Provisional IRA East Tyrone Brigade

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A mural of the Provisional IRA in Coalisland, County Tyrone

The East Tyrone Brigade (also Tyrone Brigade ) of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) was one of the most active and notorious IRA units during the Northern Ireland conflict . It is believed that most of its members came from the eastern areas of County Tyrone . This rural area of ​​Northern Ireland is dominated by Catholic nationalists and has a long Irish Republican tradition. There were also many members from other parts of Tyrones, from the north of County Monaghan , from the south-east of County Londonderry , from the north-west of County Armagh, and from the north of County Fermanagh . These areas, some of which are near the inner-Irish border, also formed the brigade's range of action during its terrorist attacks and raids.

According to the Sutton database of the University of Ulster's CAIN (Conflict Archive on the Internet) project , of the well over 200 people killed by the East Tyrone Brigade, approximately 80 civilians, 100 soldiers from the British Army and 40 police officers from the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC ). During the same period, 53 members of the brigade were killed.

Loughgall

Wall painting commemorating the so-called eight Loughgall martyrs

When a group of eight volunteers from the East Tyrone Brigade were killed in an ambush by the British Special Air Service (SAS) during their attack on the RUC police station in Loughgall on May 8, 1987 , it was the largest single loss of life by the IRA since 1920s and went down in history as the Loughgall ambush . Although almost the entire command of the brigade died in the SAS ambush, it had no significant long-term effect on the intensity of IRA activities in East Tyrone. The IRA killed seven people in East Tyrone and North Armagh in the two years prior to the Loughgall ambush , and 11 in the two years after the ambush.

The brigade even managed a rare downing of a British Army helicopter for the IRA on February 11, 1990 near Clogher, County Tyrone . Only the South Armagh Brigade had done that before and after .

Despite the heavy casualties, the brigade remained one of the most active IRA units until the 1994 armistice and was still putting pressure on the British security forces in the region. The unit has carried out a total of eight mortar attacks against British security forces since 1992 and was also responsible for sixteen bombings and shootings. During the same period, she killed four members of the security forces.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Mark Urban: Big Boys' Rules . Faber and Faber, 1992, ISBN 0-571-16809-4 ., P. 220.
  2. ^ Moloney, E .: A Secret History of the IRA, New York 2002, p. 319.
  3. ↑ Mark Urban: Big Boys' Rules. Faber and Faber, 1992, ISBN 0-571-16809-4 , p. 242.
  4. ↑ Copter Forced Down in Ulster. In: New York Times . February 12, 1990.
  5. ↑ Toby Harnden: Bandit Country. P. 258f.
  6. ↑ UHB ( Memento from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), UHB ( Memento from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive )

literature

  • Ed Moloney: A Secret History of the IRA. WW Norton and Company, 2002, ISBN 0-14-101041-X .
  • Brendan O'Brien: The Long War-the IRA and Sinn Féin. O'Brien Press, 1999, ISBN 0-86278-606-1 .
  • Chris Ryder: A Special Kind of Courage: 321 EOD Squadron - Battling the Bombers. Methuen, 2005, ISBN 0-413-77223-3 .
  • Mark Urban: Big Boys' Rules. Faber and Faber, 1992, ISBN 0-571-16112-X .

Web links