The Troubles in Forkhill
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The Troubles in Forkhill recounts incidents during, and the effects of, the Troubles in Forkhill (or Forkill), County Armagh, Northern Ireland.
Incidents in Forkhill during the Troubles:
- 10 March 1974 - Michael McCreesh (15) and Michael Gallagher (18), both Catholic civilians, were killed by a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) booby trap bomb hidden in an abandoned car and intended for a British Army foot patrol, Dromintee, near Forkhill. Gallagher died on 14 March 1974.[1]
- 14 December 1974 - David McNeice (19), a Protestant member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, and Michael Gibson (20), a member of the British Army, were shot dead by IRA snipers while on joint foot patrol, Killeavy, near Forkhill. Gibson died on 30 December 1974.[1]
1975
- 17 July 1975 - Peter Willis (37), Edward Garside (34), Robert McCarter (33) and Calvert Brown (25), all members of the British Army, were killed near Forkhill by a Provisional Irish Republican Army remote-controlled bomb, hidden in a milk churn and detonated when their search patrol passed.[2] On 10 July, British soldiers had seen an apparent suspect explosive device near Forkhill and kept it under observation until 17 July, when a patrol went to deal with it. On approach, an explosive was detonated from a distance. RIC (photographic aerial reconnaissance) had been flown that morning but ground mist obscured the remote wire. As well as the four soldiers killed, another was seriously wounded. A man was arrested and appeared in court charged with murder.[3]
1977
- 14 May 1977 - Robert Nairac (29), undercover British Army officer, was abducted by the Provisional Irish Republican Army outside the Three Step Inn, Dromintee, near Forkhill and presumed killed.[4][5] Several men have been imprisoned for his murder.
1980
- 1 January 1980 - Simon Bates (23) and Gerald Hardy (18), both British soldiers, were shot dead in error, by other British soldiers while setting up an ambush position near Forkhill.[6]