Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles
1st July
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Wednesday 1 July 1970
Reginald Maudling, then Home Secretary, paid a visit to Northern Ireland.
As he boarded the flight out of Northern Ireland again he was reported to have said:
“For God’s sake bring me a large Scotch. What a bloody awful country!”.
The Criminal Justice (Temporary Provisions) Act was passed by the Stormont government introducing a mandatory prison sentence of six months for rioting.
Sunday 1 July 1973
William Whitelaw, then Secretary of State, travelled to Chequers for a meeting with at 8.00pm with Edward Heath, then British Prime Minster.
[Public Records 1972 – Released 1 January 2003: Note of meeting between William Whitelaw, then Secretary of State, and Edward Heath, then British Prime Minster. ]
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Wednesday 1 July 1981
See Hunger Strike
Thursday 1 July 1982
The Garda Síochána (the Irish police) found a large cache of bombs at Castlefin, County Donegal.
Wednesday 1 July 1992
Gregory Burns, John Dignam & Aidan Starrs
The bodies of three Irish Republican Army (IRA) members were found in different parts of south Armagh.
The three men were shot dead by the IRA which alleged that the men had acted as informers for the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and MI5 (British Security Service).
In a significant shift in approach the Unionist parties agreed to talks with politicians from the Republic of Ireland under Strand Two of the political talks (later known as the Brooke / Mayhew talks).
The Royal Irish Regiment (RIR) came into being. The regiment was formed by the amalgamation of the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) and the Royal Irish Rangers.
[The UDR had been the subject of sustained criticism from Nationalists since its formation in 1970. The merger meant that the former UDR battalions, a total of approximately 6,000 soldiers, would continue to operate in Northern Ireland while the two former Rangers battalions would be reduced to a single general service battalion, approximately 900 soldiers, that would serve abroad as well as in Northern Ireland.]
Thursday 1 July 1993
The annual report of the Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights (SACHR) was published. SACHR called for a review of the legislation that covered the use of lethal force by the security forces.
The report also supported the use of video recording of Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) interviews of people suspected of paramilitary related offences.
Tuesday 1 July 1997
The offices of the Irish News were slightly damaged in an arson attack.
The Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition announced that they were organising a street festival for Sunday 6 July 1997.
This would coincide with the disputed Orange Parade.
Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), and his ministerial team held talks in Belfast with Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, about the ‘marching season’. Ahern said that it would be a mistake to force the march along the Garvaghy Road.
The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) and the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) said that they would only announce their decision on whether or not the march could proceed along the Garvaghy Road, two or three days in advance.
This was in spite of a promise by Mowlam to reveal the decision at lease six days in advance.
Wednesday 1 July 1998
First Meeting of ‘Shadow’ Assembly ‘First Minister Designate’ and ‘Deputy First Minister Designate’ Elected
All the political parties who had won seats during the Northern Ireland Assembly election took their places in the new Assembly chamber at Stormont. The Assembly met in ‘shadow’ form as powers had not yet been devolved. Those present included the parties, and candidates, who had opposed the Good Friday Agreement.
[The event was televised live in Northern Ireland and many people found it almost surreal to see Ian Paisley, then leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), sitting in the same debating chamber as Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF).]
During the first session on the new Northern Ireland Assembly David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), was elected ‘First Minister Designate’ of the new Assembly. Seamus Mallon, then deputy leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), was elected ‘Deputy First Minister Designate’.
John Alderdice, formerly the leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI), was appointed as the ‘Presiding Officer Designate’ (the Speaker) of the new Assembly.
Thursday 1 July 1999
Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, claimed that the Stormont talks had brought about a “seismic shift” in the political landscape of Northern Ireland.
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) continued to insist that the Irish Republican Army (IRA) should decommission its weapons and explosives in parallel with the creation of the Northern Ireland Executive.
Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) sources believed a possible solution was emerging. (Blair’s attendance at the Stormont talks meant that he missed the opening of the Scottish Parliament.)
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) won a council by-election in Lisburn. Peter Robinson, then Deputy Leader of the DUP, said this victory in a Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) safe seat was a “final warning” to David Trimble then leader of the UUP.
Those Loyalist paramilitary groups who were then on ceasefire issued a warning to “hooligans and looters” that pro-Drumcree rioting would not be tolerated.
William Whitelaw, who had been appointed as the first Secretary of State for Northern Ireland following the imposition of Direct Rule in 1972, died in London aged 81.
Sunday 1 July 2001
Trimble Resigned As First Minister
The resignation of David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), as First Minister took effect as of midnight on Saturday.
Trimble called on Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, to suspend the Northern Ireland Assembly (NIA) and the other institutions established under the Good Friday agreement.
The procedures of the NIA allowed for a six-week period during which a new First Minister and Deputy First Minister would have to be elected otherwise new elections to the Assembly would have to be called.
Another option would be for the British government to suspend the Assembly and the institutions and reintroduce Direct Rule. The final option was for there to be a temporary suspension which would have the effect of extending the period in which to find agreement.
The Assembly was suspended for 24 hours beginning on Friday 10 August 2001.
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Remembering all innocent victims of the Troubles
Today is the anniversary of the death of the following people killed as a results of the conflict in Northern Ireland
“To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die
– Thomas Campbell
To the innocent on the list – Your memory will live forever
– To the Paramilitaries –
There are many things worth living for, a few things worth dying for, but nothing worth killing for.
10 People lost their lives on the 1st July between 1972 – 1992
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01 July 1972
Paul Jobling (19)
nfNI
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: non-specific Loyalist group (LOY)
English visitor. Found shot on waste ground, Westway Drive, Glencairn, Belfast.
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01 July 1972
Daniel Hayes (40)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: non-specific Loyalist group (LOY)
Found shot in playground, Penrith Street, Shankill, Belfast.
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01 July 1973
Reginald Roberts (25)
nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot by sniper while on British Army (BA) foot patrol, Bull Ring, Ballymurphy, Belfast
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01 July 1976
Brian Palmer (39)
Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot while in Finaghy Roadhouse Bar, Finaghy Road North, Belfast. Alleged informer.
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01 July 1980
Terence O’Neill (26)
Catholic
Status: Irish Republican Army (IRA),
Killed by: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC)
Shot while running away from Whiterock Community Centre, Ballymurphy, Belfast.
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01 July 1986
Robert Hill (22)
Protestant
Status: Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Killed by booby trap bomb attached to his car outside his home, Drumaness, near Ballynahinch, County Down.
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01 July 1989
Norman Annett (56)
Protestant
Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Off duty. Shot while visiting his mother’s home, Carhill Road, Garvagh, County Derry
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01 July 1992
Gregory Burns (34)
Catholic
Status: Irish Republican Army (IRA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Found shot Cullaville Road, near Crossmaglen, County Armagh. Alleged informer.
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01 July 1992
John Dignam (32)
Catholic
Status: Irish Republican Army (IRA),
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Found shot at Mountain Road, Lislea, County Armagh. Alleged informer.
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01 July 1992
Aidan Starrs (29)
Catholic
Status: Irish Republican Army (IRA), K
illed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Found shot at Dundalk Road, near Newtownhamilton, County Armagh. Alleged informer.
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See: IRA Nutting Squad
Belfast Child 