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The Shankill Road bombing in Belfast, sometimes referred to as the Shankill bomb, was one of the most notorious incidents of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

The Shankill Road had been the location of several other bomb and gun attacks, but the 1993 bombing had the largest loss of life and resulted in numerous revenge attacks.

The bombing

On October 23, 1993, a meeting between senior loyalist faction leaders, including several senior members of the Ulster Defence Association and Johnny Adair, one of the leaders of the Ulster Freedom Fighters, had been scheduled to take place in a flat above Frizzell's Fish Shop on the Shankill Road in the afternoon. For an unknown reason, the details were changed. Some sources claim that the location was moved, others suggest that it was rescheduled for another time or day.

The Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) had heard about the original time, location and date of the meeting, and saw an opportunity to remove several of their most senior enemies in one blow. To this end, Thomas Begley and Sean Kelly, two relatively junior PIRA operatives, entered the fish shop dressed as deliverymen with a large bomb hidden under a cover on a plastic tray. They intended to leave the time bomb in the shop, where it would detonate once they had made their getaway. It was late afternoon on a Saturday so the shop was crowded and, as the two men made their way through the people inside, the bomb detonated prematurely. However the bomb only had an 11 second fuse, with Kelly since claiming that they would have given a warning to the shop's customers as the fuse was activated, giving them this short period of time to escape. Thomas Begley and nine other people, including two children and the owner John Frizzell, with his daughter Sharon McBride, were killed in the subsequent explosion.

The building collapsed, crushing many of the survivors under the rubble, where they remained until rescued some hours later by volunteers and emergency services. Many people were seriously injured in the explosion. Also at the scene during the rescue operation were several senior loyalist paramilitaries, including Adair.

The dead

• Thomas Begley, aged 23, PIRA volunteer
• John Frizzell, aged 63, civilian
• Sharon McBride, aged 29, civilian
• Michael Morrison, aged 27, civilian
• Evelyn Baird, aged 27, civilian
• Michelle Baird, aged 7, civilian
• Leanne Murray, aged 13, civilian
• George Williamson, aged 63, civilian
• Gillian Williamson, aged 49, civilian
• Wilma McKee, aged 38, civilian

Begley funeral

Begley was afforded a well attended republican funeral in West Belfast, with Gerry Adams, president of Sinn Fein, being widely criticised for acting as a pallbearer at the funeral. The aftermath prompted more bloodshed, as nineteen people were killed by the Ulster Volunteer Force and Ulster Freedom Fighters in the next two months, mostly at random, including seven in the Greysteel massacre on October 30.

Sean Kelly, the surviving PIRA activist, was badly wounded in the explosion, but on his release from hospital was arrested and convicted of nine counts of murder, each with a corresponding life sentence. In July 2000, he was released under the Belfast Agreement.

See also

• Directory of the Northern Ireland Troubles
• Chronology of Provisional IRA Actions
• Provisional IRA campaign 1969-1997

References

1. CAIN
2. A Secret History of the IRA, Ed Moloney, 2002. 9PB) ISBN 0-393-32502-4 (HB) ISBN 0-71-399665-X p.415] p.415
3. ^ BBC News, 'Johnny Adair: Feared Loyalist Leader', 6 July 2000, Retrieved on 27 February 2007
4. Guardian
5. CAIN
6. BBC News
7. Time
8. Oireactas debate. Retrieved 9th August 2007.
9. Retrieved: 9th August 2007
10. Retrieved: 9th August 2007
11. Retrieved: 9th August 2007
12. Retrieved: 9th August 2007

External links

• BBC interview with victim of the attack
• BBC on Johnny Adair
• BBC on Sean Kelly
• CAIN:Sutton Index: Information on previous attacks

• Provisional IRA actions
• 1993 in Northern Ireland
• The Troubles in Belfast
• Terrorist incidents in 1993
• Terrorism in Northern Ireland
• History of Belfast
• PIRA killings