On Saturday evening 4th December 1971 members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) detonated a no warning bomb in the doorway of a public house known in North Belfast as McGurk’s bar.
15 people were killed.
The youngest to die was a 13 year old schoolboy, James Francis Cromie and the oldest was 73 year old Philip Garry, a school crossing patrolman.
The pub was demolished and the dead and dying were buried beneath the rubble. The emergency services used a mechanical digger to try and reach the wounded.
What was also buried that night was the truth.
The British authorities immediately started to doctor witness statements and put out spin to friendly journalists.
The cause of the explosion was an “own goal” by the IRA.
This was a lie of Orwellian proportions.
Not only did innocent people lose their lives, but they were also smeared.
The official version of events that McGurk’s bar had housed an IRA bomb “in transit” and it had prematurely exploded.
The evidence from the British Army’s own explosives experts contradicted this spin.
They knew that the bomb had been placed in the doorway of the pub.
There was a young boy who had witnessed the bombers and a loyalist sticker on the back of their getaway car.
The relatives of the McGurk’s bar bombing have fought for years to clear the names of their relatives.
None more so that the author of a new book on the massacre.
Ciarán MacAirt did not know his grandmother Kathleen Irvine as she was one of the victims of the UVF’s bomb that night in 1971.
The book represents seven years of meticulous work.
The case he presents in the book for collusion in the atrocity after the fact by the British Army is unanswerable.
It suited the British authorities to lie about the authors of the outrage and to smear the innocent people who had lost their lives that night.
MacAirt cannot prove collusion in the act itself and he is bluntly honest about this.
His search for a crucial piece of evidence continues.
However, if proof were to be found of British complicity in assisting the UVF to carry out the atrocity then it would fit a well-established pattern of Counter Insurgency Operations carried out by the British Army in their dirty war in the North.
Their Counter Insurgency theorist Brigadier Frank Kitson was deployed to command the 39th Air portable Brigade in Belfast in 1970.
The use of a loyalist “counter gang” like the UVF to terrorise a rebellious population was straight out of his handbook.
The book is very good in examining how Kitson’s theories were implemented on the streets on Belfast in the early years of the Northern War.
Given his familial proximity to this crime it would have been entirely understandable if MacAirt’s work was a personal journey about his grief and loss.
However, although acknowledging the absence of his grandmother in his life and the impact that it had on his clan he puts that to one side and focusses on the facts.
Not only is this book an impressive marshalling of the facts, but it also introduces the general reader to the Machiavellian nature of the modern British Army as it withdrew from empire and the lengths it was prepared to go to get a strategic edge against rebels in the colonies.
MacAirt’s research has featured in many TV and radio programmes. He presented his testimony to the US Helsinki Commission on Capitol Hill, Washington DC.
It was real coup for author to get Colin Wallace to provide the Foreword for the book.
Wallace was a former Senior Information Officer at the heart of the British Army’s psychological operations unit in the early 1970s in the North.
He was on duty the night of the bombing and he provides powerful corroboration of MacAirt’s allegations of collusion after the fact.
Only one person was ever convicted of the McGurk’s bar bombing, Robert James Campbell, admitted to his part in the mass murder in July 1977.
There is a Scottish connection to this atrocity.
The police in Glasgow alerted their RUC colleagues of the involvement of the UVF in the massacre.
Big Bill Campbell (no relation) was in charge of the UVF in Scotland. He boasted of being involved in the bombing.
His nephew Jason Campbell murdered Celtic supporter Mark Scott in Bridgeton in 1995.
There was an attempt to get Big Bill’s nephew out as a “qualifying prisoner” under the Good Friday Agreement as a member of the UVF.
Last year Police Ombudsman Al Hutchinson issued a report criticising the RUC investigation into the bombing “investigative bias”.
This book will engage anyone who has an interest in Britain’s dirty war in Ireland.
Moreover, it will also be of interest to students of how governments manipulate information to advance their own agenda.
The innocents in McGurk’s bar were murdered by the UVF and then slandered by the British Army.
Ciaran MacAirt’s investigative journalism could not bring them back, but he has played a vital part in retrieving their reputations and he has also identified the guilty parties in a cynical smearing of good people.
This book tells a greater truth about Britain’s shameful role as an occupying force in Ireland.
Indeed, who is to say that they would not tell similar lies today in Afghanistan?
This book is available from Waterstones in Glasgow and Belfast and WH Smith in Glasgow.
It is on sale in HMV stores across the Six Counties.
It can also be purchased from Amazon.
Francis Bannon
Emma,
I think you have nailed it when you called Sam on what little he has done over the last 40 years. I think is obvious from his posts why the campaign has not relied on his work – it has been non-existent!
Sam,
Emma asked you a very simple question based on what you yourself said: what was the “vital” piece of evidence from police archives on Sunday 5th December 1971 that you accessed in 1999? If you cannot answer this simple question, I think we would be right to assume that you are lying! It will be plain that you are doing the other families and your own family no good whatsoever by your rants and lies.
November 11, 2012 at 6:51 pm
sam irvine
Just heard the family of the prison warden shot dead do not want mcguinness or sinn fein at the funeral…i look forward to seeing you in letters pages ridiculing their decision
November 7, 2012 at 5:13 am
sam irvine
This is my thirrd attempt to post..in a nutshell what have you experienced thru the troubles that gives you the right to dictate to me who i should talk to..my parents would never have anything to do with the provisionals or any paramilitary group for that matter we love our mother too much to have her name associated with these people and two other families have told me they wouldnt approve but im speaking for mine i wouldnt dare comment without their permission..maybe if this will work properly i will write the reply right but in the meantime please inform me of your work and experiences
November 6, 2012 at 10:56 pm
Sam irvine
This is playing up and this is my second attempt to forward this post that’s the reason it’s in two parts…my mother worked in the mills all her life enduring bronchial problems and regularly coughing up blood and never complaining our love for our parents is even stronger today if that is possible ant they were no admirers of the provisionals my father had been a member of the British army during the war and it goes without saying what the provisionals would have done to him had he ever been in uniform so I will not have their beautiful memories besmirched with people associating them with republicans and without our consent to boot..you say you support the families well I have spoken to two and they also were not approached and do not agree with it either..if you don’t know it took seven years to rid our loved ones names of that lie..you say talk to anyone..who are you to offer advice have you been thru similar ..you know I wouldn’t dare dictate to my wife or her family on how to honour their loved one I respect their choice..I’m interested to know what you research and how the troubles have affected you then Iyou will no doubt permit me to dictate how you grieve
November 6, 2012 at 10:37 pm
sam irvine
I’m trying to do this over a gone that’s why it’s in two parts…….my mother in my eyes was faultless working in the mills since she was thirteen and suffering with bronchitis and coughing up blood and never once complaining and all for her family…our love for our parents is as strong today as its ever been…and I will not see her name being dragged thru the mud being associated with republicans ..and don’t dare reprimand me for making that choice it’s obvious you know nothing as I nor anyone else but the victims family makes the choice..I would never in a million years castigate my wife’s family or her for choosing how to honour their loved ones memory it is their grief and theirs alone ..respect that ..tell me as you’re voicing an opinion how has the troubles affected you let me know I’m interested ..I think you should get out more get around areas see the bitterness feel it for yourself …my mother and father were not republican my father was in the British army during the war for christs sake if he’d been in uniform the provisionals would have murdered him…you say you support the families well I have spoken to two and they were not approached concerning republicans and if so would not approved but I’m not speaking for them I wouldn’t dare without their consent…you say talk to anyone ..walk in my shoes go thru what I’ve saw of my father and my other family members these people uvf have nothing to offer that is my view and I will not give them credence….I hope this is ok as I can hardly make out the letters…as for research I devoted what little time I could whilst working three shifts and I’m not a researcher I don’t know we’re to start but I stumbled on and you are wrong the material of statements …Campbell’s admission etc was not in the public domain and I had to almost beg the police to meet me …you also criticise me because I have no proof …but I don’t care what anyone says I know in my own heart that there was collusion ..you also make snide remarks because we involve finnuances they’re professional who should I ask ? You? P..I know I have gathered very little but there’s not a lot available other than someone having a guilty conscience and coming forward with evidence it’s gonna be a long battle …I await with interest what you’r research involves and your traumatic experiences from the troubles and then maybe you’ll permit me to dictate how you deal with it
November 6, 2012 at 10:03 pm
sam irvine
Emma lets get some things straight..i am not nor have i claimed to be a researcher which i doubt you are as well as you cant even read a post properly..i wouldnt ask you to research last weeks tv listings..i dont know why i answer phantoms like yourself but here goes..for the past thirty odd years i have been raising a family of three boys who i am so boringly proud of they have never been in trouble and all work and not one has a sectarian bone in their body they work like i do with what is termed members of the other community some of whom i would trust with my life ..but i am bitter unbelievably bitter toward those who carried out the murder of my mother and attempted murder of my fatherand those who covered it up politicians mod etc..and my protestant friends are well aware of my feelings and back me ..some
people are amazed at how non sectarian we are ..and that is thanks to my parents and wifes parents influence..her sister my sister in law was also murdered..we were surrounded by violence ive had a cousin shot dead in ballymurphy a friend murdered by the shankill butchers and other aquaintences and neighbours down the street murdered there are many people in my area who are very bitter but not sectarian ..you say you know of mcgurks then you’ll know how our people were targeted ..and you’ ll know they were innocent…we the families were victimised in different ways i was lifted on a regular basis for screening they called it and shown fotos of dead people and asked to name them..they demanded to open my mothers coffin to search it for guns..they tried to arrest my father and me outside a neighbours and it nearly caused a riot and other families were not immune either..we watched our father cry like a baby at times it is heartbreaking even thinking back now.. he was my hero and im so proud that he lives through my sons
November 6, 2012 at 8:57 pm
sam irvine
And dont worry francis or frankie i dont check up on people as i dont give a shit
November 5, 2012 at 12:41 am
emma
Now isn’t that lovely language from a family campaigner who should be trying to win support for his cause! No wonder Francis assumed you were posting drunk messages after midnight.
I am a researcher by trade and I too have been very impressed with what the McGurk’s families have achieved against all odds but Sam the sum total of your campaign work over the last 40 years – by your own admission – has amounted to:
- A meeting with Relatives for Justice
- An exhibition of newspaper cuttings
- Two meetings with policemen
- Being handed commission documents by the police that are in fact readily available (and we can be assured that they were in the public domain if the RUC gave you them!)
- Visiting Easons and Waterstones to complain about a book (which is still being openly sold)
No wonder you have left the rest to your legal team and the Pat Finucane Centre as you must be exhausted.
I note that you also said you accessed a “vital piece of evidence” in 1999, namely a police report from the following morning. What was this archive as I do not remember it recorded anywhere in the book?
No doubt it is the piece of evidence that “helped to find [the RUC] biased by the [Police] Ombudsman”. I think you are telling pork pies, Sam.
Seriously, though, and when I say this, I say it as a supporter of the families and yours included. You do not advance anything positive by hanging you coat on your “conjecture” especially regarding another pub bombing at the same time. You do not advance anything positive by your bigotry as you should be prepared to talk to everyone, regardless of whether they are Republican or Loyalist, and you should welcome support from whichever quarter it is offered. You do not advance anything positive by your foul language or anger. You are doing the families a great disservice by the way you are conducting yourself as your posts are not based on fact and read as if you are bitter and jealous of other family members. You would do them all a greater service if you returned to the shadows that hid you for over 40 years and kept your “views” to yourself.
November 5, 2012 at 11:19 pm
sam irvine
myself my sisters marie briege and pat along with louise mcdonald (daughter of fra bradley) began the mcgurks campaign in 95/96 we went along to relatives for justice and met with clara reilly and mark thompson two fantastic people and tireless campaigners who listened to our stories ( told to anyone outside the families for the first time) and invited us to come along to their open day where they displayed photos of people murdered during the troubles whose relatives asked for the truth, they allocated us a place where we displayed our own photos and newspaper reports.. at the information day i was dejected at how few people knew of mc gurks ( our dignified silence was not paying dividends) i tortured the ruc to meet with me and went to proni to see records of the bombing but they would not help as they were restricted ..i met the ruc on two occasions and gained access to the murderers statement and statements of survivors and plans of mc gurks and the positions of those inside the bar also records of what happened in the area that night, times of shootings, riots etc in 1999 proni sent me a vital piece of evidence a police report from the next morning sunday i gave all i had on the bombing to the ombudsman at the time nuala o loan..they asked my views on the bomb and i told them that it was not intended for mc gurks and that the gem bar was the original target ( this has now been accepted and is included in the report…i rem when i first mentioned this i was accused of having a wild imagination ..this was before i saw campbells statement ) i asked the police time and again about the cars involved they lied to me saying they had no records but het dug up records of the cars ..the vehicle had been examined and dusted but all have disappeared along with the car…trying to gain access to records to this atrocity is almost impossible so a lot of my belief that there was collusion is conjecture and until i see the truth i am staying that way ..as for the campaign my sisters and i are concetrating all our efforts in the legal avenues, the finnucane centre is heading our fight thru the courts against the police inc matt baggott we have a meeting later this month to update us …as regards the ” campaign” you talk about if you have checked on me youll know why i have been vociferous but just to enlighten ..there are three relatives and ciaran mcairt who go along to republican gatherings promoting the campaign, my family, (and i know of two other families) have never been approached to see if we approved.. we wouldnt..if you know about the atrocity youll know our loved ones were accused of being republicans making the bomb thats how the own goal myth started, we went years with that scurrilous lie added to our grief until campbells arrest six years later ( tony gerraghtys book still carried the lie ) i dont want my mothers name associated with provisionals ( we ask for truth but gerry adams continues to lie about his past) or any republican groups and have visited sites (cairde na heireann) where ciaran mcairt has written to protest this and i will confront him face to face at the earliest opportunity ..you ask what has my evidence gained , well with the police absolutely zero except it helped to find them biased by the ombudsman ..we need transparency and truth no matter who it hurts…i wrote under sorrel because it asked for a name i dont hide behind anyone or anything and stand by all that i say and i cant work twitter otherwise …
November 4, 2012 at 10:39 pm
sam irvine
francis i shouldnt have called you sherlock as he got his facts right…anyway if you checked up on me you will notice i declare who i am when referring to mc gurks or do you just comment on what you choose to interpret from the odd post…i have not commented on the book and i have always attacked the establishment on anything to do with mc gurks so what exactly are you on about…your right we have always been dignified in our pursuit of the truth but comes the time when being dignified is not for me and if it means answering people on sites by using examples of mis or dis information then i will do it . you say you have followed the mcgurks quest but yet you castigate me because you cant believe the british wouldnt use dirty tricks are you for real ? follow my trail and you will see that i have voiced my opinion on what members of three of the families along with ciaran mcairt are doing on their “campaign trail” then get back to me here but rem just dont troll what you nitpick …
November 4, 2012 at 6:34 pm
Frankie
Sam,
I don’t think you have answered any of my queries from my reply. Are you saying you aren’t Sorrel who voiced those outrageous comments on Slugger then (as you “declare” who you are when referring to McGurk’s)?
Another simple question: Can you tell us what archive evidence you presented to the HET and Police Ombudsman and how that evidence accomplished anything? If you cannot answer these simple questions I think I’ll join Mason Walker and leave the thread because I cannot believe I am talking with one of the family campaigners. By the way, where have I said that I dont believe the British would use dirty tricks? Have you taken to misquoting posters as well as ignoring simple questions?
November 4, 2012 at 8:04 pm
sam irvine
Ive no need to read any book on mcgurks . “.republican sources “said they carried out the four step is that a” fact” yeah and i know provos who were real rambos if you believe them if u care to read the context of the four step post you would realise i was trying to compare that bomb and mcgurks and how conclusions and dis information was conveyed..again with the irish war .and waterstones etc..read the post…from 1994 after th death of my father i collated what evidence i could from archives and meeting with ruc personnel all was given to het and police ombudsman who i told from the start i had absolutely no confidence in and i was proved right ..as for trolls i think u fit in that category sherlock but u havent done ur homework or u would know why i have been noticeable on the sites
November 4, 2012 at 3:11 pm
Frankie
Sam,
That’s what I thought – you cannot even prove that you have been involved at any stage with the campaign so I was right to assume you accomplished nothing.
Oh wait, you said you collated evidence from archives and that this was handed to the HET and Police Ombudsman. What evidence would this be then? Surely you must be able to point this out to us from the online report and name the archives? Did this evidence help their investigations? I would lay a bet that you can provide nothing, though, as no such evidence exists except in your imagination.
Also, people can read for themselves the disgraceful insinuations you made about the Four Step Inn attack in this thread although you were more pointed with your wild theories on Slugger when you posted about the Four Step attack:
“my own belief is that it was carried out by the uvf and/or the security forces to create sectarian tensions and encourage tit for tat outrages the uvf also was not happy with the emergence of the uda as the protector of the protestant people and who were enjoying all the publicity of their impenetrable no go areas where they invited reporters to travel round the barricades manned by their members day and night”.
I’m no Sherlock but I assumed you were posting under the name “Sorrel” on Slugger as there is a recently opened Twitter account for a Sam Irvine @sorrelsam (although no tweets!). Unfortunately though I still cannot work out why you are suddenly vocal on this subject (apart from the obvious) so why don’t you enlighten us at the same time you post proof of the great campaign work you have done. In the meantime, I’ll re-read the numerous articles regarding the great work that the McGurk’s families have done and see if I can spot your work anywhere.
November 4, 2012 at 7:17 pm
Francis Bannon
Sam,
I have followed the McGurk’s families’ campaign and what has always struck me was their dignity in the face of such lies and how they tackled the likes of the police Ombudsman with facts. When I was reading your posts, I was finding it hard to believe that you are one of these family members. For example, I could not believe that you would try to tell posters that the attack on the Four Step Inn was British Army dirty tricks. Have you even read the McGurk’s book as it records that Republican sources admitted to the author that it was their bomb. So you have tried to plaster your own disinformation here.
I wondered what agenda a family member would have in posting this and other nonsense here so I googled your name. You have posted the same tripe on other blogs (Slugger O Toole and 107 Cowgate). These posts over the past few weeks account for the vast majority of times that your name has been mentioned in conjunction with the campaign although you are at pains to tell us about how active you have been.
Rather than a family member, I think you are a troll as you are not advancing anything positive. I also note here and on the other blogs that the later your posts, the more haphazard they become (like your last one). Were you drunk when you posted these?
I would not be able to begin to comprehend how difficult it would be to campaign but I would imagine it would take a lot more effort than visiting Easons and Waterstones as you tell us you did above (and you failed in stopping the sale of that book as it is readily available). If you truly are a family campaigner “at the coalface”, what have you done and what have you accomplished for the campaign?
You tell us about your research. Where is it published? Is it in a journal or on the website as I do not see your name anywhere? I think you are just a troll who infests any review of the McGurk’s book. Who are you really?
November 3, 2012 at 12:44 am
sam irvine
The” retreival” of the victims reputations began with the arrest of robert james campbell in 1976 and has been continuing ever since. In 1998 (i think) i myself went to different bookstores eason and waterstones included and protested about tony geraghtys book ‘the irish war’ in which he repeats the lie that the bomb was in the bar and that it was an own goal. I was successful in having the book taken from the shelves but if anyone requested the book then it was sold under the counter so to speak as they viewed anything else as censorship.i also contacted amazon and left a personal view on the books website so mr mcairt is a late arrival on the scene as the digging at the coal face has been going on a long long time without the want of recognition
October 19, 2012 at 12:32 am
The Wallace
I hope I live long enough, Phil, to see the people responsible for all these atrocities brought to book. This is definitely more than the deluded and deceitful Mason Walker’s small rogue element of British security services. If the evidence secrecy thing is used, the implication, for me anyway, is that things went on at Governmental level.
BTW have you read James Hogg’s ‘Confessions of a Justified Sinner’? A chap it mentioned on Celtic Media this morning, and how the WATP attitude chimes very closely with Robert Wringham’s Calvinist attitude to the ‘elect’ and how it can be manipulated (by Gil Martin(the Devil) in the book) to justify all sorts of crimes including murder. I think I’ll give it another read. I wonder if Mason Walker has read it?
October 16, 2012 at 4:38 pm
Phil Mac Giolla Bhain
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/oct/15/uk-arms-northern-ireland-loyalist-massacre?CMP=twt_gu
Collusion is no illusion.
October 15, 2012 at 8:31 pm
The Wallace
To Sam Irvine
thanks again sir and if Mr Mason Walker is typical of the blinkered resistance your investigations and attempts to clear your Mother and all involved in McGurks Loyalist bombing tragedy, all I can say is you must have the patience of Job. I hope my argument with this unfeeling ingnoramus has not caused you any further upset, for this I apologise and I wish you well in the future with your efforts and with your nephew’s book. Again God bless you and your family.
To Mason Walker
To start with I was only trying to point out that your assertion, that when the ombudsman’s report said it ‘could find no evidence of collusion’ and that this equated to your statement ‘there was no collusion’, was wrong in it’s most basic sense. These two statements are not the same and to try to equate them leads to a false conclusion. I could use symbolic logic or Venn diagrams to prove my point, but I am afraid your refusal to try to understand what I am saying means, to me, that you seem to have an agenda of denial of certain inconvenient facts and the acceptance of facts that only support your hypothesis. You would make a very poor scientist, although your excellent powers of sophistry and use of rhetoric means you could go far in politics and the civil service, probably to the detriment of the country though. As I have said before you are dangerous because you sound very plausible, but when what you say is closely examined you are not to be trusted.
By the way what a rude and mean spirited treatment of Mr Sam Irvine, whose mother lost her life and who has had these shameful and official accusations around her death hanging over him and his family for these many, many years and when their story was vindicated by the ombudsman, your still basically calling this man a liar. Shame on you. This lad has investigated into his mothers death (and I would not be surprised if this has put him and his family in a certain amount of personal danger) just because the bastards that were meant to getting to the bottom of this tragedy refused (for whatever reason) to do their jobs properly. This is a poor indictment on our society. Was Kathleen Irvine not a British Citizen (or subject of the crown) and not deserving of a proper investigation at the time, however inconvenient to the Authorities? This cover up and misdirection is harmful to our society. Just try to imagine your are falsely accused of something and your life and future happiness is in the hands such self serving people.
Since I honestly cannot see how your argument holds water, may be it is best you should bow out of the discussion.
October 12, 2012 at 10:43 am
Mac Tomas
I Read Through the comments with much interest.
The bombing of McGurks bar is part of a catalogue of horror experienced during the Troubles. As one comment suggests there is really no such thing as a clean war. However I’m afraid our overtly loyalist friend seems to ignore one essential fact. The British state initiated this whole mess by its pandering to the cult of supremacy operated by the “Minority” in the North Of Ireland. This minority had the economy of the North in a headlock & were not prepared to share its resources or operate a system of political parity. I think we are all aware of the ensuing bitterness that followed & still exists. Mason old chap we all know some serious nasty stuff was regrettably perpetrated on both sides, the fundemental point here is that all misdemeanors committed by republican groups were forensically exposed by British media & the tentacles of the state secret services. However the cover up of the operations of the loyalist ‘Junta’ Death squads & their “association” with the army & RUC is still shrouded from public view. We Have never got to the bottom of the Shankil Butchers debautchary for instance, of which there was no equivalent on the Republican side.
Also need to address the point that Catholics should fear Scottish independance. “This Land is our Land” we live & contribute here after all. Roll on the end of the British State !
October 10, 2012 at 1:51 pm
The Wallace
To Sam Irvine
Thank you very much for the information. I am assuming you are related Kathleen, if so my most sincere sympathies go out to you and the rest of your relatives and friends, and every poor soul who has been caught up in this disturbing affair. It is bad enough to lose loved ones in such a manner, but for them to be scape goated and tarred with innuendo and lies from the very system that was meant get to the truth of matter, that includes as I’ve before, the RUC, British Security Services, the Press and consecutive British Governments. I hope the full truth comes out some day soon. It won’t make up for your loss, but it vindicates the hard work it must have been for your family to get things this far at least. It must have been a Hellish ordeal. May God bless you and your family’s efforts and thank you very much again, sir.
October 10, 2012 at 12:52 am
sam irvine
@the wallace..when i was researching the atrocity in around 1995 i came within arms reach of the woman in question she was carrying on an affair at the time…she didnt want to talk about it so i didnt pursue her story
October 9, 2012 at 7:18 pm
The Wallace
To Mason Walker
The actual quote from the ombudsman’s report is, ” No EVIDENCE of collusion.” I don’t know why you are whittering on about criminality and such. You tried to use a red herring again. It was you that said and I quote,” No collusion” and all I am saying is that you are twisting facts as per usual.
October 8, 2012 at 10:33 pm
The Wallace
To Mason Walker
You just cannot grasp it can you? Lack of evidence is not proof. I shall repeat this as it is a basic tenet of Science and the Law, LACK OF EVIDENCE IS NOT PROOF. Even the belated and less than gracious show of sympathy for the victims and community had to be qualified by some dig about another incident that you feel necessary to mention. Your childish arguments are still churlish in the extreme. You are trying to justify something that was unjustifiable. I don’t see how the age of the eye witness comes into account, at what age do you qualify. I saw a reckless driver knock down and kill two elderly people when I was nine years old, I could then and still can now tell you the make, colour and other details of the incident. And this is the truth not something made up to prove a point, I was traumatised, but remember every detail. You have no idea about children do you, their memories are very good, it is their interpretation of what they see that can be suspect. You are trying every smoke screen you can to try to justify your hatred and bigotry of everything Roman Catholic/Irish. Anyway you can say what you like the wee boy was correct, as was the testimony of the COUPLE who saw the man running back to the car just before the bomb went off. And to use an argument ploy that you are fond of employing, the young lady involved may have had many legitimate reasons for not being forthright with her personal information, she may have been married to or was courting someone else or not want her parents to find out she was out with this chap or maybe just maybe she had a wee think and assumed that if she told the RUC where she lived she was putting herself and her family in the firing line as the information could be leaked to the Loyalist terrorists (and don’t dare say that this kind of thing did not go on, as there is a growing amount of EVIDENCE that this was a regular form of COLLUSION, that you yourself admit in a previous posting)) or possibly the poor investigators were that ‘busy’ they may not have copied down her details properly.
Anyway be a man and admit your arguments are as flawed as the state of policing in NI was at that time.
REMEMBER LACK OF EVIDENCE IS NOT PROOF.
October 8, 2012 at 9:33 pm
sam irvine
going over the posts by mason walker is like travelling back in time and reading the mod spoon fed media and the pennyaliners who knew more about the price of drink in belfasts hostelries than they did what was going on in the streets in 1971..he states what it was like back then `snap road blocks ,paramilitaries` and what mason ? is that it? well i was there during the troubles from the start …i dont wish to give a lecture but in order to convey a feel for the time some references are unavoidable also mason if youre wondering where the collusion accusations came from i am the originator…when internment was `introduced` the security forces knew they had blundered and wished they hadnt gave in to the whims of stormont bigots, they cast the net out far and wide but pulled in only spricks and all catholic at that..the british govt because of internment was being castigated by countries all over the world even within the commonwealth ..even at that early stage it was being deemed a failure and on the streets violence was worsening and sympathies with republicanism increasing.. the british armys attitude toward the catholic population is well documented…to cut it short the govt needed rescuing so a spectacular was planned …the gem bar on north queen st was the leading official ira bar in north belfast and was well known as such…i believe the bomb was intended for there as campbell himself said so and i also believe the mod was well prepared to inform the media of a provo bomb in a stickie (official ira) bar ….contrary to what you say mason there was no army presence at the gem, although i wasnt present at the corner where the gem was on that night friends of mine were ..we usually played handball or football at gallaghers tobacco factory at the opposite corner and there was always a good sized crowd of us…thats why campbell and his gang couldnt plant the bomb at the gem..mason i dont know whereabouts you lived but in catholic areas like the new lodge the foot patrols were never more than a few streets apart and there was always vehicles within a short distance in effect since internment the area was usually overflowing with army personnel..and since november of that year there was even more army as nine republican prisoners had escaped from crumlin rd prison just half a mile from the new lodge and mc gurks bar and within two weeks there was further embarrassment for the security forces when the north of ireland was brought to a standstill when the provisionals bombs caused mayhem.. then martin meehan tony `dutch` doherty and hugh mccann all high ranking and well known provisionals escaped from the same crumlin rd prison that their comrades had escaped weeks previously and as these escapees were from the new lodge and north belfast you may guess what the security force presence was like on that saturday 4th december..it even made the headlines in that saturday nights telegraph publication how belfast was saturated with troops and plainclothes personell…but at 8.30pm they were nowhere to be seen and that has been verified by people of the area…the bomb team which was accompanied by at least one other car drove round the corner from the gem and within a hundred yards or so came upon mc gurks.. rather than to risk running into an unsuspecting patrol they decided to offload their deadly cargo…billy mitchell uvf who i believe was behind the bombing was asked why mc gurks was blown up…”they were either told to do it or they did it off their own bat” ….after planting the bomb they drove across york st about one hundred yards away and the bomb exploded they took a right into the first street or the next at nelson street where they got out of the car but were left open mouthed as their pick up car drove past in the direction of queens bridge which led to palace barracks…i believe the driver of the pickup was security as i have checked everywhere i can to find if any punishment shootings were carried out by loyalists in the aftermath of mc gurks there was none…now i ask what would the punishment be for a driver who left a bomb team in a catholic area after a bombing ..i would imagine execution but as i say there was nothing…what happened to their abandoned car well it was fingerprinted and dusted and guess what? it vanished never to be seen again..15 people lay dead many more injured in the biggest mass murder in northern irelands history and the suspect car goes missing and thats called BIAS! coupled with the lack of investigation and misinformation from all security services, that in my eyes is collusion, theres more but im just trying to prove a point..anyway i agree with you the truth should be known in other cases in fact anyone who suspects their loved one died in suspicious circumstances involving security forces here or down south should seek the truth..as for the provisionals i believe they are using smoke screen and mirrors concerning calls for truth commissions i think they know full well that the british govt will not favour such a set up so they wont volunteer themselves and what chance is there when their own leader wont admit to his involvement…i wouldnt ask sinn fein nor any republican grouping to assist in the campaign for truth for mcgurks
October 8, 2012 at 9:10 pm
S.B. BELFAST
I am from North Belfast and McGurks Bar is still as raw today as it was 40 years ago. The modern day mural that recreates the pub at the top of Great Georges Street is haunting, it really stops you in your tracks and is a very sad reminder of an awful atrocity and a rotten dirty war that the British Security Services were up to their necks in. This war crime was carried out by Tigers Bay Loyalist paramilitaries controlled by British Intelligence agencies and is another shameful reminder of Britain’s dirty war in Ireland. This week the courts exposed Britain’s sinister activities in Kenya and this is another example of how Britain operated in colonial lands; it was State Murder policy.
October 8, 2012 at 1:35 am
The Wallace
To Mason Walker
I will write this slowly so you may understand. It was YOU who said that the report said there was “no collusion”, which is a very definite statement, no ifs, ands or buts. I read the report and it in fact stated that there was no EVIDENCE of collusion (which already makes you a stranger from the truth), meaning there may or may not have been collusion, it was just they could not prove or disprove the conjecture. A little more open ended don’t you think? This twisting of meaning is why you are a dangerous bigot, not because I politically disagree with what you say, but that what you are saying is, in my opinion, an intentional misinterpretation of the facts to suit your own agenda. There is an old Scots phrase,”tell the truth and shame the devil.” YOU are not telling the truth.
As for the rest of your specious argument, the assassination squad could not deliver the device to the Gem, not because of security forces for there were none to be seen, but there were people on the door of the pub. The hit squad were told, according to Campbell, “to deliver the bomb or not to come back.” Now this is where I freely admit conjecture there may have been a timer set, so instead of dumping the explosive somewhere safe,they take it to the nearest known Catholic pub, because as we know in the world that these fanatics inhabit every Catholic is a Republican sympathiser anyway.
Now to the RUC trying to cover themselves by being less than helpful, they did not act on any of the evidence given by eye witnesses, all which seem to be Irish Roman Catholic (since the security forces who were supposed to be there seemed to be absent from the scene). They would not entertain the fact that this was a Loyalist bombing, even through people told them honestly what they had seen, which was later corroborated at least in part by Campbell’s own testimony. And in some cases evidence went astray, eg the ripped up note found in the phone box. This is all in the report. I know eye witnesses are notoriously inaccurate when describing people, but this was simple stuff road blocks removed, a car with a union jack sticker on the window, a man getting out and hurriedly putting a parcel (30lbs of military grade explosive according to Campbell, not the sugar and fertiliser bombs that were being commonly used by the the other side at that time). Admittedly again there is no real evidence of involvement of government forces before the incident,apart from the shifting road blocks, but there is reason to believe that there was an intentional cover up of evidence and facts after the incident, therefore leaving the door open to allegations of COLLUSION after the fact.
And finally I did not say or imply that you said the UVF were not involved (Campbell’s confession proves this), but that you seem to know for a fact that the RUC were not accessories at least after the fact and ‘this brings us back to doh’ just because the report said it could not find evidence of collusion does not mean that there was no collusion, as you wrongly said.
Not once in this debate have shown one piece of care or concern for the innocents that were murdered, their families and relatives and friends, who had been falsely accused all these years. Why don’t you try to empathise with these people instead of trying to say you’ve got to remember the RUC et al were very harassed at the time. All you have done is to try to lead the argument into blind alleys. Even the tone of the report is such that the security forces were more than just over worked and incompetent.
You sir are what would have been called in days of yore, ‘A Windbag.’ Have the common decency to say that these people were shoddily treated by resources that should have helped them, The Police/RUC, The Press and most importantly consecutive British Governments.
October 6, 2012 at 6:29 am
hang 'em high
scottish independence huh that must be the name of a new drink it;ll never happen ,freedom requires bloodshed in most cases,the scots like to sing about battles, how romantic they are in song, days long gone ,or should i say ol’ lang syne erin go bragh
October 5, 2012 at 6:25 pm
hang 'em high
and you dare to call me a terrorist while you look down your gun,when i think of all the deeds that you have done,
October 5, 2012 at 11:54 am
The Wallace
To Mason Walker,
I have taken time and read what I could of the Ombudsman’ report. It does not say there was no collusion between UVF and RUC, it states it could find No Evidence of collusion. Which by any ‘stretch’ of the imagination is not the same thing. But if you read the report there is blatantly stated evidence that the RUC were intentionally less than helpful in the way they reported this and other aspects of the incident.
For goodness sake a UVF volunteer getaway driver confessed and was prosecuted for the bombing. There were specific road blocks removed only an hour before the bombing. This clown even admitted it was the wrong boozer, because they could not get near their real target, a pub called the Gem (it being a supposed IRA meeting place and the provos were to be blamed), which was to be bombed to put the IRA and the Provos at each others throats.
This all came out in the report. You say no collusion. I have read the excrement that you have propagated over the last few months and I am genuinely sorry for anyone that knows you. You are a bigot of the most dangerous kind, if your rhetoric is not closely examined you sound almost as if you know what you are talking about, to the casual observer. But to us of have become inured to your logic you are tiresome. You regularly veer from the hilariously pompous, to the down right sickening.
Who did you wind up before your team died? You are one mentally unhealthy person, in my opinion (of which you will take absolutely no notice). Everyone has to respect your point of view and yet you are crass enough to argue the toss when a very belated inquiry and report states that these were innocent people, in fact a whole community, were vindicated after all these years and still try to black is white. Are you a Jesuit by the way?
Hail, Hail.
October 4, 2012 at 9:00 pm
john
I am unclear as to the point of this article and indeed Cairan MacAirt’s book. It is a personal tragedy for him that his grandmother was killed as a result of an horrendous atrocity as were thousands of people over the following forty years.
However, is it really a story that the British Army used an incident in which they had no involvement to smear their enemy? The use of propaganda in warfare has beeen in existence since mass communication began and this is simply an example of it.
October 4, 2012 at 11:39 am
Frank Kelly
When I was a young student in the late seventies/early eighties there was a very good book called “Ulster” by the Sunday Times investigative team. I don’t believe such investigative journalism exists today; but this certainly opened my eyes to what had been reported and believed, and what journalists knew to have happened. p.s. already bought your book for my step son who is one of Strathclyde’s finest
October 3, 2012 at 11:32 pm
Jim Imlach
So being part of Britain and voting for one of the corrupt parties who rule us,is the way ahead for Scotland?.Labour party going to support the cause of any minority in Scotland?,wake up. Salmond might have made some stupid comments re oldco(don’t all politicians)but come on the SNP have done way more for Scotland in their short time,than Labour(Un-socialist party)ever did.Seems to me like some people will cut their noses off at any price. Great article as always Phil.
October 2, 2012 at 10:49 am
John
The truth of all the Atrocities committed by both sides needs to come out, being from the North and living throughout the troubles, closure for a lot of families would help the entire healing process. On saying that the unwillingness of Gerry Adams to admit to his IRA past is unhelpful on many different fronts, it allows other sinister people to keep the lid on a lot of serious incidents and is stalling the process. The old code omertà that Republicans retreated too for many years was shattered with the Martin McGuinness appearance at the Bloody Sunday Tribunal and the shameful request on the steps of Stormont calling for information to the same authorities he has refused to elaborate too. Let’s hope the truth will out in the North and we all receive closure.
October 2, 2012 at 6:10 am
Miguel Sanchez
“dirty war” Can you name a clean one.
The book is an interesting read.
October 2, 2012 at 12:31 am
Blogiston
Can I bring your readers attention to a fantastic resource of the troubles hosted by the University of Ulster, http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/
The resource is widely known to be an unbiased archive of chronology of events.
Also note, the first six bombs of the ‘Troubles’, which started following civil rights marches in 1968, occurred in 1969, and were erroneously attributed to the Nationalist terrorism. Later, of course, these attacks on ‘utilities’ (like power stations and water supplies) were, accurately, attributed to UVF action to implicate or frame the IRA, wrongly.
Of course, these facts, on who actually lit the blue touch paper have been conveniently lost to the current generation.
October 1, 2012 at 11:21 pm
Kennybhoy
Indeed. CAIN is an absolutely splendid resource.
Even though he was home on leave and not on duty at the time, I for one consider it symbolic of a deeper truth that the first British soldier killed in the late Troubles was Trooper Hugh McCabe,a twenty year old Roman Catholic shot dead by the RUC in the block of flats where he lived…
Twenty nine year old Victor Arbuckle, the first RUC man to be killed on duty, was shot dead by a “non-specific Loyalist group” during rioting on the Shankhill…
When the army first deployed onto the streets who was it who abused them, spat at them, told them to “fuck off back where you came from”…?
It suited the purposes of the hard and the bad and the committed on both sides that these and other early events in the late Troubles be forgotten…
October 3, 2012 at 11:07 am
James Duffy
Downfall arrived today from Amazon, was planning on keeping it for my upcoming family holiday to Murcia in the school holidays. However having read the introduction tonight, can’t see me waiting that long. I think Ciaran’s book may have to take up that role.
October 1, 2012 at 10:32 pm
Phil Mac Giolla Bhain
Enjoy the read James.
October 1, 2012 at 11:16 pm
gazthechef
Hi Phil,great post.respect to Cairan MCairt.i hope his work and yours inspires a new,free thinking wave of young objective journalists who follow the stories and stick to the facts.with all the internet bampots on the loose these days its getting harder for the redtops to maintain their grasp.the door has been opened by people like yourself and its time for a new generation of rebel journalists to stand up and be counted.(not saying your getting old or anything!)
October 1, 2012 at 9:43 pm
Phil Mac Giolla Bhain
I am getting old :0)
October 1, 2012 at 11:15 pm
droid
Now for Ballymurphy, can we help shine a floodlight into the lies, deceit and shamelessness of the Ulster authorities?
I hold the view that if the truth had been reported and the Scottish “soldiers” court martialled there would have been a very different outcome to the extent / scale of the war in Ireland in the 1970s.
This pivotal moment needs to be covered by a truth commission.
October 1, 2012 at 8:54 pm
The Wallace
I had no idea of any of this, Phil. I was a wee boy and I remember the bombing (it was around the time some prod ‘friends’ started treating us RC boys quite a bit differently) and if this is the real circumstances, and I have no reason to doubt you, then I hope the people or institutions responsible are brought to book. My deepest sympathies to all the victims and their relatives, friends and anyone else involved.
October 1, 2012 at 7:37 pm
The Wallace
I wonder what factions will be used when Scotland seeks full Independence? Financial and Social instability anyone?
October 1, 2012 at 7:12 pm
Dhougal
BrillPhil ,i read the first 3 lines o this and thought ,”i’m not interested in this” ………………….but i carried on and i’m glad i did !!! .You have opened up my eyes to whats REALLY goin on in this lovely country of ours and i hope you expose them the way you exposed that ”football” team ……….Deadco !!!
October 1, 2012 at 7:04 pm
Roy Burns.
I remember this night in Belfast. My friend Samuel Irvine lost his mother, Mr McAirt’s grandmother, in this massacre. I also recall my revulsion at being on the scene within minutes of the bomb exploding and seeing first hand the devastation, and then next morning listening to Radio and TV reports that insulted the memory of those who died. Author Tim Pat Coogan is right when he describes the Loyaist death squads as the reincarnation of the Black And Tans of the 1920′s. These gangs were given free reign on the streets of Belfast and they operated with impunity. Disgusting.
October 1, 2012 at 6:53 pm
John Burns
Phil. your expose of the Rangers farce was truly magnificent – however with the end in sight, is this the start of your campaign to rubbish the UK in favour of the SNP? I hope not, our minority in Scotland need independence like a ‘hole in the head’
October 1, 2012 at 6:20 pm
Kennybhoy
Amen to that Maister Burns…
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/mcgurk-bar-owner-dies-13503058.html
October 1, 2012 at 6:52 pm
Ben mcginlay
I agree mate.
October 1, 2012 at 8:30 pm
Me
What’s your alternative?
Unionism?
Good luck with that, it’s reared it’s ugly head during the weekend there.
October 1, 2012 at 11:15 pm
jomac
Its shocking the scale of cover-ups during those times.
I take great pleasure informing the huns to google kincoras boys home when they go on about torbet.
October 1, 2012 at 6:07 pm
iain
Yes
There are lots of truths buried in that part of the world. Many too horrible to contemplate. All the horrendous murders and gangster killing from all sides chill me to the pit of my stomach when I read about them.
October 1, 2012 at 5:52 pm
ababaj
I Will get this book as I am now interested in
the dirty deed’s that all governments are up to
its unbelievable what they are getting away with
there is one guy in america Webster G Tarpley
he’s right on the ball about the world
problems we are having just like your self he
will not give up liked your book when is the next one
soon I hope you have got me back to reading again
THANK YOU PHIL
October 1, 2012 at 5:36 pm
Kennybhoy
Interesting…
Speaking of collusion and cover up, is there any mention of the 1972 Claudy bombing?
October 1, 2012 at 4:11 pm
Frankier
And then they wonder why there was an IRA.
October 1, 2012 at 4:06 pm
George Collins
Indeed, they are telling the same lies in Syria (as they did in Libya and others).
Wherever “experts” are needed they’ll turn up. The SAS has admitted being involved in these tactics, at “home” and abroad.
Nowadays it’s car bombs and suicide bombers.
The British – and their colonial counterparts in America, France and Italy, among others – have long realised that a nation divided is a nation controlled. So they set to work on “counter-insurgency” tactics and the like – really, whatever works.
And after the deeds are done, just blame it on the terrorists.
October 1, 2012 at 3:55 pm
hang 'em high
excellent post Phil here here
October 1, 2012 at 3:22 pm
joe
This is no isolated incident, we had 30 years of collusion,cover ups and lies. British journalists were happy to join in this circus – the British dirty tricks ops could not have got away with all this without the help of a loyal media. It is shocking to think that a government in Western Europe has just carried out the assassination of hundreds of people and got away with it. There must be an independent inquiry into collusion carried out by the E.U. otherwise what,s to stop it all happening again and hundreds more being murdered by agents of the state? But the British will never ever allow that anyway.
October 1, 2012 at 3:21 pm
Ian
I will be getting this book and adding it to the many other books I have on Collusion in Ireland by the Brits. ‘Dare to call me a Terrorist, while you look down your gun’ sums them up in that very lyric.
October 1, 2012 at 3:11 pm
SamBrowneBelt
…and you brought this reign of terror to my land.
October 1, 2012 at 9:06 pm
John Gallagher
Book arrived today from Amazon. Looking forward to reading it.
October 1, 2012 at 3:10 pm
Phil Mac Giolla Bhain
The Police Ombudsman’s report on the RUC investigation into the bombing was damning.
“Investigative bias”.
October 1, 2012 at 11:26 pm
PaulMc
Let me get this right, you seem to be inferring that because the British Army was “stretched” that this was the reason they ignored their own evidence and blamed the victims? So what did they say at the time?
“Sorry lads, can’t accept any evidence or witness reports from that pub bombing, just totally swamped dontcha know. Tell you what we’ll just say they blew themselves up, that should sort it all out. Tally Ho!”
With regard to the man who penned the foreword, I fail to see how it can affect the book’s credibility. You seem to have already made up your mind that it has none. Now where have I seen that type of reaction before?
October 1, 2012 at 11:42 pm
SamBrowneBelt
MasonWalker
I salute your ability to prevent the truth from affecting your prejudices.
October 1, 2012 at 11:57 pm
Andybhoy
Streached?? You seam well informed,,,could you tell us all how many RUC and army were employed/deployed in Belfast at that time,,I will give you a clue,,it’s a BIG number.
October 2, 2012 at 8:54 am
Kennybhoy
Much as pains me to admit it but the bould Orangeman has a point. Well, half a point maybe just…
Bias certainly playes a part Phil. But more to the point large organizations/systems have a preference for default solutions to complex problems. In accordance with received doctrine the security forces in Northern Ireland early on designated PIRA as the principle enemy, and focussed the greater part of their efforts towards defeating them rather than the Ascendantists. This error, and it an error, is analogous to the benighted social work doctrine and practice which sees domestic abuse as a purely male sin and which effectively ignores those males and children who are the victims of female abusers. As you well know the same received doctrine is also at the root of the problem of young male suicide…
October 2, 2012 at 11:43 am
sam irvine
the wallace… yes i am kathleen irvines son and thank you for your sentiments and wishes for the future..mason walker ok a little poetic licence with the `open mouthed` scenario but what do you think the image of the three murderers was ? you raise the question of the four step inn..during my piecing together of the run up to the mc gurks atrocity i dwelt for a very long time on that very bombing..without going anywhere near old records ive kept i can remember a lot about that bombing…now i know youll correct me when wrong …the uda had been formed and in every protestant area they had erected barricades and vehichle check points men armed with cudgels and baseball bats manned these vcps and stood openly and agressively at nearly every street corner..there was a report in one of the papers around that time of how a reporter was driven around the shankill area testing the difficulty of a stranger and vehicle accessing the area( you can check this out) ..(belfast tele i think)it was recommended not to try it.. anyway the night of the bombing there was a football match at windsor park the bar was full and there was much activity as you can imagine..the bomb went off and sadly two people died with many injured…it was reported that a bomb had exploded in the hallway of the bar and that between 75lbs and 100lbs of gelegnite had been used now i would ask that you search out the bel tels report to get a feel of the area and the atmosphere and then ask yourself the question …how the hell did they do it? even if it was 75 lbs that is some weight to carry into a public house at that time without being seen dont you agree and there was no witnessess to anything unusual…strange considering the vigilant vigilantes …to my knowledge no one has ever claimed responsibility for that outrage…as you can also imagine there were vociferous calls for vengance ..what is my point ? well the army had access to all areas and would quite often be seen in comfortable conversations with the uda as they were most welcome they all carried backpacks and walked freely about the place bars and all…just a thought or is it too far fetched for you ? epic conjecture? you seem to think a government wouldnt contrive deeds such as the four step or mc gurks if that is so then your naivety borders on simplemindedness and im talking to a village idiot…i doubt very much you read anything regarding mc gurks, the abandoned car which disappeared, the bomb team left in a catholic area the failure of the ruc to investigate ..the mods misinformation including the scurrilous attacks on the innocence of the victims are all included in the ombudsmans and het reports and most of the evidence was supplied by the relatives its all in the public domain..im intrigued as to why your flabbergasted as to my reference to punishment attacks after mc gurks ….what do you think would have happened to someone if he left a bomb team where they found themselves? why do you say “my community” arent we all in this together? if civilians have been murdered by their govt isnt this a cause for concern for everyone and in everyones interests that the truth be known regardless of our creed unless you supported the govt…i would love to go thru other scenarios with you but there are many testimonies pointing to collusion and cover up (on both sides ..youll be glad to hear) that i leave it up to you to search them out for obvious reasons
October 10, 2012 at 9:34 pm
sam irvine
mason walker..emma..and frankie….i cant believe i answered you trolls but for the final time and read it carefully …KATHLEEN IRVINE IS MY MOTHER NOT YOURS AND IT IS MY FAMILYS DECISION AND OURS ONLY HOW HER BEAUTIFUL MEMORY WILL BE HONOURED…its obvious from the disrespect you have shown that you have little love for your own parents maybe youse have had bad experiences but i can assure you that all parents that i know love their children…being trolls you will always nitpick and twist the arguement as you get your kicks that way…so go crawl back below the rocks you emerged from and no doubt await to prey on poor unsuspecting individuals when you awaken from what seems to be drunken stupors….you are sad excuses for human beings
November 9, 2012 at 7:17 pm