Loughgall ambush facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Loughgall ambush |
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| Part of the Troubles and Operation Banner | |||||||
 Mural remembering the IRA members killed in the ambush |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Patrick Joseph Kelly † | Soldier A (Classified) | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 8 in attacking unit 4 in support |
24 SAS soldiers 1 RUC uniformed officer 2 RUC HMSU officers |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 8 killed | 1 soldier injured 2 constables injured |
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| 1 civilian killed and 1 wounded by SAS | |||||||
The Loughgall ambush was a major event that happened on 8 May 1987. It took place in the small village of Loughgall, located in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. During this event, a group of eight members from the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) launched an attack on the local police station, which was used by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC).
The IRA group used a digger with a bomb inside its bucket to break through the station's fence. Other members of the group arrived in a van and fired their weapons at the building. The bomb exploded, causing a lot of damage to the police station. However, soldiers from the British Army's Special Air Service (SAS) were already waiting. They had set up a hidden ambush and fired back from inside and around the station. All eight IRA attackers were killed. Later, it was found that two of the attackers were not carrying weapons when they died.
Sadly, a civilian was also killed, and another was hurt by the SAS. They had accidentally driven into the area where the ambush was happening and were mistaken for attackers. This operation by the British Army and RUC was called Operation Judy. It was the biggest loss of life for the IRA in a single event during the Troubles, a period of conflict in Northern Ireland.
Contents
Planning the Loughgall Attack
This section explains how the IRA planned their attack and how British forces prepared for it.
IRA's East Tyrone Brigade Plans
The IRA's East Tyrone Brigade was a very active group in parts of County Tyrone and County Armagh. By the mid-1980s, they were known for their aggressive actions. Members like Jim Lynagh and Pádraig McKearney wanted to destroy police bases. Their goal was to make it harder for British forces to operate in certain areas.
In 1985, Patrick Joseph Kelly became the leader of this group. He started to put their plan into action. In 1985 and 1986, the brigade attacked two RUC police stations. One attack was on the Ballygawley barracks in December 1985, where two police officers were killed. The second was an attack on a base at The Birches in August 1986. In both attacks, the IRA used machine guns and powerful homemade bombs. At The Birches, they used a digger with a bomb to break through the fence. They planned to use the same method for the Loughgall attack because it was a smaller, less protected station.
British Security Forces Prepare
The British security forces already knew about the IRA's plan weeks before the attack. They even knew the target at least 10 days in advance. Some people believe that the security forces had a secret agent inside the IRA unit. This agent might have been killed by the SAS during the ambush. Other sources suggest that the security forces learned about the plan through other ways, like listening in on phone calls. A historian named Richard English said the information did not come from inside the unit. However, one IRA member, Tony Gormley, was known to be an informant for the RUC.
The Loughgall police station usually had only three local RUC officers. It was only open for a few hours each day. On the day of the attack, two officers from the RUC's special unit, the Headquarters Mobile Support Unit (HMSU), were placed inside. Six SAS soldiers, dressed in plain clothes, were also hidden inside the station. Another eighteen SAS soldiers, in uniform, were hidden in five different spots in the woods around the station.
IRA's Attack Teams
The IRA's plan involved two teams. One team would drive a digger with a bomb in its bucket through the station's fence. They would then light the bomb's fuse. At the same time, another team would arrive in a van. They would fire at the station, aiming to kill the three RUC officers as they finished their shift. After the attack, both teams would leave the area in the van.
To avoid security checks, the bomb was moved by boat across Lough Neagh. It went from Ardboe to Maghery. The van and digger used in the attack were stolen just hours before. The van, a blue Toyota HiAce, was taken from a business in Dungannon. Around the same time, the IRA leader Jim Lynagh was seen in Dungannon. This suggested the van might be used in the attack. The digger was taken from a farm near Loughgall. Two IRA members stayed at the farm to prevent the owners from calling for help. Declan Arthurs drove the digger, with two others in a scout car ahead of him. The rest of the unit traveled in the van from another location, likely with another scout car. When a hidden observation post saw the digger moving, the SAS soldiers took their positions. Undercover Army soldiers also drove around Loughgall, watching the IRA unit.
The Ambush Unfolds
This section describes the moment the IRA attack began and how the SAS responded.
The IRA unit arrived in Loughgall from the north-east just after 7:00 PM. This was when the police station was supposed to close for the night. The attackers were armed and wore bulletproof vests, boilersuits, gloves, and masks. The digger drove past the police station, turned around, and drove back. The Toyota van with the main IRA group did the same.
The IRA members didn't see any activity at the station during their slow passes. They felt something was wrong and discussed whether to continue the attack. But they decided to go ahead. Tony Gormley and Gerard O'Callaghan got out of the van and joined Declan Arthurs on the digger. They were carrying weapons and a lighter.
Around 7:15 PM, Arthurs drove the digger towards the station. In the front bucket was a large amount of semtex explosive inside an oil drum. It was partly hidden by rubble and connected to two 40-second fuses. The other five members of the unit followed in the van. Eugene Kelly was driving, Patrick Kelly was in the passenger seat, and Lynagh, Pádraig McKearney, and Seamus Donnelly were in the back.
The digger crashed through the light security fence, and the fuses were lit. The van stopped a short distance away. According to British security forces, three of the team jumped out and fired at the building. However, author Raymond Murray disagrees with this. According to journalist Peter Taylor, Patrick Kelly jumped from the passenger seat and immediately started firing. This might have been to encourage the others or because that's how their previous attacks began. At the same time, the bomb exploded. The blast destroyed the digger and badly damaged the police station.
Author Jonathan Trigg says the bomb went off a few seconds after the SAS started shooting. An ex-RUC officer, John Shackles, said the SAS had placed special explosive cord along a line of trees opposite the station. This cord exploded just before the SAS began their ambush. This distracted the IRA team as the SAS soldiers inside the station started firing.
The SAS Response
Within seconds, the SAS opened fire on the IRA attackers. They shot from inside the station and from their hidden positions outside. They used powerful rifles and machine guns. About 600 empty British bullet casings were found at the scene. The van had about 125 bullet holes. In contrast, only 78 empty casings were found from IRA weapons.
All eight IRA members were killed in the intense gunfire. They all had many wounds. Declan Arthurs was shot in a lane near the Loughgall F.C. building. He was not carrying a weapon and was holding a cigarette lighter. Three other IRA members who were in scout cars managed to escape. They got past British Army and RUC checkpoints that were set up after the ambush began.
The two HMSU officers inside the station were hurt by the bomb's explosion. One had serious head injuries, and the other had a broken nose. A uniformed officer helped them outside. No officers fired back. One SAS soldier got a facial injury from glass when a window was broken by gunfire.
Civilian Casualties
Two brothers, Anthony and Oliver Hughes, were driving home in their white car after fixing a lorry. They were driving behind the IRA van and accidentally drove into the ambush area. Anthony was driving, and Oliver was in the passenger seat. Oliver was wearing blue work clothes, which were similar to what the IRA members wore.
About 130 yards from the police station, soldiers fired at their car from behind. Anthony was killed, and Oliver was badly wounded. The soldiers said the car slowly reversed, then moved quickly in a zigzag pattern before stopping. Oliver denies that the car reversed quickly. Oliver managed to get out of the car, even though he was told not to move. He was shot again and fell to the ground. Two soldiers later gave him first aid. The car had about 34 bullet holes.
The people living in the village had not been told about the operation. No one was evacuated, and the area was not sealed off. This was because it might have warned the IRA. A mother and her child had to hide in a church hall. Their car's rear window was hit by a stray bullet about 250 yards from the station.
Weapons Recovered
The security forces found eight IRA firearms at the scene. These included three H&K G3 rifles, one FN FAL rifle, two FN FNC rifles, a shotgun, and a revolver. The RUC connected these weapons to many other serious incidents in the Mid-Ulster region. The revolver had been stolen from a police officer who was killed two years earlier. Another gun had been used in the killing of Harold Henry, a builder who worked for the British Army and RUC.
In 2017, secret documents from the National Archives of Ireland were made public. They showed that British government tests proved the weapons found on the dead IRA members had been used in many killings. This included every death in IRA attacks in Fermanagh and Tyrone in 1987 before the Loughgall ambush.
Aftermath of the Ambush
This section looks at what happened after the Loughgall ambush and its lasting impact.
Shortly after the ambush, the Provisional IRA released a statement. They claimed that some of their members who escaped saw others being shot after they were captured.
The IRA members killed in the ambush became known as the "Loughgall Martyrs" among IRA supporters. The families of the killed men believed their deaths were part of a deliberate "shoot-to-kill" plan by the security forces. Thousands of people attended their funerals. These were some of the largest republican funerals in Northern Ireland since the IRA hunger strikes of 1981. Gerry Adams, a prominent figure, gave a speech at the graveside. He said the British Government did not understand the determination of people like Jim Lynagh and Pádraig McKearney.
The East Tyrone Brigade continued its activities until the last Provisional IRA ceasefire ten years later. SAS operations against the IRA also continued. The IRA tried to find out if there was an informer among them. However, it has been suggested that if there was an informer, they might have been killed in the ambush.
On 20 March 1989, RUC Chief Superintendent Harry Breen was killed in an IRA ambush near the Irish border. RUC Superintendent Bob Buchanan was also killed. Breen had given a media briefing about the Loughgall ambush on the day it happened. He also showed the recovered IRA weapons to the media the next morning. An Irish inquiry later concluded that Breen was targeted to find out how the British security services knew about the Loughgall ambush beforehand.
The IRA East Tyrone Brigade attacked the Loughgall RUC station again on 5 September 1990. They used a large van bomb outside the station. The station was empty, and no one was hurt because a warning was given. The station suffered a lot of damage. This attack happened shortly after the date for the Loughgall ambush inquest was announced. In April 1996, the RUC confirmed that the Loughgall police station would be rebuilt. The station was used until it closed in August 2009. In April 2011, it was sold for private development.
Legal Actions and Inquiries
In September 1988, the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland decided that there was not enough evidence to charge anyone involved in the shootings. Six families of the IRA members and the family of Anthony Hughes started legal cases against the Ministry of Defence (MoD). In April 1991, Anthony Hughes's widow settled her case out of court.
In May 1995, an inquest (a legal inquiry into a death) was held over four days. It concluded that all nine men died from serious gunshot wounds. Lawyers for six IRA families left the inquest on the second day. This was because the Coroner would not give them copies of witness statements. SAS soldiers did not give evidence in person; their statements were read out.
In 2001, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that the British Government had failed to properly investigate the deaths of the eight IRA men and one civilian. The court said this violated their human rights. The families claimed the killings were unlawful. In December 2011, Northern Ireland's Historical Enquiries Team found that the IRA team fired first. They also concluded that the British Army could not have safely arrested them. They decided that the British Army was justified in opening fire.
In January 2014, the High Court allowed the families of the IRA members to include the RUC Chief Constable in their lawsuit against the MoD. The police later shared documents for the court case. These showed that IRA members had been watched by the military for weeks before the ambush. In March 2014, the Hughes family received an apology from the MoD. The MoD apologized for Anthony's death and for injuring Oliver. They stated that both men were "completely innocent of any wrongdoing."
In September 2015, a new inquest was announced. In September 2019, at a first hearing, the coroner was told that the inquest might last for three to six months. In April 2020, lawyers for the families asked the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to take action. This was because the coroner had not set a date for the inquest hearing, despite the 2001 ECHR judgment.
In Pop Culture
The "Loughgall Ambush" is the name of a republican ballad (a type of song) about the attack. It has been recorded by groups like Charlie and the Bhoys. The event was also mentioned in the song "Streets of Sorrow/Birmingham Six" by the London Irish band The Pogues. The lyrics say: "While over in Ireland eight more men lie dead/ Kicked down and shot in the back of the head".
See also
- Timeline of Provisional Irish Republican Army actions
- Ballygawley bus bombing
- Attack on Derryard checkpoint
- Coagh ambush
- Clonoe ambush
- 1993 Fivemiletown ambush
- 1997 Coalisland attack
