Chronology of Provisional Irish Republican Army actions (1970–1979)

This is a chronology of activities by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) from 1970 to 1979.

1970 1970: the IRA carried out an estimated 130 bombings in Northern Ireland in 1970.

February–July 2 February: The Provisional IRA threw a gelignite bomb from a passing car at a British Army building on the Shankill Road, Belfast where 50 troops were stationed. There were no injuries but the blast blew a hole in the side of the wall. There is some confusion over who threw the bomb, as the UVF was initially not happy with the British Army on the Shankill Road and had been throwing bombs, but the Provisional IRA who were formed in December 1969 wanted to make their presence felt with these kind of bombs according to Belfast Commander Billy McKee. 1 March: the IRA bombed and wrecked a statue of mid-late 19th century Protestant evangelical, anti-Catholicism preacher named "Roaring" Hugh Hanna in Carlisle Circus, Belfast at about 03:50 am."Army engineers take away the fallen statue of the famous Protestant minister The Rev 'Roaring Hugh Hanna' after an early morning IRA bomb blast at Carlisle Circus", Belfast Telegraph 4 April: A bomb exploded at an Estate agents offices on Belfast's Lower Donegall Street, shattering numerous windows near the bomb blast, it was the third bombing that day, the first exploded in a furniture shop owned by the then Lord Mayor of Belfast Joseph Foster Cairns on the Shankill Road, the second bomb ruined a tailor shop on Royal Avenue, Belfast a fourth bomb was found in a shop & defused on Rosemary Street. These were the first bombs to explode in shops in three months time & were the beginning of a sustained bombing campaign against economic targets. Security Forces blamed the IRA for the attacks. 26 June: two IRA volunteers, Joseph Coyle and Thomas McCool, were killed in a premature explosion of an incendiary device at the McCool home at Dunree Gardens, Creggan, Derry. McCool's two young daughters, Carol Ann (4) and Bernadette (9), were also killed in the explosion. A third IRA member, Thomas Carlin, died of his injuries on 8 July. 27 June: rioting erupted in working class parts of Belfast following Orange Order marches past Catholic areas. IRA members used firearms to defend the Short Strand and Ardoyne from attack by Ulster loyalist gunmen and rioters. Two loyalists and one republican died in the cross-shooting (see Battle of St Matthew's). 3 July: The IRA bombed an Army recruitment office in Belfast on early Friday morning 3 July, destroying the front of the wall of the building and injuring one person. The blast was heard over six miles away. 3–5 July: Falls Curfew – a British Army raid on the Falls Road, Belfast developed into a riot between soldiers and residents and then into gun battles between soldiers and the Official IRA. The IRA also attacked troops with improvised grenades. The British Army sealed off the area, imposed a 36-hour curfew and raided hundreds of homes under the cover of CS gas. The British Army eventually admitted there had been incidents of looting during these raids. Three Catholic civilians (William Burns, Charles O'Neill, and Zbigniew Uglik) were killed by the British Army and more than 60 people were wounded. 13 July: The IRA fire bombed the hotel Elsinore on the Antrim Road causing a large blaze which caused much damage but no injuries as the hotel was unoccupied at the time of the bombing. 16 July: The IRA carried out a bomb attack on the Northern Bank premises in High Street, Belfast City centre. 30 people were injured in the blast.

August–December 11 August: two Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers, Samuel Donaldson (aged 23) and Robert Millar (aged 26), were killed by an IRA booby-trap bomb attached to an abandoned car near Crossmaglen, South Armagh. The bomb contained of gelignite and exploded when one of the officers attempted to open one of the car's doors. (see – 1970 Crossmaglen bombing) 4 September: an IRA volunteer (Michael Kane, aged 35) was killed when a bomb he was planting at an electricity transformer on New Forge Lane, Malone, Belfast, exploded prematurely. 16 November: the IRA shot dead two Catholic men, Arthur McKenna (aged 35) and Alexander McVicker (aged 35), as alleged criminals while the two were repairing a car, Ballymurphy Road, Belfast. The men were alleged to have been involved in protection rackets, fencing stolen goods, minor racketeering, money-lending, burglary and robbery.

1971

January–February January 1971: following months of clashes between British soldiers and Irish nationalists in Ballymurphy, the British Army held secret talks with the IRA. It was agreed that, in parts of West Belfast, the IRA would be responsible for policing and there would be no activity by the British Army or RUC.Reed, David. Ireland: The Key to the British Revolution. Larkin Publications, 1984. pp. 158–159.Moloney, Ed. A Secret History of the IRA. Penguin, 2007. 3 February 1971: under pressure from the unionist government of Northern Ireland, the British Army began a series of raids in nationalist areas of West and North Belfast. This sparked clashes between residents and British soldiers, and between nationalists and loyalists. Eight soldiers and a number of civilians were wounded. The IRA saw the raids as a breach of the policing agreement, and violence continued for the next few nights. 6 February 1971: the British Army shot dead IRA staff officer James Saunders (22) in North Belfast. The British Army claimed soldiers removing barricades in the Oldpark district came under gun and bomb attack. In Ardoyne, soldiers shot dead a Catholic civilian, Bernard Watt (28), whom they claimed was armed, after an armoured personnel carrier was attacked. 6 February 1971: during clashes between nationalists and British soldiers in the New Lodge district, the IRA opened fire on a group of soldiers, killing Gunner Robert Curtis. He was the first British soldier killed in Ireland since the 1920s. The next day, James Chichester-Clark, Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, declared on television that "Northern Ireland is at war with the Irish Republican Army Provisionals". Eight British soldiers and five civilians were injured in various gun battles around Belfast. 8 February 1971: during clashes on the Crumlin Road, Ardoyne, Belfast, two British Army scout vehicles came under sniper fire and had a bomb thrown at them. A soldier (John Laurie) was shot in the head and died eight days later, on 15 February. 9 February 1971: at the funeral of IRA volunteer James Saunders, a three-volley salute was fired over his coffin by the IRA. The funeral cortege was forced to make a detour when 300 loyalists blocked Oldpark Road and stoned mourners. There were also scuffles with police. There was controversy after a British soldier was filmed saluting the coffin as it passed his armoured car.Winchester, Simon. Northern Ireland in Crisis: Reporting the Ulster Troubles. Holmes & Meier, 1974. p. 127. 9 February 1971: five men, George Beck (aged 43), John Eakins (aged 52), Harry Edgar (aged 26), David Henson (aged 24), and William Thomas (aged 35) were killed while travelling in a Land Rover, which detonated a landmine on track, Brougher Mountain, near Trillick, County Tyrone. A British Army mobile patrol was reportedly the intended target. The five were on their way to inspect a transmitter: two of the dead men were BBC engineers, the other three were construction workers. The landmine was intended for a British Army patrol that usually inspected the transmitters. 26 February 1971: Two RUC Special Patrol Group officers, Robert Buckley (aged 30) and Cecil Patterson (aged 45), were killed in a gun battle with the IRA while on Royal Ulster Constabulary mobile patrol, Etna Drive, Ardoyne, Belfast.

March–April 8 March 1971: Provisional IRA volunteer Charles Hughes (26) was shot dead by the Official IRA, while leaving a house on Leeson Street, Lower Falls, Belfast; part of an ongoing dispute between the Provisional IRA and the Official IRA. In response the Provisional IRA shot and seriously injured an Official IRA volunteer. 9 March 1971: the Provisional IRA kidnapped three off-duty Scottish soldiers (John McCaig, Joseph McCaig, and Dougald McCaughey) in Belfast, brought them to a mountain road outside the city and shot each in the head. They were the first off-duty soldiers from Britain to be killed in the conflict.

May–June 15 May 1971: IRA volunteer Billy Reid was killed during a gun battle between the IRA and the British Army on Academy Street, Belfast. Two British soldiers were wounded in the incident. 23 May 1971: The Provisional IRA was blamed for the bombing of a Protestant pub on Belfast's Shankill Road called the Mountain View Tavern. 18 people were injured in the blast, an estimated 5-10 lbs of explosives was used in the bomb. This was one of the first Pub bombings of The Troubles. 25 May 1971: a bomb was thrown into Springfield Road British Army/RUC base in Belfast, killing British Army Sergeant Michael Willetts as he shielded civilians from the blast with his body. He was posthumously awarded the George Cross. Seven RUC officers, two British soldiers and 18 civilians were injured.

July–August 12 July 1971: a British soldier (David Walker, aged 30) was shot dead by an IRA sniper at a British observation post on Northumberland Street, Lower Falls, Belfast. The IRA claimed his death was in retaliation for the killings of two civilians in Derry by the British Army the previous week. 14 July 1971: a British soldier (Richard Barton, aged 24) was shot dead in an IRA ambush on a mobile patrol in Andersonstown, Belfast. Three IRA gunmen using automatic weapons fired at least 35 shots at the patrol. 16 July 1971: volunteers from the Provisional IRA Belfast Brigade fired a rocket launcher at Andersonstown RUC station, the rocket was launched from a nearby café. The shell badly damaged the station but no serious injuries were reported. 8 August 1971: a British soldier (Malcolm Hatton, aged 21) was shot dead in an IRA sniper attack while on foot patrol, Brompton Park, Ardoyne, Belfast. The IRA claimed he was shot in retaliation for the shooting death of a civilian by the British Army the day before on the Springfield Road. 9 August 1971: 343 suspects were detained as internment was introduced (see Operation Demetrius). In the following two days 17 people were killed in gun battles between the IRA and British Army. The IRA killed two British soldiers (one of them UDR) while the British Army shot dead one IRA volunteer and 14 civilians. Between 1971 and 75, 1,981 people were interned; 1,874 were Catholic and 107 were Protestant. 9 August 1971: a UDR soldier (Winston Donnell, aged 22), was killed in a joint Provisional and Official IRA ambush at a vehicle check point in Clady, County Tyrone. 10 August 1971: Norman Watson, a Protestant civilian, was killed in the crossfire between the IRA and soldiers in Armagh. 10 August 1971: Paul Challoner (aged 23), a British soldier, was shot dead by the IRA while on foot patrol, Bligh's Lane, Creggan, Derry. 11 August 1971: an IRA volunteer (Seamus Simpson, aged 21), was shot dead while throwing a bomb at a British Army foot patrol, Rossnareen Avenue, Andersonstown, Belfast. 16 August 1971: the commander of the Provisionals' Belfast Brigade, Joe Cahill, gave a press conference claiming only 30 IRA volunteers had been interned. 18 August 1971: an IRA volunteer (Eamon Lafferty, aged 20) was shot dead during a gun battle between the IRA and the British Army in Kildrum Gardens, Creggan, Derry City. 23 August 1971: a British soldier (George Crozier, aged 23) was shot dead by an IRA sniper on Flax Street, Ardoyne, Belfast. The soldier was shot in the head as he exited a British armoured vehicle.