| Reavey & O'Dowd killings | |
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| Part of The Troubles | |
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Whitecross
Ballydougan
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| Location | Whitecross and Ballydougan, County Armagh, Northern Ireland |
| Date | 4 January 1976 18:00 and 18:20 (GMT) |
| Attack type | Shooting, Spree killing |
| Deaths | 6 |
| Injured | 1 |
| Perpetrator | Ulster Volunteer Force and Special Patrol Group members |
The Reavey and O'Dowd killings took place on 4 January 1976 in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Volunteers from the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a loyalist paramilitary group, shot dead five Irish Catholic civilians – two from the Reavey family and three from the O'Dowd family[1] – in two co-ordinated attacks. Two others were also shot, one of whom died of brain hemorrhage almost a month later. The shootings were part of a string of attacks by the "Glenanne gang"; an alliance of loyalist extremists, British soldiers and rogue police (RUC) officers. One police officer from the RUC Special Patrol Group admitted taking part and accused another officer of being involved.[2] A police agent and a British soldier have also been implicated. The Kingsmill massacre, which took place the following day, was claimed to be a retaliation for the shootings.
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At about 6.00 p.m., three masked men entered a Catholic-owned house in Whitecross,[3] by the key that had accidentally been left in the front door. One of the men was armed with a machine gun.[3] Once inside they shot brothers John (24), Brian (22) and Anthony (17) Reavey.[4] After searching the house and finding no-one else, the gunmen left.[3][5] John and Brian were killed outright, but Anthony survived and sought help at a neighbour's house. He died of a brain hemorrhage on 30 January. Although the pathologist said that the shooting played no part in his death, Anthony is listed as an "official" Troubles-related death.[6][7] Neighbours claimed that there had been two Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) checkpoints set up—one at either end of the road—around the time that the attack took place. These checkpoints would have stopped passers-by seeing what was happening. However, the RUC denied having any patrols in the area at the time.[3]
At about 6.20 p.m., three masked men entered another Catholic-owned house in Ballydougan, about twenty miles away.[3][5][8] Sixteen family members were in the house at the time as part of a celebration. They shot dead Joseph O'Dowd (61) and his nephews Barry (24) and Declan (19) O'Dowd. All three were members of the Social Democratic and Labour Party.[4] Barney O'Dowd (Barry and Declan's father) was also wounded by gunfire.[3] The RUC concluded that the weapon used was a 9mm submachine gun, although Barney claimed that a Luger pistol with a suppressor was also used.[3]
According to the Reavey and O'Dowd families, the RUC officers sent to investigate the shootings were hostile and unhelpful—the Reavey family claimed the RUC's attitude was that "your brothers were not shot for nothing".[3]
In 1988, while imprisoned, former RUC officer Billy McCaughey admitted being one of the men who took part in the Reavey attack—although he denied firing any shots.[3] At that time he was a member of the RUC's Special Patrol Group (SPG), but in 1980 he was imprisoned for his involvement in the sectarian murder of chemist William Strathearn.[2] He also claimed that RUC reservist James Mitchell had driven the getaway car, along with his housekeeper Lily Shields.[3] McCaughey did not face any charges in connection with the shooting.[2]
RUC SPG officer John Weir, in his affidavit made to Irish Supreme Court Justice Henry Barron, named British Army (Ulster Defence Regiment) soldier Robert McConnell as having been the leading gunman in the Reavey shootings. Weir had also been convicted of the Strathearn murder. Anthony Reavey's description of the man carrying the submachine gun closely fits that of McConnell, despite the gunman having worn a black woollen balaclava.[9] McConnell was implicated in the 1974 Dublin car bombings[10] as well as multiple sectarian attacks.[11]
Human rights group the Pat Finucane Centre (PFC), along with the families of those killed, have stated their belief that the killings were part of a string of attacks carried out by the "Glenanne gang".[5] This gang is alleged to have included members of the SPG, UDR and loyalist paramilitaries (in particular the UVF's Mid-Ulster Brigade) under the command of British military intelligence and/or the RUC's Special Branch.[5] The PFC further alleges that the killings were part of "a security-force-inspired 'dirty war' aimed at terrorising the Catholic/Nationalist community into isolating the IRA," and were "intended to provoke a bloody and ever escalating response". This would allow much tougher security measures to be put in place.[5] The PFC, in collaboration with an international panel of inquiry, named Mid-Ulster UVF leader Robin "the Jackal" Jackson as the leading gunman in the O'Dowd shootings.[12]
The "South Armagh Republican Action Force" retaliated the next day by shooting dead ten Protestant men in the Kingsmill massacre. In 1999, Democratic Unionist Party leader Ian Paisley stated in the House of Commons that Eugene Reavey "set up the Kingsmill massacre". In 2010, a report by the Historical Enquiries Team cleared Eugene of any involvement. The Reavey family have since been seeking an apology.[13]
Two days after the Kingsmill massacre, the British Government announced that the Special Air Service (SAS) was being moved into the South Armagh area. This was the first time that SAS presence in Northern Ireland was officially acknowledged.[1][5] The whole of County Armagh was also declared to be a "Special Emergency Area.".[5]
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