Seán Savage
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Seán Savage (Irish: Seán Sabhaois) (b. 26 January 1965, Belfast, Northern Ireland - d. 6 March 1988, Gibraltar) was a volunteer of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) who was shot and killed by British Army Special Air Service (SAS) soldiers in Operation Flavius.
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[edit] Early life
Born to a republican family in the Kashmir area of Belfast, Savage was educated at primary level at St. Gall's Primary School and later at St. Paul's Secondary on the Falls Road area of West Belfast. A devout Roman Catholic, Savage abstained from drinking or smoking and joined the Provisional Irish Republican Army at the age of 17.
[edit] Active service
In 1987 Savage and Daniel McCann assassinated two Special Branch officers in Belfast docks. [1] In 1988 along with Mairead Farrell they were sent to the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar to plant a bomb in the town area targeting the British military band which paraded weekly in connection with the changing of the guard in front of the Governors residence (see Operation Flavius).
Savage was shot dead, along with Farrell and McCann, by the SAS whilst walking unarmed towards the frontier with Spain, at the Winston Churchill Avenue Shell filling station. Seán Savage, who was following behind the others, tried to escape, only to be killed under a beech tree at Smith Dorrien Avenue.[2] He was shot 16 to 18 times. Several witnesses to the shooting alleged that Farrell and McCann were both shot while attempting to surrender and while lying wounded on the ground.[3] British officers said the trio were acting suspiciously and that the officers who carried out the shootings believed their lives to be in danger. [4]
No radio or other detonating device were found on the bodies, nor was there any bomb in the car in Gibraltar which had been identified as belonging to the bombing team.[5] A car used by the bombers in Spain was found two days after the killings containing 140 lb (64 kg) of Semtex with a device timed to go off during the changing of the guard. [4]
[edit] Funeral
At the funeral of Savage, Farrell and McCann three mourners (including one IRA member) were killed in a gun and grenade attack by loyalist Michael Stone in what became known as the "Milltown Massacre".
[edit] Reaction
An inquest into the deaths concluded the three had been lawfully killed. However, in 1995 the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the human rights of the three were infringed and criticized the British authorities for lack of control in the arrest operation.[6] They also ruled that the three had been engaged in an act of terrorism, and consequently dismissed unanimously the applicants’ claims for damages, for costs and expenses incurred in the Gibraltar Inquest and the remainder of the claims for just satisfaction.[6]
A controversial British television documentary, Death on the Rock was produced about the events surrounding Savage's death. [7]
[edit] References
- ^ Blood & Rage - A Cultural History of Terrorism, Michael Burleigh, 2008, P332, ISBN 978-0-00-724127-9
- ^ PEADAR WHELAN Tribute to IRA Volunteers on the Rock An Phoblacht 6 March 2008
- ^ ECHR Ruling on the killings
- ^ a b 1988: IRA gang shot dead in Gibraltar, BBC News
- ^ Para 93 and 96 of the ECHR Ruling
- ^ a b Summary and full judgement by the ECHR
- ^ Death on the Rock, The Museum of Broadcast Communications.
[edit] Further reading
- Death on the Rock - documentary about the shootings.
- Murder on the Rock - book about the shootings.
- Relatives for Justice Site.
- Summary and full judgement by the ECHR
- Adams, G, Hope and History: Making Peace in Ireland, Brandon Books, 2003. ISBN 0863223303
