More Event on This Day - https://thisdayirishhistory.com/february-28/
Welcome back to This Day in Irish History. I'm your host, Raymond Welsh. Before we dive into today's story, if you’d like to explore other significant events that happened on this day in Irish history, visit thisdayirishhistory.com—the link is in the episode description. Now, let’s journey back to February 28, 1985, when the Provisional Irish Republican Army carried out one of the deadliest attacks on the Royal Ulster Constabulary during the Troubles.
It was a bitterly cold evening in Newry, County Down, when the IRA launched a devastating assault on the local RUC station. The attack was meticulously planned, utilizing a Mark 10 mortar system, a deadly weapon designed to fire explosive shells over long distances. At approximately 6:30 p.m., the mortar rounds were launched from a makeshift firing position in a stolen van parked about 200 yards from the station. The shells, packed with explosives, arced through the sky before crashing down onto the station’s canteen, where officers were taking a break from their duties.
The result was catastrophic. Nine RUC officers lost their lives in the blast, and nearly 40 others sustained injuries of varying severity. The sheer force of the explosions ripped through the building, causing devastation in seconds. This attack marked the single deadliest assault on the RUC throughout the Troubles, a conflict that had already claimed thousands of lives and left deep scars across Northern Ireland.
In the immediate aftermath, emergency services rushed to the scene to tend to the wounded and retrieve the fallen. The British and Irish governments swiftly condemned the attack, denouncing it as a heinous act of violence that further deepened the divisions within the region. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Irish Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald both expressed their outrage, calling for renewed efforts to counter paramilitary violence and to find a political solution to the ongoing conflict.
For the IRA, the attack was part of its broader strategy to weaken the British security presence in Northern Ireland. By targeting the RUC—a force widely seen by nationalists as an instrument of British rule—the IRA aimed to undermine the state’s authority while bolstering its own campaign for a united Ireland. However, for many within both communities, the Newry bombing only reinforced the brutal cycle of violence that had gripped Northern Ireland for over a decade and a half.
The attack also had profound implications for security policy in the region. In response, the British government intensified its efforts to combat the IRA, increasing surveillance, military operations, and intelligence-gathering measures. The RUC itself adapted its protocols, making its stations more fortified and limiting the number of officers congregating in communal areas at any given time to prevent mass casualties in future attacks.
Despite these measures, the Troubles would continue for another thirteen years, with further acts of violence carried out by both republican and loyalist paramilitaries, as well as security forces. It was not until the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 that a political framework for peace was finally established, offering a path away from the violent conflict that had defined life in Northern Ireland for so long.
The events of February 28, 1985, remain a sobering reminder of the human cost of the Troubles. The nine RUC officers who perished that day were among the over 300 members of the force who lost their lives during the conflict. Their deaths, like so many others, left families shattered and communities further divided. Even decades later, the memory of the Newry attack continues to serve as a solemn testament to the challenges of reconciliation and the importance of peace.
Thank you for joining me on this journey through Ireland’s past. Please like and subscribe, and until next time, I’m Raymond Welsh—Slán go fóill!
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