On this day- Remember Loughgall
May 8th, 1987- Loughgall Ambush, Co. Armagh On this day, the Provisional I.R.A. suffered it's most devasting blow. Elite members of the S.A.S. and R.U.C. laid an ambush for the East Tyrone A.S.U., leaving all eight volunteers dead. The shoot-to-kill nature of the ambush is emphasized by the fact that British soldiers shot point blank rounds on a few of the I.R.A. men. The Volunteers, Patrick Kelly, Jim Lynagh, Pádráig McKearney, Seamus Donnelly, Declan Arthurs, Gerald O'Callaghan, Tony Gormley, and Eugene Kelly died in an on-going effort to remove the RUC from the countryside and create "liberated zones". It is noted by Ed Moloney in his book that the East Tyrone A.S.U. was to be at the forefront of the post-Eskund "flying column" plans. It is said that this A.S.U. was also heavily involved in the controversial killing of construction workers at RUC bases. Moloney also notes that Loughgall marked the beginning of the combined British/Loyalist shoot-to-kill campaign on I.R.A. members, prominent nationalists, and uninvolved Catholics. Ironically enough, Tim Pat Coogan points out that the funerals of the East Tyrone Volunteers brought in three dozen young I.R.A. recruits in the area. Sadly, many of them would die in similiar circumstances throughout the early 1990s. Like the 'Men of 98'", Robert Emmet, the Fenian dead, the Manchester Marytrs, the men of Easter Week, the Four Civil War Martyrs, and O'Hanlon and South of the Border Campaign, I think the Loughgall martyrs will stand out in the decade to come as a burning motivation to keep alive the cause of Irish freedom. Their cause has yet to be actualized; it is sad to think they died merely for "civil rights" and a false peace. God grant mercy to their souls... Tiocfaidh ár lá! also see Wikipedia website, which is suprisingly goodhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provisional_IRA_East_Tyrone_Brigade
May 8th, 1987- Loughgall Ambush, Co. Armagh On this day, the Provisional I.R.A. suffered it's most devasting blow. Elite members of the S.A.S. and R.U.C. laid an ambush for the East Tyrone A.S.U., leaving all eight volunteers dead. The shoot-to-kill nature of the ambush is emphasized by the fact that British soldiers shot point blank rounds on a few of the I.R.A. men. The Volunteers, Patrick Kelly, Jim Lynagh, Pádráig McKearney, Seamus Donnelly, Declan Arthurs, Gerald O'Callaghan, Tony Gormley, and Eugene Kelly died in an on-going effort to remove the RUC from the countryside and create "liberated zones". It is noted by Ed Moloney in his book that the East Tyrone A.S.U. was to be at the forefront of the post-Eskund "flying column" plans. It is said that this A.S.U. was also heavily involved in the controversial killing of construction workers at RUC bases. Moloney also notes that Loughgall marked the beginning of the combined British/Loyalist shoot-to-kill campaign on I.R.A. members, prominent nationalists, and uninvolved Catholics. Ironically enough, Tim Pat Coogan points out that the funerals of the East Tyrone Volunteers brought in three dozen young I.R.A. recruits in the area. Sadly, many of them would die in similiar circumstances throughout the early 1990s. Like the 'Men of 98'", Robert Emmet, the Fenian dead, the Manchester Marytrs, the men of Easter Week, the Four Civil War Martyrs, and O'Hanlon and South of the Border Campaign, I think the Loughgall martyrs will stand out in the decade to come as a burning motivation to keep alive the cause of Irish freedom. Their cause has yet to be actualized; it is sad to think they died merely for "civil rights" and a false peace. God grant mercy to their souls... Tiocfaidh ár lá! also see Wikipedia website, which is suprisingly good