McGurk's Bar bombing

1971 pub bombing in Belfast, Northern Ireland

On 4 December 1971, the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group, detonated a bomb at McGurk's Bar in Belfast, Northern Ireland, frequented by Irish Catholics–nationalists. The explosion caused the building to collapse, killing fifteen Catholic civilians—including two children—and wounding seventeen more. It was the deadliest attack in Belfast during the Troubles. Despite evidence to the contrary, the British security forces asserted that a bomb had exploded prematurely while being handled by Irish Republican Army (IRA) members inside the pub, implying that the victims themselves were partly to blame. A report later found that the Royal Ulster Constabulary, the police force in Northern Ireland at the time, were biased in favour of this view and that this hindered their investigation. The victims' relatives allege that the security forces deliberately spread disinformation to discredit the IRA. In 1977, UVF member Robert Campbell was sentenced to life imprisonment for his part in the bombing and served fifteen years. The bombing sparked a series of tit for tat bombings and shootings by loyalists and republicans, which contributed to making 1972 the bloodiest year of the conflict.

On the evening of Saturday 4 December 1971, a four man UVF team met in the Shankill area of Belfast and were ordered to bomb a pub on North Queen Street. According to the only convicted bomber—Robert Campbell—they were told not to return until the job was done. Campbell said that their target had not been McGurk's, but another pub nearby. It is believed this was a pub called The Gem, which was allegedly linked to the Official IRA. The bomb was disguised as a brown parcel, which they placed in a car and drove to their target. Campbell says they stopped near The Gem at about 7:30 pm,—and a further seventeen wounded. The rescue effort lasted many hours. Within two hours of the blast, a sectarian clash had erupted nearby at the New Lodge–Tiger's Bay interface. The British Army and RUC moved in and a gun battle developed. Two RUC officers and five civilians were also wounded by gunfire. Eventually, five companies of troops were sent into the district and they searched almost 50 houses. In a television statement shortly afterwards, McGurk asked that there be no retaliation: "It doesn't matter who planted the bomb. What's done can't be undone. I've been trying to keep bitterness out of it."

That same day, several newspapers received telephone calls from someone claiming to be a spokesman for the "Empire Loyalists". Their statement to the Belfast Telegraph was:We [the Empire Loyalists] accept responsibility for the destruction of McGurk's pub. We placed 30lb of new explosives outside the pub because we had proved beyond doubt that meetings of IRA Provisionals and Officials were held there. The "Empire Loyalists" had made only one other claim of responsibility; for bombing a community centre on 12 November. Witnesses told the RUC, however, that there had been no strangers in the pub and that nobody had left a package. RUC duty officers' reports were made daily. Their purpose was to brief the Chief Constable and others at HQ about events that had happened that day. The reports were also made available to the British Army's General Officer Commanding for Northern Ireland. The 4–5 December 1971 report said of the bombing: "Just before the explosion a man entered the licensed premises and left down a suitcase, presumably to be picked up by a known member of the IRA. The bomb was intended for use on other premises. Before the 'pick up' was made the bomb exploded". Despite this, the security forces and the government stood behind the "own goal" theory. A British Intelligence Corps document covering the period 8–15 December said: "It has been confirmed that it was a [Provisional IRA] bomb which was destined for another target, but exploded prematurely." On 23 December, the British Army sent a letter (signed by a lieutenant colonel) to people living in north Belfast. It said that when the IRA in the area is destroyed, "we can look forward to a period in which you will not lose your friends in a repetition of the [IRA's] accident in the McGurk’s bar."

In March 1976, the RUC received intelligence that linked UVF member Robert Campbell and four others to the McGurk's bombing. Campbell was arrested on 27 July 1977 and held at Castlereagh RUC base. He was interviewed seven times on 27 and 28 July. He admitted his part in the bombing but refused to name the others. He eventually served fifteen years in prison and was released on 9 September 1993.

The victims' relatives campaigned for an independent investigation of the bombing as they believed that the RUC's investigation was flawed from the outset. Moreover, they wished to disprove the claim that the victims were IRA members killed by their own bomb (the "own goal" theory). Even after Campbell's conviction, the "own goal" theory remained officially unchallenged. The bombers' original target, The Gem, was associated with the Official IRA. It is claimed that the MRF ordered the team to bomb The Gem, intending to blame it on the Provisional IRA. The plan was allegedly to start a feud between the two IRA factions, which would both divert them from their campaign against British forces and drain their support. However, as The Gem had security outside, they bombed the nearest 'Catholic pub'. On 21 February 2011, the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland published a report about the bombing and the RUC's investigation of it. The report said that there is no evidence that the RUC helped the UVF bombers. However, it found that the RUC investigation was biased in favour of the view that the IRA was responsible. It failed to give enough thought to the possible involvement of loyalists, and this bias hindered the investigation. The report also found that RUC gave "selective" and "misleading" briefings to the government and media, which furthered the idea that it was an IRA bomb. The Ombudsman has not found an explanation why successive Chief Constables have not addressed this mistake. Ombudsman Al Hutchinson said: "Inconsistent police briefings, some of which inferred that victims of the bombing were culpable in the atrocity, caused the bereaved families great distress, which has continued for many years". On 6 December 2012, Scottish Labour MP Michael Connarty—whose uncle was killed in the bombing—claimed in Westminster that then Prime Minister Edward Heath "may have been involved" in wrongfully blaming the IRA and spreading the story. Connarty also urged David Cameron, prime minister at the time, to apologise to victims and launch a full investigation. Patrick McGurk died on 15 December 2007. Surviving family members noted that he had forgiven the bombers.