Ramble Inn attack
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Ramble Inn, 236 Lisnevenagh Road, Antrim, Northern Ireland
| Ramble Inn attack | |
|---|---|
| Part of The Troubles | |
 The Ramble Inn in 2007 | |
| Location | 54°45′44.9″N 6°14′35.2″W / 54.762472°N 6.243111°W Ramble Inn, 236 Lisnevenagh Road, Antrim, Northern Ireland |
| Date | July 2, 1976 |
Attack type | Mass shooting |
| Deaths | 6 civilians (5 Protestant, 1 Catholic) |
| Injured | 3 |
The Ramble Inn attack was a mass shooting at a rural pub on 2 July 1976 near Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is believed to have been carried out by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a loyalist paramilitary organisation. Six civilians were killed in the attack—five Protestants and one Catholic—and three others were wounded.[1]
The mid-1970s was one of the deadliest periods of the Troubles. From February 1975 until February 1976, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and British Government observed a truce.[2] This, however, marked a rise in sectarian tit-for-tat killings. Ulster loyalist paramilitaries, fearing they were about to be forsaken by the British Government and forced into a united Ireland,[3] increased their attacks on Irish Catholics and nationalists. Under orders not to engage British forces, some IRA units concentrated on tackling the loyalists. The fall-off of regular operations had caused serious problems of internal discipline and some IRA members engaged in revenge attacks also.[2] The tit-for-tat killings continued after the truce ended. On 5 June 1976, the UVF shot dead three Catholics and two Protestants in an attack on the Chlorane Bar. This was claimed as revenge for the killing of two Protestants in a pub earlier that day.
On 25 June 1976, IRA gunmen opened fire inside a Protestant-owned pub in Templepatrick, County Antrim. Three Protestant civilians died. The attack was claimed by the "Republican Action Force", which was believed to be a cover name used by some members of the IRA.[1]
