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List of bombings during the Troubles

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This is a list of notable bombings related to the Northern Ireland "Troubles" and their aftermath. It includes bombings that took place in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and Great Britain since 1968. There were at least 10,000 bomb attacks during the conflict (1968–1998).[1]

1969

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1970

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1971

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  • 2 November – Red Lion Pub bombing: Three Protestant civilians were killed and dozens injured by an IRA bomb attack on a Protestant bar on Ormeau Road, Belfast.
  • 4 December – McGurk's Bar bombing: There were 15 civilians killed and 17 injured by a UVF bomb attack on a Catholic bar in Belfast.[4]
  • 11 December – 1971 Balmoral Furniture Company bombing: Three Protestant civilians—two of them children—and a Roman Catholic civilian were killed. 19 people were injured in the attack. No group claimed credit for the attack but it was believed to have been carried out by the IRA.[5]

1972

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  • 22 February – Aldershot bombing: Seven people were killed by an Official IRA bomb at Aldershot Barracks in England, thought to be in retaliation for Bloody Sunday. Six of those killed were female ancillary workers and the seventh was a Roman Catholic military chaplain.[6]
  • 4 March – Abercorn Restaurant bombing: A bomb exploded without warning in the Abercorn restaurant on Castle Lane, Belfast. Two were killed and another 130 were injured.
  • 23 March – Donegall Street bombing: The IRA detonated a massive car bomb in Lower Donegall Street in Belfast's city centre. Seven people were killed in the explosion, including two members of the RUC. 148 people were injured.
  • 21 July – Bloody Friday: The IRA exploded 35 bombs across Northern Ireland, and three large car bombs exploded in Derry, causing no injuries. The Belfast–Dublin train line was also bombed. The IRA detonated 22 bombs in Belfast's city center; nine people were killed (including two British soldiers and one Ulster Defence Association (UDA) member) from two bombs while 130 were injured.[7]
  • 31 July – Claudy bombing: Nine civilians were killed by a car bomb in Claudy, County Londonderry. No group has claimed responsibility, though the IRA was suspected.[8]
  • 22 August – Newry customs bombing: A bomb planted by the IRA detonated prematurely at a customs office in Newry. Three IRA members killed six civilians and themselves in the explosion.
  • 14 September – Imperial Hotel bombing 1972: The UVF detonated a car bomb outside a hotel near Antrim Road, Belfast, which killed three people and injured 50 others. 91-year-old Martha Smilie, a Protestant civilian, was the oldest person killed during the Troubles.
  • 31 October – Benny's Bar bombing: The UDA exploded a bomb outside a pub in Belfast, killing two Catholic children and injuring 12 people.
  • 1 December – 1972 and 1973 Dublin bombings: Two civilians were killed and 127 were injured by two Ulster loyalist car bombs in Dublin, Republic of Ireland.
  • 28 December – Belturbet bombing: Loyalist paramilitaries exploded a bomb in Belturbet, County Cavan, Ireland, which killed two teenagers and injured 8 other people, at the same time a bomb exploded in Clones, County Monaghan, injuring two other people.

1973

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1974

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  • 4 February – M62 coach bombing: 12 people were killed by an IRA bomb planted on a coach on the M62 in the West Riding of Yorkshire carrying British soldiers and their families.[10]
  • 2 May - Rose & Crown Bar bombing - Six Catholic civilians were killed and 18 injured by a UVF bomb at a bar on Ormeau Road, Belfast.[11]
  • 17 May – Dublin and Monaghan bombings: the UVF detonated four bombs (three in Dublin, one in Monaghan) in the Republic of Ireland. They killed 33 civilians including a pregnant woman.[12]
  • 17 June – 1974 Houses of Parliament bombing: The IRA bombed the Houses of Parliament in London, injuring 11 people and causing extensive damage.[13]
  • 17 July – 1974 Tower of London bombing: The IRA detonated a bomb at the Tower of London, killing a civilian and injuring 41 people.
  • 5 October – Guildford pub bombings: four soldiers and one civilian were killed and 65 people injured by IRA bombs at two pubs in Guildford, England.[14]
  • 22 October – Brooks's Club bombing: The IRA threw a bomb into a conservative club in London, injuring three staff members.
  • 7 November – Woolwich pub bombing: A soldier and a civilian were killed and 35 people injured when the IRA threw a bomb into the Kings Arms public house in Woolwich
  • 14 November - James Patrick McDade, Lieutenant in the Birmingham Battalion, of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) was killed in a premature explosion whilst planting a bomb at the Coventry telephone exchange in 1974. Along with the death of McDade another IRA Volunteer named Raymond McLaughlin was arrested near the scene of the bombing & was subsequently convicted for the Coventry bomb. There were three further IRA bomb explosions in England that day. The RAF Club in Northampton was badly gutted by a firebomb,[15] the Conservative Club in Solihull was damaged by a bomb,[16] and a timber yard in Ladywood in Birmingham was also subjected to a bombing.[17][18][19]
  • 21 November – Birmingham pub bombings: 21 civilians were killed and 182 injured by IRA bombs at pubs in Birmingham, England.[20]
  • 25 & 27 November – 1974 London pillar box bombings: The IRA exploded several bombs over a two-day period, injuring 40 people in total.
  • 17 December – Telephone Exchange bombings: The IRA exploded three time bombs in west London at the telephone exchange, killing one civilian and injuring six others.
  • 18 December – 1974 Bristol bombing: The IRA detonated two bombs in Bristol, injuring 20 people.
  • 19 December – 1974 Oxford Street bombing: The IRA detonated a 100 lb. car bomb outside a Selfridges store on Oxford Street, injuring 9 people and causing over £1.5 million in damages.
  • 22 December – The IRA announced a Christmas ceasefire after carrying out a bomb attack on the home of former prime minister Edward Heath. Heath was not in the building at the time and no one was injured.[21]

1975

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1976

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  • 7 March – Castleblayney bombing: The UVF detonated a car bomb in County Monaghan, killing a civilian and injuring 17 others.
  • 17 March – Hillcrest Bar bombing: The UVF detonated a car bomb outside a pub in Tyrone, killing four people and injuring 50.
  • 27 March – 1976 Olympia bombing: An IRA bomb exploded in London, killing one civilian and injuring 85 others in the blast. Due to the outrage over this bombing, the IRA temporarily suspended attacks in England.
  • 15 May – Charlemont pub attacks: Five Catholic civilians were killed and many injured by two UVF bomb attacks in Belfast and Charlemont, County Armagh.
  • 21 July – Christopher Ewart-Biggs, the British Ambassador to Ireland, and his secretary Judith Cook, were killed in Dublin by a bomb planted in Biggs's car.[22]
  • 16 August – 1976 Step Inn pub bombing: The UVF detonated a bomb in Keady, South Armagh, killing two civilians and injuring 20.
  • 16 October – Garryhinch ambush: The IRA detonated a bomb at a farmhouse in Garryhinch, killing a member of the Garda and badly wounding four others.

1978

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1979

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1980

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1981

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1982

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  • 23 February – Attacks on shipping in Lough Foyle (1981–82): The IRA sank the St. Bedan, a British coal ship at Lough Foyle.
  • 20 July – Hyde Park and Regents Park bombings: 11 British soldiers and seven military horses died in IRA bomb attacks in Regent's Park and Hyde Park, London. Many spectators were badly injured.[29]
  • 16 September – 1982 Divis Flats bombing: the INLA detonated a remote-control bomb hidden in a drainpipe as a British patrol passed Cullingtree Walk, Divis Flats, Belfast. Three people were killed: a British soldier, Kevin Waller; and two Catholic children, Stephen Bennett and Kevin Valliday. Three others, including two more British soldiers and a Catholic civilian, were injured in the attack.
  • 6 December – Droppin Well bombing: 11 British soldiers and six civilians were killed by an INLA bomb at the Droppin' Well Bar, County Londonderry.

1983

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  • 10 December – 1983 Royal Artillery Barracks bombing: A bomb exploded at the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich, South East London. The explosion injured five people and caused minor damage to the building. The IRA claimed they carried out the attack.
  • 17 December – Harrods bombing: an IRA car bomb killed three policemen and three civilians, and injured ninety outside a department store in London.

1984

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1985

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1986

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1987

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  • 8 November – Remembrance Day bombing: 11 civilians were killed and sixty-three injured by an IRA bomb during a Remembrance Day service in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh. One of those killed was Marie Wilson; in a BBC interview, her father Gordon (who was injured in the attack) expressed forgiveness towards his daughter's killer, and asked Loyalists not to seek revenge. He became a leading peace campaigner and was later elected to the Irish Senate. He died in 1995.[36]

1988

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  • 15 June – Lisburn van bombing: Six off-duty British soldiers were killed by an IRA bomb on their minibus in Lisburn.
  • 23 July – Robert James Hanna, his wife Maureen Patricia Hanna (both 44), and their son David (aged 7) were killed and 3 people were left injured in Killean, County Armagh after a 1,000 lb bomb exploded upon their Jeep Shogun passing by. The roadside bomb was thought to be intended for High Court Judge Eoin Higgins. The Provisional IRA issued a statement after the attack claiming responsibility, and going on to describe the Hanna's as "Unfortunate victims of mistaken identity", adding that "This bomb, which was to be detonated by remote control, exploded prematurely, tragically killing three civilians."
  • 1 August – Inglis Barracks bombing: A British soldier was killed and another nine injured when the IRA detonated a time bomb outside Inglis Barracks in Mill Hill, London.
  • 20 August – Ballygawley bus bombing: eight British soldiers were killed and 28 wounded by an IRA roadside bomb near Ballygawley.

1989

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1990

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  • 25 June – Carlton Club bombing: A bomb exploded at the Carlton Club in London, injuring 20 people. Donald Kaberry died of his injuries on 13 March 1991.
  • 20 July – The IRA bombed the London Stock Exchange.[38]
  • 30 July – Conservative MP Ian Gow was killed by a car bomb outside his house near Eastbourne.[39]
  • 6 September – RFA Fort Victoria bombing: The IRA planted two bombs aboard the Royal Fleet Auxiliary replenishment ship RFA Fort Victoria. One of them exploded, disabling the ship that had been constructed in Belfast and launched some weeks before. The second bomb failed to go off and was found and defused 15 days later.
  • 24 October – The IRA delivered three proxy bombs to British Army checkpoints. Three men (who were working with the British Army) were tied into cars loaded with explosives and ordered to drive to each checkpoint. Each bomb was remotely detonated. The first exploded at a checkpoint in Coshquin, killing the driver and five soldiers; the second exploded at a checkpoint in Killean, with the driver narrowly escaping and a soldier killed; and the third failed to detonate.[40]

1991

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  • 7 February – Downing Street mortar attack: The IRA launched a mortar attack on 10 Downing Street during a cabinet meeting with one mortar shell exploding in the garden, causing minor injuries to two people and two further shells landing nearby.
  • 31 May – Glenanne barracks bombing: The IRA launched a large truck bomb attack on a UDR barracks in County Armagh. Three soldiers were killed, while ten soldiers and four civilians were wounded.

1992

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  • 17 January – Teebane bombing: A 600 lb (270 kg) (1,500 lb (680 kg) per another source[41]) roadside bomb detonated by the IRA destroyed a van and killed eight construction workers (one of them a Territorial Army soldier) on their way back from Lisanelly British Army barracks in Omagh, County Tyrone, where they were making repairs. Another eight were wounded.[42]
  • 10 April – Baltic Exchange bombing: A van loaded with one ton of home-made explosives went off outside the building of the Baltic Exchange company, at 30 St Mary Axe, London, killing three people and injuring another 91.[43] The bomb caused £800 million worth of damage.[44] Three hours later, a similar sized bomb exploded at the junction of the M1 and the North Circular Road at Staples Corner in north London, causing substantial damage but no injuries. Both bombs were placed in vans and were home-made rather than Semtex; each weighed several hundred pounds.[45]
  • 1 May – Attack on Cloghoge checkpoint: The IRA used a modified van that ran on railway tracks to launch an unconventional bomb attack on a British Army checkpoint in South Armagh. The checkpoint was obliterated when the 1,000 kg bomb exploded, killing one soldier and injuring 23.
  • 12 May – 1992 Coalisland riots: After a small IRA bomb attack on a British Army patrol in the village of Cappagh, in which a paratrooper lost both legs, British soldiers raided two public houses and caused considerable damage in the nearby town of Coalisland. Five days later, the conflict became a fist-fight between soldiers and local inhabitants. Shortly thereafter, another group of British paratroopers arrived and fired on a crowd of civilians and injured seven. Two soldiers were hospitalized, communication equipment was shattered and a rifle and a GPMG were stolen.
  • 19 September – Forensic Science Laboratory bombing: The IRA detonated a 3,700 lb bomb[46] at the Northern Ireland forensic science laboratory in south Belfast. The laboratory was obliterated, 700 houses were damaged, and 20 people were injured.[47] 490 owners and occupiers claimed damages.[48]

1993

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  • 20 March – Warrington bombings: after a vague telephoned warning, the IRA detonated two bombs in Cheshire, England. Two children were killed and 56 people were wounded. There were widespread protests in Britain and the Republic of Ireland following the deaths.[49]
  • 24 April – 1993 Bishopsgate bombing: After a telephoned warning, the IRA detonated a large bomb in Bishopsgate, London. It killed one civilian, wounded 30 others, and caused an estimated £350 million in damage.[50]
  • 2 October – 1993 Finchley Road bombings: Three IRA time bombs exploded on Finchley Road in north London.[51]
  • 23 October – Shankill Road bombing: eight civilians, one UDA member, and one IRA member were killed, and another IRA member was injured when an IRA bomb prematurely exploded at a fish shop on Shankill Road, Belfast.

1994

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  • 5 January – Two members of the Irish Army bomb disposal unit were injured when a parcel bomb sent by the UVF to the Sinn Féin offices in Dublin exploded during examination at the Cathal Brugha Barracks.[52]
  • 24 January – Incendiary devices that had been planted by the UFF were found at a school in Dundalk in County Louth and at a postal sorting office in Dublin.[citation needed]
  • 9–13 March – Heathrow mortar attacks: On 9, 11, and 13 March, the IRA fired improvised mortar bombs on to the runway at Heathrow Airport. There were no deaths or injuries.
  • 20 April – The Provisional IRA Derry Brigade fired a mortar bomb at a RUC Land Rover, killing one RUC officer and injuring two others.
  • 14 May – the IRA detonated an explosive device next to a British Army sangar at a permanent vehicle checkpoint in Castleblaney Road, Keady, County Armagh. One British soldier was killed and another wounded.[53][54]
  • 29 July – More than 40 people were injured when the IRA fired three mortar bombs into the Newry RUC base. 30 civilians, seven RUC officers and three British soldiers were among those injured.[citation needed]
  • 13 August Two bombs were planted in bags placed on bicycles in Brighton and Bognor Regis. The Bognor one detonated damaging shops but no casualties; the Brighton one was defused.[55]
  • 12 September – 1994 Dublin-Belfast train bombing: The UVF planted a bomb on the Belfast-Dublin train. At Connolly station, the bomb only partially exploded, slightly injuring two women.[56][57]
  • 19 December - The Continuity IRA (CIRA) detonated a 2 lb (0.91 kg) semtex bomb in a furniture store in Enniskillen. This was the first action carried out by the CIRA.[52][58]

1996

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1998

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  • 24 June – Newtownhamilton bombing: The INLA detonated a 200 lb car bomb in Newtownhamilton, injuring six people and causing substantial damage estimated at £2 million.[64]
  • 1 August – 1998 Banbridge bombing: A dissident republican group calling itself the Real Irish Republican Army (RIRA) detonated a bomb in Banbridge, County Down, injuring 35 people and causing extensive damage.
  • 15 July – A package addressed to a Dublin hotel, which was believed to have been sent by the LVF, exploded while it was being examined at the Garda Technical Bureau in Dublin. Two were injured in the blast.[65]
  • 15 August – Omagh bombing: the RIRA detonated a bomb in Omagh, County Tyrone. It killed 29 civilians.

1999

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2001

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "CAIN: Northern Ireland Society – Security and Defence". Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  2. ^ "Bomb Damages RTÉ TV Studios". RTÉ Archives.
  3. ^ "CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths". cain.ulster.ac.uk.
  4. ^ Joe Graham, Rushlight Magazine. "McGurk's Bar Massacre". Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  5. ^ "CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths". cain.ulster.ac.uk.
  6. ^ "1972: IRA bomb kills six at Aldershot barracks". BBC News. 22 February 1972.
  7. ^ "Bloody Friday: What happened". BBC News. 16 July 2002.
  8. ^ "Claudy bombing: Should there be an inquiry?". BBC News. 23 December 2002.
  9. ^ "The Troubles 20". Issuu. 5 August 2011.
  10. ^ "1974: Soldiers and children killed in coach bombing". BBC News. 4 February 1974.
  11. ^ "Firefighters of Belfast: A canister bomb exploded immediately, killing six". Belfasttelegraph – via www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk.
  12. ^ "1974: Bombs devastate Dublin and Monaghan". BBC News. 17 May 1974.
  13. ^ Times, Alvin Shuster Special to The New York (18 June 1974). "Bomb in London Damages Oldest Hall of Parliament". The New York Times.
  14. ^ "1974: Four dead in Guildford bomb blasts". BBC News. 5 October 1974.
  15. ^ Rapoport, David C. (2006). Terrorism: The third or new left wave (illustrated, reprint ed.). Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group. p. 239. ISBN 9780415316538. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  16. ^ Leslie, David (3 June 2010). The Hate Factory: Thirty Years Inside with the UK's Most Notorious Villains (Paperback ed.). Mainstream Publishing. p. 9. ISBN 978-1845966195.
  17. ^ "ATV Today: 15.11.1974: Midlands Bombings". Mace Archive. ATV. 23 June 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  18. ^ "CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths".
  19. ^ https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch74.htm#141174 [Thursday 14 November 1974 James McDade, then a member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), was killed when the bomb he was planting exploded prematurely in Coventry, England.]
  20. ^ "1974: Birmingham pub blasts remembered". BBC News. 21 November 1974.
  21. ^ "1974: Heath's home is bombed". BBC News. 22 December 1974.
  22. ^ "Memorial for ambassador". BBC News. 22 July 2001.
  23. ^ "1979: Car bomb kills Airey Neave". BBC News. 30 March 1979.
  24. ^ "1979: Soldiers die in Warrenpoint massacre". BBC News. 27 August 1979.
  25. ^ "1979: IRA bomb kills Lord Mountbatten". BBC News. 27 August 1979.
  26. ^ Jack Holland & Henry McDonald – INLA: Deadly Divisions pp.149
  27. ^ "PREVENTION OF TERRORISM (TEMPORARY PROVISIONS) ACT 1976 (CONTINUANCE) ORDER 1980 (Hansard, 17 March 1980)". api.parliament.uk. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  28. ^ "Bomb Incidents in London (Hansard, 27 October 1981)". api.parliament.uk.
  29. ^ "1982: IRA bombs cause carnage in London". BBC News. 20 July 1982.
  30. ^ "1984: Tory Cabinet in Brighton bomb blast". BBC News. 12 October 1984.
  31. ^ "EDINA NewsFilm Online Service Decommissioned". Archived from the original on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  32. ^ "CAIN: Chronology of the Conflict 1985".
  33. ^ Mark Urban. Big Boys' Rules: The SAS and the Secret Struggle against the IRA, pp. 221–23
  34. ^ Robert W White – Out of the Ashes: An Oral History on Provisional Irish Republican Movement p.244,245.
  35. ^ Peter Taylor – Behind the Mask: The IRA and Sinn Féin p.315
  36. ^ "1987: Bomb kills 11 at Enniskillen". BBC News. 8 November 1987.
  37. ^ "1989: Ten dead in Kent barracks bomb". BBC News. 22 September 1989.
  38. ^ "Colombia - Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com.
  39. ^ Rule, Sheila (1 August 1990). "I.R.A. Says It Killed Tory M.P. in Britain". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  40. ^ "Missing Their Mark: The IRA Proxy Bomb Campaign of 1990". 31 August 2009. Archived from the original on 31 August 2009.
  41. ^ Elliot, Sydney and Flackes, Williams (1999). Northern Ireland: a political directory, 1968–1999. Blackstaff Press, p.465. ISBN 0-85640-628-7
  42. ^ Peter Brooke statement in the House of Commons Archived 19 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine 20 January 1992
  43. ^ Oppenheimer, A. R. (2009). IRA: The Bombs and the Bullets. A History of Deadly Ingenuity. Irish Academic Press, p. 124. ISBN 978-0-7165-2895-1
  44. ^ De Baróid, Ciarán (2000). Ballymurphy and the Irish War. Pluto Press. p. 325. ISBN 0-7453-1509-7.
  45. ^ "IRA City bombers identified by police". The Independent. 15 July 1992.
  46. ^ Oppenheimer, A. R. (2009). IRA: The Bombs and The Bullets. A History of Deadly Ingenuity. Irish Academic Press, p. 132. ISBN 978-0-7165-2895-1
  47. ^ "IRA blast damages over 1,000 homes". The Independent. London. 24 September 1992.
  48. ^ Oppenheimer, p. 133
  49. ^ "Warrington remembers IRA bombing victims". BBC News. 14 March 1998.
  50. ^ "1993: IRA bomb devastates City of London". BBC News. 24 April 1993.
  51. ^ "Street bombing admitted by IRA". 3 October 1993. ProQuest 318027915 – via ProQuest.
  52. ^ a b "CAIN: Chronology of the Conflict 1994". Cite error: The named reference "ReferenceA" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  53. ^ Fortnight Magazine, Issues 324-334. Fortnight Publications, 1994.
  54. ^ McKittrick, pp. 1359–1360
  55. ^ "IRA marks 25 years with bomb in Bognor". The Independent. 13 August 1994. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  56. ^ "Two injured by loyalist shoebox bomb on train: Serious casualties". independent.co.uk. 13 September 1994.
  57. ^ Melaugh, Dr Martin. "CAIN: Chronology of the Conflict 1994". cain.ulst.ac.uk.
  58. ^ O'Brien, Brendan (1999). The Long War: The IRA and Sinn Féin, Syracuse University Press, p. 337; ISBN 0-8156-0597-8
  59. ^ "1996: Docklands bomb ends IRA ceasefire". BBC News. 10 February 1996.
  60. ^ "Bomb blast destroys London bus". BBC News. 18 February 1996. Retrieved 13 June 2007.
  61. ^ English, Richard (2003). Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA. Pan Books. p. 291. ISBN 0-330-49388-4.
  62. ^ Bennetto, J. Dead IRA man 'had hit-list' of bomb targets. The Independent, 17 April 1996.
  63. ^ "1996: Huge explosion rocks central Manchester". BBC News. 15 June 1996.
  64. ^ Breen, Suzanne (26 June 1998). "Bomb damage in village put at £2m". The Irish Times.
  65. ^ "Incident Summary for GTDID: 199807150003". Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  66. ^ "Inquiry into Nelson murder opens". BBC News. 19 April 2005.
  67. ^ "BBC bomb prompts terror warning". BBC News. 5 March 2001.
  68. ^ "Ealing bombers 'will be caught'". BBC News. 5 August 2001.
  69. ^ "Bomb blast in Birmingham". BBC News. 4 November 2001.
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