Shankill Road bombing

The Shankill Road bombing in Belfast, sometimes refferred to as the 'Shankill bomb', was one of the most famous images of The Troubles in Northern Ireland. During the thirty years of violence, there had been several large indescriminate bombings, but at a time when the Troubles were beginning to diminish, such a large loss of life amongst uninvolved 'civilians' came as a powerful shock to those involved on both sides.

The 'Shankill Bomb'

On the 23 October 1993, a meeting between senior Loyalist faction leaders, including several senior members of the Ulster Defence Association and the notorious Johnny Adair, leader 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 claiming that the location was moved, others suggesting that it was rescheduled for another time or day.

The Provisional Irish Republican Army 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 unknown IRA operatives, entered the fish shop 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 something went wrong with the bomb they were carrying. 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 totally 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 very seriously injured in the explosion. Also at the scene during the rescue operation were several senior Loyalist paramilitaries, including Johnny Adair.

The aftermath prompted more bloodshed, as 19 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 the 30 October.

Sean Kelly, the surviving IRA 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 sentance. in July 2000, he was released under the Good Friday Agreement, but was soon back in prison for being "re-involved with terrorism".

The Dead

Evelyn Baird, 27
Michelle Baird, 7
John Frizzell, 63
Michael Morrison, 27
Sharon McBride, 29
Wilma McKee, 38
Leanne Murray, 13
George Williamson, 63
Gillian Williamson, 49

Thomas Begley, 23 - IRA activist and bomber

Previous Incidents

The Shankill Road has a history of violence in The Troubles, having sustained several previous attacks.

On 29 September 1971, the Four Step Inn on the Shankill Road was bombed by an unknown organisation, killing two patrons, Alexander Andrews, 60 and Ernest Bates, 38. Two months later, on the 11 December, another bomb, believed to be the work of the IRA, killed four people in the Balmoral Furnishing Company, when it collapsed a wall. Harold King, 29, Hugh Bruce, 70, Tracey Munn, 2 and new-born baby Colin Nicholl died.

In 1973, three people were shot dead on the road, two in what may have been ordinary robberies, and a third, Alexander Howell, 35, by the British army, during a riot on the 28 December.

On the 6 April 1974, Ellen McDowell, 21, was shot and killed on the Shankill Road by the Ulster Volunteer Force for unknown reasons.

1975 was the worst year for bombings on the Shankill Road until 1993, with two explosions. The first was set on 5 April by an unidentified Republican group in the Mountainview Tavern, and killed five people during the Grand National race. The bomb may have been targeting Ulster Defence Association member William Andrews, 33, who was killed along with Alan Madden, 18, Albert Fletcher, 32, Nathaniel Adams, 29, and Joseph Bell, 52. A few months later, on the 13 August, IRA gunmen entered the Bayardo Bar on the Shankill Road, and threw homemade greandes and opened fire at random, killing five patrons in what is believed to be a "tit-for-tat" killing between the Catholic and Protestant communities. Killed were William Gracey, 63, Samuel Gunning, 55, Hugh Harris, 21, and Joanne McDowell, 29. Linda Boyle, 19, died a week later from her injuries.

In the next 18 years, five people were killed on the road, all in isolated shooting incidents. The wider Shankill area experienced several outbreaks of violence throught the period, but the road itself remained relatively safe until the events of the 23 October 1993.