Milltown Cemetery attack
On 6 March 1988, Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) members Daniel McCann, Seán Savage and Mairéad Farrell were shot dead by the Special Air Service (SAS) in Gibraltar, in Operation Flavius.The three had allegedly been preparing a bomb attack on British military personnel there, but the deaths outraged Irish republicans as the three were unarmed and purportedly shot without warning.Tensions were high as British security forces increased their presence in the neighbourhoods where they had lived to try to prevent public displays honouring the trio.[5] In a change from normal procedure, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) agreed to stay away from the funeral in exchange for guarantees that there would be no three-volley salute by IRA gunmen.[2] Stone learned that there would be minimal security force presence at the funerals, and planned "to take out the Sinn Féin and IRA leadership at the graveside".Stone claimed that a "senior member of the UDA" had given him the organisation's official clearance for the attack[9] and that he was given a Browning Hi-Power pistol, a Ruger Speed-Six revolver and seven RGD-5 grenades the night before the funeral.In the 19 March edition of the Irish Times, columnist Kevin Myers, an opponent of republican paramilitary violence, wrote: "Unarmed young men charged against the man hurling grenades and firing an automatic pistol ...[2] Three people were killed while pursuing Stone, Catholic civilians Thomas McErlean (20) and John Murray (26) and IRA member Caoimhín Mac Brádaigh (30), also known as Kevin Brady.[11] Stone said he had arranged for a getaway car, driven by a UDA member, to pick him up on the hard shoulder of the motorway,[12] but the driver allegedly "panicked and left".[9] Sinn Féin and others "claimed that there must have been collusion with the security forces, because only a small number of people knew in advance of the reduced police presence at the funerals".[9] Stone alleged that on the night before the attack, he was "given his pick of weapons from an Ulster Resistance cache at a secret location outside Belfast" and was "driven back into the city by a member of the RUC".The Browning pistol Stone used was seized on the day of the attack and was eventually used by an IRA unit to ambush a combined RUC–Army patrol in Belfast on 13 October 1990.
The TroublesMilltown CemeteryBelfastCoordinateshand grenadesBrowning Hi-Powersemi-automatic pistolRuger Speed-Six.357 magnumrevolverMichael StoneIrelandBattle of the Bogside1969 riotsRTÉ bombingOperation BannerBattle of St Matthew'sFalls CurfewCrossmaglen bombingScottish soldiers' killingsOperation DemetriusBallymurphy massacreNewry killingsRed Lion Pub bombingMcGurk's Bar bombingBalmoral showroom bombingBloody SundayAbercorn Restaurant bombingDonegall St bombingBattle at SpringmartinDungiven ambushBattle of LenadoonSpringhill massacreBloody FridayOperation MotormanClaudy bombingNewry customs bombingSanaghanroe attackBenny's Bar bombingAnnie's Bar massacreBelturbet bombingDublin bombingsNew Lodge Six shootingColeraine bombingsRose & Crown Bar bombingClogher barracks attackDublin & Monaghan bombingsMountainview Tavern attackBleary Darts Club shootingStrand Bar bombingForkhill beer keg bombMiami Showband killingsBayardo Bar attackTullyvallen massacreOctober 1975 attacksDrummuckavall ambushDublin Airport bombingDundalk & Silverbridge attacksCentral Bar bombingReavey and O'Dowd killingsKingsmill massacreCastleblayney bombingHillcrest Bar bombingFlagstaff Hill incidentCharlemont pub attacksStore Bar shootingChlorane Bar attackRamble Inn attackStag Inn attackAndersonstown incidentGarryhinch ambush1976 Balmoral bombingJonesborough Gazelle shootdownLa Mon restaurant bombingWarrenpoint ambushDungannon land mine attackDunmurry train bombingLough Foyle attacksAltnaveigh landmine attackGlasdrumman ambushDivis Flats bombingDroppin Well bombingBallygawley land mine attackDarkley killingsKesh ambushStrabane ambushNewry mortar attackBallygawley barracks attackBirches barracks attackClontibret invasionLoughgall ambushRemembrance Day bombingCorporals killingsAvenue Bar shootingLisburn van bombingAughanduff Lynx shootdownBallygawley bus bombingDrumnakilly ambushJonesborough ambushDerryard checkpoint attackDerrygorry Gazelle shootdownDownpatrick landmine attackOperation ConservationArmagh City roadside bombingFort VictoriaLough Neagh ambushSilverbridge Lynx shootdownMullacreevie ambushCappagh killingsCraigavon mobile shop killingsGlenanne barracks bombingCoagh ambushMusgrave Park Hospital bombingCraigavon Hyster killingsTeebane bombing Sinn Féin Headquarters shootingSean Graham bookmakers' shootingClonoe ambushCloghoge checkpoint attackCoalisland riotsSouth Armagh sniper campaignForensic Lab bombingJames Murray's bookmakers attackCastlerock killingsCullaville occupationBattle of Newry Road