The Troubles in Ardoyne explained

The Troubles in Ardoyne lists incidents during the Troubles in the Ardoyne district of Belfast, Northern Ireland.

1971

• 15 February: A British soldier was shot in the head and killed by an IRA sniper while taking part in a mobile-patrol in Ardoyne. Two British Army scout cars came under sniper fire and had a bomb thrown at them.^{[1] [2]}
• 23 August: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper on Flax Street in the Ardoyne area. The soldier was shot in the head as he exited a British armoured vehicle.^{[1] [3]}
• 17 September: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on foot-patrol in Ardoyne.^[1]
• 1 October: A British soldier was shot dead in an IRA gun-attack on a British Army foot-patrol in the Ardoyne area.^[1]
• 21 December 1971: An unarmed IRA volunteer was shot after being captured by the British Army in Ardoyne.^[1]

1972

• 18 May: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper on Flax Street.
• 23 July: An Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) soldier was kidnapped and shot dead by the IRA in Ardoyne.
• 14 August: A civilian was killed in the crossfire between an IRA unit and a British patrol in the Ardoyne area.^[4]
• 30 September: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper in Ardoyne.

1973

• 28 February: A British soldier was killed in an IRA gun attack on a patrol in the Ardoyne area.^[5]
• 17 April 1973: An IRA volunteer was shot dead by a British Army sniper while standing talking with a number of men in Ardoyne.^[5]
• 10 June: The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) shot dead a Catholic civilian in the Deerpark Road area adjacent to Ardoyne.^[6]

1974

• 25 November: The UDA shot dead a Protestant civilian outside Ewart's Mill. They had assumed he was a Catholic.^{[7] [8]}

1975

• 5 April: The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) shot dead a Catholic civilian as he walked home at Etna Drive.^[9]
• 2 May: The IRA shot dead a UDA member at his workplace, Ardoyne Bus Depot, on Ardoyne Road.^{[10] [11]}

1976

• 10 March: The IRA shot dead Sammy Smyth (former UDA spokesman) on Alliance Avenue.^{[12] [13]}
• 13 March: An ex-British soldier was shot dead on Alliance Avenue.^[12]
• 5 June: The UDA carried out a drive-by shooting at the Crumlin Star Bar in Brompton Park. A Catholic civilian died of his wounds two days later. An RUC detective said it was a random sectarian attack.^[14]
• 24 October: Two British soldiers were killed when an IRA sniper team ambushed a British patrol in Ardoyne.^[12]

1977

• 20 April: Two Catholic civilians were killed when the UVF exploded a bomb at the funeral of a Provisional IRA volunteer on Etna Drive.^{[15] [16]}
• 27 February: An ex-British soldier was shot dead by the IRA in the Ardoyne area.^[16]
• 17 April: An IRA volunteer was shot dead by a British Army sniper on Flax Street.^[16]
• 28 August: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on foot patrol in the Ardoyne area.^[16]

1979

• 5 January – Two members of the IRA, Francis Donnelly (24) and Lawrence Montgomery (24), were killed in Northwick Drive, Ardoyne, when the car bomb they were transporting exploded prematurely.^[17]

1980

• 16 August: A civilian was accidentally shot dead by the IRA during a gun attack on an RUC patrol in Ardoyne.^[18]

1981

• 27 March: The UDA shot dead a Catholic civilian on Berwick Road.^{[19] [20]}

1987

• 10 March: An RUC officer was killed when the IRA detonated a remote controlled bomb at the Ardoyne Shops on Crumlin Road. The RUC had been lured to the area by a hoax phone call claiming an armed robbery was in progress. The IRA had correctly anticipated which doorway the RUC would take cover in and detonated a small booby-trap bomb when they arrived. The IRA claimed his death was retaliation for "RUC brutality at republican funerals".^[21]
• 2 April: The UVF shot dead an IRA volunteer at his home in Ardoyne.^{[22] [23]}
• 12 July: A former member of the Royal Air Force was shot dead by the IRA on Alliance Avenue. The IRA said it had intervened "to end an hour-long attack by loyalists on the area". Locals claimed the man had been attempting to stop youths from throwing stones and bottles into the nearby Catholic area. A 16-year-old was also wounded in the shooting.^[24]

1989

• 19 March: The UVF shot dead a Catholic civilian at his home on Alliance Avenue.^{[25] [26]}

1992

• 21 February: The Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) claimed responsibility for a gun and grenade attack on the home of a Sinn Féin councillor in Ardoyne.^[27]
• 12 March: The UFF claimed responsibility for shooting dead a Catholic civilian at his home on Alliance Avenue.^{[28] [29]}

1993

• 31 August: In an attack in Ardoyne, two British soldiers were wounded when the IRA detonated a car-bomb near their patrol.^[30]
• 21 September 1993: A British soldier was wounded when an IRA unit threw a blast-bomb at his patrol in the Ardoyne area.^[30]

1997

• 13 March: A British soldier was injured by an IRA grenade in Ardoyne. Several people were arrested in the aftermath.^[31]
• 8 July: There was a gun battle between loyalist and IRA volunteers in Ardoyne. The IRA state that two loyalists were wounded.^[32]

Notes and References

1. Web site: An Index of Deaths from the Conflict in Ireland. Malcolm Sutton. CAIN.
2. McKittrick, p.67
3. McKittrick, p.93
4. Web site: A Chronology of the Conflict – 1972. CAIN.
5. Web site: Sutton Index of Deaths – 1973. Malcolm Sutton. CAIN.
6. McKittrick, p.366
7. Web site: CAIN: Chronology of the Conflict 1974. Dr Martin. Melaugh. cain.ulst.ac.uk.
8. Web site: CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths. Malcolm. Sutton. cain.ulst.ac.uk.
9. McKittrick, p.530
10. Web site: CAIN: Chronology of the Conflict 1975. Dr Martin. Melaugh. cain.ulst.ac.uk.
11. Web site: CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths. Malcolm. Sutton. cain.ulst.ac.uk.
12. Web site: CAIN: Chronology of the Conflict 1976. Dr Martin. Melaugh. cain.ulst.ac.uk.
13. Web site: CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths. Malcolm. Sutton. cain.ulst.ac.uk.
14. McKittrick, p.643
15. Web site: CAIN: Chronology of the Conflict 1977. Dr Martin. Melaugh. cain.ulst.ac.uk.
16. Web site: CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths . Cain.ulst.ac.uk.
17. Web site: Sutton Index of Deaths – 1979. Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN). 29 January 2010.
18. Web site: A Chronology of the Conflict – 1980. CAIN.
19. http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch81.htm CAIN
20. http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/sutton/chron/1981.html CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths
21. McKittrick, p. 1064
22. Web site: CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths. Malcolm. Sutton. cain.ulst.ac.uk.
23. Web site: CAIN: Chronology of the Conflict 1987. Dr Martin. Melaugh. cain.ulst.ac.uk.
24. McKittrick, p. 1087
25. Web site: CAIN: Chronology of the Conflict 1989. Dr Martin. Melaugh. cain.ulst.ac.uk.
26. Web site: CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths. Malcolm. Sutton. cain.ulst.ac.uk.
27. http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/heathwood/static/1992.html Peter Heathwood Collection of television programs: 1992
28. Web site: CAIN: Chronology of the Conflict 1992. Dr Martin. Melaugh. cain.ulst.ac.uk.
29. Web site: CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths. Malcolm. Sutton. cain.ulst.ac.uk.
30. [Fortnight Magazine|Fortnight]
31. Web site: CAIN: Peter Heathwood Collection of Television Programmes - Search Page. Dr Martin. Melaugh. cain.ulst.ac.uk.
32. http://republican-news.org/archive/1997/July10/10ira.html IRA engages Crown Forces