#OTD in 1914 – Large supply of guns from Germany were landed at Larne for the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF).

The UVF gun-running of April 1914, known as Operation Lion, was an effective military operation; though many of the 100,000-strong UVF remained unarmed after it. The Ulster Volunteer Force had been formed in January 1913 and from that date, small-scale gun-running had been carried out. In fact, up until December 1913, when royal proclamations made […]

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#OTD in 1975 – Miami Showband massacre | UVF volunteers (some of whom were also UDR soldiers) shot dead three members of an Irish showband at Buskhill, Co Down.

Three members of the Miami Showband are killed by Ulster Volunteer Force members posing as members of the security forces when returning from a performance at The Castle Ballroom in Banbridge, Co Down. (Four of the killers were actually members of the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR), an official reserve force for the British army). At […]

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#OTD in 1998 – The three Quinn brothers, Richard, 11, Mark, 10, and Jason 9, are burned to death by a Loyalist firebomb in Ballymoney, 40 miles northwest of Belfast. 

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anamacha. Jason, Richard and Mark Quinn were three brothers killed by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) in a firebomb attack on their home in Ballymoney, Co Antrim. Garfield Gilmour, was found guilty of murdering the three brothers 15 months later and sentenced to life imprisonment after admitting that he […]

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#OTD in 1994 – Loughinisland Massacre | The UVF shot dead six Catholic civilians and wounded five others during a gun attack on a pub in Loughinisland, Co Down.

While the Republic of Ireland – Italy game is going on, two members of the Loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force walk into The Heights Bar in Loughinisland, Co Down with assault rifles and kill six Catholics who are watching the game. One of the dead was 87-year-old Barney Green, the oldest victim of the Troubles. No […]

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#OTD in 1974 – Three car bombs in Dublin and a fourth in Monaghan exploded without warning, injuring almost 300 people and killing 34, the greatest loss of life on a single day during the Troubles.

On the morning of 17 May 1974, four cars are stolen in Belfast. That evening, they would explode without warning in Dublin and Monaghan resulting in the deaths of 34 civilians and injuries to more than 300. The bombings were the worst single atrocity in Ireland during the “Troubles.” The bombings were a Loyalist reaction […]

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#OTD in 1914 – Large supply of guns from Germany were landed at Larne for the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF).

The UVF gun-running of April 1914, known as Operation Lion, was an effective military operation; though many of the 100,000-strong UVF remained unarmed after it. The Ulster Volunteer Force had been formed in January 1913 and from that date, small-scale gun-running had been carried out. In fact, up until December 1913, when royal proclamations made […]

Read More

#OTD in 1975 – Miami Showband massacre | UVF volunteers (some of whom were also UDR soldiers) shot dead three members of an Irish showband at Buskhill, Co Down.

Three members of the Miami Showband are killed by Ulster Volunteer Force members posing as members of the security forces when returning from a performance at The Castle Ballroom in Banbridge, Co Down. (Four of the killers were actually members of the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR), an official reserve force for the British army). At […]

Read More

#OTD in 1998 – The three Quinn brothers, Richard, 11, Mark, 10, and Jason 9, are burned to death by a Loyalist firebomb in Ballymoney, 40 miles northwest of Belfast. 

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anamacha. Jason, Richard and Mark Quinn were three brothers killed by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) in a firebomb attack on their home in Ballymoney, Co Antrim. Garfield Gilmour, was found guilty of murdering the three brothers 15 months later and sentenced to life imprisonment after admitting that he […]

Read More