost both legs. Motorists, in cars which were caught up in the traffic chaos, were also injured in the blast. Ulster Bank (Irish: Banc Uladh) is a large commercial bank, one of the Big Four in Ireland. ...

2:52 p.m. (Botanic Railway Station, Botanic Avenue, Belfast)
A car bomb (estimated at 50 pounds (23 kg) of explosive) exploded outside the railway station in Botanic Avenue. There was considerable damage to property but no serious injuries.

2:53 p.m. (Queen Elizabeth Bridge, Belfast)
A car bomb (estimated at 160 pounds (73 kg) of explosive) exploded without warning on the Queen Elizabeth Bridge. There were no serious injuries in this explosion. There was some damage to the structure of the bridge. The Queen Elizabeth Bridge carries the Windsor By-pass across the River Thames, just to the west of the town of Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. ...

3:02 p.m. (Agnes Street, Belfast)
A car bomb (estimated at 30 pounds (14 kg) of explosive) exploded outside a group of Protestant houses in Agnes Street. Those in the area did not receive a warning but there were no serious injuries. Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ...

3:02 p.m. (Liverpool Bar, Donegall Quay, Belfast)
A bomb (estimated at 50 pounds (23 kg) of explosive) exploded in the Liverpool Bar in Donegall Quay. There was no clear warning and the explosion caused a few casualties.

3:02 p.m. (Bellevue, north Belfast)
A bomb (estimated at 30 pounds (14 kg) of explosive) exploded on the bridge over the M2 motorway at Bellevue in north Belfast. There were no serious injuries in this explosion.

3:03 p.m. (York Street Station, York Street, Belfast)
A bomb (estimated at 30 pounds (14 kg) of explosive) exploded at York Street railway station. The bomb was contained in a suitcase and exploded before the station could be cleared. There were a number of casualties.

3:04 p.m. (Ormeau Avenue, Belfast)
A car bomb (estimated at 50 pounds (23 kg) of explosive) exploded in Ormeau Avenue. Those in the area did not receive a warning. However, there were no serious injuries.

3:05 p.m. (Eastwood's Garage, Donegall Road, Belfast)
A car bomb (estimated at 150 pounds (68 kg) of explosive) destroyed Eastwood's Garage on Donegall Road. There were no serious injuries in the explosion.

3:10 p.m. (Oxford Street Bus Depot, Oxford Street, Belfast)
A car bomb exploded outside the Ulsterbus depot in Oxford Street. This explosion resulted in the greatest loss of life and the greatest number of casualties, of any of the bombs on the day. The area was being cleared but was still crowded when the bomb, in a Volkswagen estate car, exploded. Two British soldiers, Stephen Cooper (19) and Philip Price (27) were close to the car bomb and died instantly. Also killed in the blast were: William Crothers (15), William Irvine (18); Thomas Killops (39) and John Gibson (45). All four were Protestant civilians who worked for the Ulsterbus company. Ulsterbus is a public transport operator in Northern Ireland and operates bus services outside of Belfast. ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ...

3:15 p.m. (Stewartstown Road, Belfast)
A bomb, thought to have been abandoned on the Stewartstown Road, exploded but caused no serious injuries.

3:20 p.m. (Cavehill Road, north Belfast)
A car bomb (estimated at 50 pounds (23 kg) of explosive) exploded outside a row of single storey shops near the top of the Cavehill Road, north Belfast. Those caught in the blast had no warning of the bomb. The shops were in a religiously-mixed residential area. Two women and a man died in this blast. Mrs Margaret O'Hare (37), a Catholic mother of seven children, died in her car. Her 11-year-old daughter was with her in her car and was badly injured. Miss Brigid Murray (65), a Catholic, was also killed. Stephen Parker (14), a Protestant teenager, also died in the explosion. In addition there were a number of serious injuries.

3:25 p.m. (Railway Line, near Lisburn Road, Belfast)
A bomb exploded on the railway line near the Lisburn Road, but caused no casualties. WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 54. ...

3:25 p.m. (Crumlin Road, Belfast)
Two bombs (both estimated at 50 pounds (23 kg) of explosive) exploded at the Star Garage on the Crumlin Road. There were no serious injuries in the explosions.

3:30 p.m. ('Nutts Corner', west of Belfast)
A landmine was detonated on the road to Nutts Corner, west of Belfast, just as a bus full of schoolchildren was passing. The driver saw the device and swerved, avoiding the worst of the blast. It was thought that the bus may have been mistaken for a British army vehicle. There were no serious injuries in the explosion.

3:30 p.m. (Northern Ireland Carriers Depot, Grosvenor Road, Belfast)
A bomb (estimated at 50 pounds (23 kg) of explosive) exploded at the Northern Ireland Carriers depot on the Grosvenor Road. There were no serious injuries in the explosion.

3:30 p.m. (Sydenham, east Belfast)
A bomb on the Sydenham flyover was defused by the British Army. The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ...

External links

• http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/2132219.stm
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/2132188.stm
• http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/bfriday/dead.htm
• http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/bfriday/nio/nio72.htm