South Armagh Snipers

Location of Armagh County in Northern Ireland

South Armagh sniper was during the Northern Ireland conflict, the name given to two teams of snipers of the Provisional IRA South Armagh Brigade , which in the south of the Northern Irish counties Armagh British fought security forces.

Emergence

Barrett M82 sniper rifle in 12.7 mm (.50) caliber

The south of County Armagh was due to the presence of the Provisional IRA as a no-go area for security forces and was colloquially referred to as "Bandit Country". The danger from snipers and bomb attacks was so high that troop transports were carried out by air and fortified observation towers were built to control the region.

From the beginning of the 1990s large-caliber sniper rifles of the Barrett M82 and Barrett M90 types reached the Irish island and were smuggled from there to Northern Ireland or used from the border area with the Republic of Ireland . This type of weapon is said to have been requested by the IRA leadership in the mid-1980s and shipped from the United States by sympathizers and volunteers . One of these weapons was seized by the Irish police at Dublin Airport in November 1985 and another in August 1986 at a mail distribution center in Dublin. In the US, security agencies arrested several people in connection with arms shipments to the IRA in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Sniper missions

Two sniper teams were formed in South Armagh, one operating in the east and another in the west. Both teams are said to have consisted of four shooters each and were supported by several volunteers with logistics and reconnaissance. From March 1990 to mid-1992, eight sniper attacks on security forces were recorded, in which no one was injured. The attacks were not only carried out with the large-caliber 12.7 × 99 mm (.50 BMG), but also with assault rifles of the widespread 7.62 mm caliber .

Six soldiers and two police officers were killed by snipers in South Armagh from August 1992 to December 1993, before a ceasefire between August 1994 and February 1996. In February 1997, Stephen Restorick was killed in South Armagh by a shot from a Barrett rifle, bringing the death toll from the sniper to nine. Six of them were killed by .50 BMG shots, three more by 7.62 mm caliber. Lance Bombardier Stephen Restorick was the last soldier to be killed in the Northern Ireland conflict. On March 29, 1997, Constable Ronald Galway was seriously injured in Forkhill by a shot from a Barrett rifle; the projectile severed his right femur.

Most of the approximately 24 sniper attacks were carried out from a distance of less than 300 meters, which is well below the operating range of sniper rifles with optical sights. About 16 of the attacks were carried out from a modified vehicle, with the shooter lying in the trunk and protected against fire by a steel frame.

Victims of fatal shots in South Armagh;

August 28, 1992; Private Paul Turner, 18, Crossmaglen
February 25, 1993; Constable Jonathan Reid, 30, Crossmaglen
March 17, 1993; Lance Corporal Lawrence Dickson, 26, Forkhill
June 26, 1993; Private John Randall, 19, Newtownhamilton
July 17, 1993; Lance Corporal Kevin Pullin, 28, Crossmaglen
November 2, 1993; Reserve Constable Brian Woods, 31, Newry
December 2, 1993; Lance Bombardier Paul Garrett, 23, Keady
December 30, 1993; Guardsman Daniel Blinco, 22, Crossmaglen
February 12, 1997; Lance Bombardier Stephen Restorick, 23, Bessbrook

Impact and Perception

Sign saying Sniper at Work in Crossmaglen

The threat from snipers with large-caliber rifles was omnipresent for the security forces during patrols and checkpoints and thus had a high psychological impact. Protective vests against this type of rifle were not only costly, but also heavy and restricted freedom of movement. Sometimes soldiers stayed in their safe shelters instead of checking vehicles on the open road. The threat led to a reallocation of resources and the inclusion of this danger in routine operations such as the use of helicopters. Lieutenant General Sir Roger Wheeler, Commander in Chief of the British Forces in Northern Ireland, saw the sniper as a major threat in South Armagh and made its capture a priority.

The locals sometimes celebrated the snipers, were given nicknames like Goldfinger , Terminator or One Shot Paddy and were immortalized in folk songs. Triangular street signs with the image of a sniper and the words "Sniper at Work" were common.

The tactic of the sniper firing from the trunk was also used by the Beltway Snipers in the USA in 2002. In 2008 an Irish citizen was arrested in Lithuania when, among other things , he wanted to acquire two Barrett rifles for the provisional successor organization Real IRA and came under undercover agents.

Arrest and convict a sniper team

On April 10, 1997, the Special Air Service (SAS) succeeded in arresting IRA members Michael Caraher, Bernard McGinn, Seamus McArdle and Martin Mines in a farm complex near Crossmaglen. A Mazda 626 converted into a mobile weapon platform , an AKM assault rifle and a Barrett M90 sniper rifle were found during the search of the property . The arrest was preceded by months of investigation using observation and the placement of tracking devices, including the 14th Intelligence Company . The seized Barrett rifle could only be linked to the two attacks in 1997.

Bernard McGinn was considered the biggest catch for the security authorities. In March 1999 he was sentenced to several life sentences, among other things for the murder of three soldiers and involvement in three bomb attacks in England. Due to the Good Friday Agreement , he was released from Maze Prison in July 2000 . McGinn died of natural causes in Ireland in December 2013.

Michael Caraher is said to have been the head of the sniper team. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison in March 1999 for gun crimes, conspiracy to murder, possession of terrorist equipment and attempted murder. His lawyer, Rosemary Nelson, was murdered by a car bomb four days before he was convicted. Caraher's brother was shot dead by British soldiers in 1990 and he was seriously injured in the incident. In July 2000, he was also released under the Good Friday Agreement.

Seamus McArdle and Martin Mines were also sentenced to life imprisonment for gun crimes and conspiracy, and McArdle for involvement in a bomb attack in England. Both were released in 2000.

literature

The Irish War: The Hidden Conflict Between the IRA and British Intelligence by Tony Geraghty
Times of Troubles: Britain's War in Northern Ireland by Andrew Sanders and Ian Wood
Operation Banner: The British Army in Northern Ireland by Nick Van der Bijl
The Barrett Rifle: Sniping and anti-materiel rifles in the War on Terror by Chris McNab
Dog Stags & NAAFI Growlers by James Ivimey