Gransha Hospital shootings

On 6 December 1984, two Provisional IRA volunteers, William Fleming and Danny Doherty, aged 19 and 23, were shot dead after being ambushed in the grounds of Gransha Hospital in Derry, Northern Ireland. They were ambushed by the British Army's Special Air Service (SAS). British undercover soldiers from the 14 Intelligence Company also took part in the killings.

Background

In 1984 The Troubles had been ongoing for 15 years. IRA activity had reduced and loyalist paramilitaries were carrying out only a handful of attacks a year. The IRA was going through a reorganisation process; instead of using the old larger battalion structure, the IRA would now use a cell structure, where 3-8 volunteers would make up these units. The process finished in 1979.

Between 1979 and 1983, the IRA carried out a number of high-profile operations like the 1979 Warrenpoint ambush which killed 18 British soldiers,^[1] the 1980 Antrim Road Standoff in which IRA volunteers with an M60 killed a high ranking SAS officer, the 1981 Bessbrook Landmine Attack in which 5 British soldiers were killed,^[2] 1982 in England the Hyde and Regent's Park bombings which killed 11 soldiers and injured 50,^[3] also in England a year later in 1983 the Harrods bombing which killed 6 people and injured dozens more,^[4] also in 1983 was the Maze Prison escape in which 38 Irish Republican prisoners escaped from Europe's most secure jail.^[5] The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) also killed 11 British soldiers and 6 civilians in the Ballykelly bombing in 1982.^[6]

The October 1984 Brighton hotel bombing was an attempt to kill then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Five people were killed in the attack, among them were Sir Anthony Berry and also Margaret Tebbit (the wife of Norman Tebbit, the then President of the Board of Trade). Thatcher wanted a strong military response against the more aggressive IRA leadership.^[7][8]

Kesh Ambush

Four days before the Gransha shootings on 2 December 1984, two other IRA volunteers were killed by the SAS in the Kesh ambush in County Fermanagh. Those killed were Antoine Mac Giolla Bhrighde (27) and Kieran Fleming (26), the older brother of William Fleming.^[9]

The attack

On 6 December 1984, Fleming and Doherty were riding around on a motorbike in the grounds of Gransha Psychiatric Hospital, approximately four miles from Derry city centre. The hospital was also the administrative headquarters of the Western Health and Social Services Board. It was reported at the time that the pair had gone to the hospital in an attempt to assassinate an off-duty member of the Ulster Defence Regiment who was employed there, and had intended to carry it out during a staff shift change at 8am.^[10] The SAS were aware that an IRA operation had been planned to take place in the vicinity of the hospital after receiving a tip-off from an intelligence source. A SAS unit from the 14 Intelligence Company, without the knowledge of the Royal Ulster Constabulary or the hospital authorities, located troops at the site keeping watch for two weeks prior to 6 December. However, they had minimal prior information as to how the attack was to be executed and when.^[11]

At 8 am, Fleming and Doherty were spotted on the motorbike by the SAS sentries who were located in an unmarked car, who then proceeded to ram the motorbike, dislodging Fleming from the pillion seat and causing the motorcycle to go out of control. Fleming was then approached by ^[12] two other SAS troopers who opened fire and killed him, claiming subsequently that he was armed and they considered him a direct threat. The motorcycle meanwhile had struck a kerb and thrown Doherty to the ground, where he was fired upon by British Army soldiers and also killed. Subsequent forensic evidence showed that six bullets struck Doherty whilst he was on the ground, and Fleming's autopsy showed that he had four gunshot wounds to his head and 56 to his trunk and torso. During the inquest into the shootings, the coroner stated that Doherty had three gunshot wounds to the head and a further twenty one shots to his body.^[10]

Aftermath

The funerals of both Fleming and Doherty took place on 10 December 1984. Fighting broke out between police and mourners at the house of William Fleming before his coffin left the house in the Waterside area of Derry. Fleming's coffin met up with Doherty's when it left his home from the Creggan. Both coffins had been dressed in the customary fashion with Irish tricolours and a colour party of four IRA volunteers in full IRA uniform fired volleys of shots over the coffins from automatic rifles to the sound of cheer from the mourners.

More than 3,000 mourners followed the funeral procession to the City Cemetery in Derry where Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness gave the graveside oration, and stated: '"We are an occupied country and those brave enough to fight repression deserve nothing but respect and unfailing support from us all. Only the IRA can bring Britain to the negotiating table." ^[13]

Uniformed IRA volunteers fire a volley of shots over the coffins of Fleming & Doherty

The guerrilla war between the IRA and the British forces continued for the rest of the 1980s. At the beginning of 1985, the SAS shot dead 3 IRA Volunteers in an ambush in Strabane, County Tyrone.^[14] Less than a week later, the IRA hit back when nine RUC officers were killed in the 1985 Newry mortar attack. In 1987 the SAS killed eight IRA volunteers in the Loughgall ambush and in March 1988 the SAS shot dead three more IRA volunteers in Gibraltar during Operation Flavius. In mid-1988 the IRA killed 14 British soldiers in two separate attacks, with theLisburn van bombing killing six soldiers in June and Ballygawley bus bombing in August killing a further eight and injuring nearly 30.^{[15][16][17][18][19]}

See also

• Kesh ambush
• Clonoe Ambush
• Coagh Ambush

External links

• Funeral of IRA volunteers William Fleming and Danny Doherty - 10th December 1984 on YouTube

References