The Troubles in Enniskillen

The Troubles in Enniskillen recounts incidents during, and the effects of, The Troubles in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.

The list includes all fatalities in the town during the Troubles:

1972

26 August 1972 - Alfred Johnston (32) and James Eames (33), both Protestant members of the Ulster Defence Regiment, were killed by a Provisional Irish Republican Army remote controlled bomb, hidden in an abandoned car and detonated when their patrol approached at Cherrymount, near Enniskillen.
16 November 1972 - Joseph Calvin (42), Protestant member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, was killed by a booby trap bomb attached to his car in a car park on Quay Lane in Enniskillen.

5 June 1973 - David Purvis (22), Protestant member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, was shot on foot patrol from a passing car on Belmore Street in Enniskillen.

25 November 1981 - Angela D'Arcy (24), Catholic civilian, was shot by an off-duty member of the British Army while walking on Middletown Street, Enniskillen.

9 November 1982 - Garry Ewing (31), Protestant off duty member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and Helen Woodhouse (29), Protestant civilian, were killed by a Provisional Irish Republican Army booby trap bomb attached to Ewings’ car parked outside the Lakeland Forum Leisure Centre, Enniskillen.

19 February 1983 - Alan Price (53), Protestant civilian, was shot dead while delivering post in Arney outside Enniskillen. It is believed that the intended target was an off-duty postman who was also a member of the Ulster Defence Regiment.

18 May 1984 - Thomas Agar (35), Robert Huggins (29) and Peter Gallimore (27), all off duty members of the British Army, were killed by a Provisional Irish Republican Army booby trap bomb attached to their car, outside the Lakeland Forum Leisure Centre, Enniskillen. Gallimore died on 18 October 1984.

3 March 1985 - Hugh McCormac (40), Catholic off-duty member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, was shot dead in front of his family and other worshippers while leaving Mass at the Passionist Father's St. Gabriel's Retreat, the Graan.
7 April 1985 - Martin Love (24), Catholic civilian, was shot dead while walking along Factory Row in Enniskillen. The shooting is believed to have been carried out by the Ulster Freedom Fighters.

9 January 1987 - Ivan Crawford (49), Protestant member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, was killed when a remote control bomb was detonated in a litter bin which he passed while on foot patrol on High Street, Enniskillen.
8 November 1987 - Edward Armstrong (52), off duty member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, Marie Wilson (20), Samuel Gault (49), Georgina Quinton (72), John Megaw (68), Wesley Armstrong (62), Bertha Armstrong (53), William Mullan (72), Agnes Mullan (70), Kit Johnston (70), Jessie Johnston (66) and Ronnie Hill (68), civilians, all Protestants, were killed by a Provisional Irish Republican Army time bomb which exploded near the war memorial, during the Remembrance Day ceremony, Enniskillen. Hill died on 28 December 2000, after being in a coma since the incident. The singer and songwriter Chris de Burgh wrote a song about this bombing called At The War Memorial. The popular song Sunday Bloody Sunday was dedicated to the victims of this attack during a U2 concert the very same day the events took place. This version of the song was recorded and placed in the soundtrack of the U2 rockumentary Rattle and Hum.

The incident in the previous paragraph, which became known as the Remembrance Day Bombing, killed eleven civilians (including nurse Marie Wilson, whose father Gordon Wilson went on to become a leading campaigner for an end to violence in Northern Ireland). The IRA later claimed that their target was a colour guard of British soldiers. At the same time as the Enniskillen bombing, the IRA also planted a bomb 20 miles away in Tullyhommon, near Pettigo, where the Boys' Brigade and the Girls' Brigade were due to participate in a Remembrance Day service. The bomb failed to detonate, preventing the further loss of innocent life. The Enniskillen bomb is acknowledged by some as a turning point in the Northern Ireland peace process, although killings did continue in its aftermath. On Remembrance Day 1997 the leader of Sinn Féin, Gerry Adams, formally apologised for the bombing.^[1] The incident was the inspiration behind the song Remembrance Day, by the rock band Demon