Unsolved case · 1975
The short answer
On 12 April 1975, loyalist paramilitaries threw a bomb into the Strand Bar in Belfast's Short Strand, killing six Catholic civilians and injuring about fifty others during the Troubles.
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Suggest coverage for Strand Bar bombingIn February 1975, the Provisional IRA and the British government entered a truce and restarted negotiations, with the IRA agreeing to halt attacks on security forces. During this truce, sectarian killings rose. Loyalist paramilitary groups, fearing they would be forsaken by the British government and forced into a united Ireland, increased attacks on Catholics and Irish nationalists, including pub bombings, in an effort to provoke IRA retaliation and end the truce.
On 5 April 1975, a week before the Strand Bar attack, the UVF bombed McLaughlin's Bar, killing two Catholic civilians. In retaliation the same day, republicans bombed the Mountainview Tavern, killing five Protestants, using the cover name "Republican Action Force."
The Strand Bar stood in the Short Strand, a small Catholic enclave within the mainly Protestant East Belfast. At 8:12pm on 12 April 1975, members of the Red Hand Commando (RHC), a loyalist paramilitary group, threw an improvised bomb into the crowded pub. Witnesses said the attackers stuck a wooden plank through the door handle to prevent anyone escaping, and that they laughed and jeered while doing so before speeding off in a car. One man threw a stool through the pub's glass door but was unable to escape before the bomb exploded.
The blast killed four women and one man outright; another man died of his wounds a week later. The victims — all local Catholic civilians — were Mary McAleavy (57), Elizabeth Carson (64), Marie Bennett (42), Agnes McAnoy (62), Arthur Penn (32), and Michael Mulligan (33). Mary McAleavy was a mother of 11 children, Marie Bennett left seven children, and Arthur Penn was a father of three. Elizabeth Carson's husband, William Carson, lost an arm in the blast. About fifty other people were injured.
Twenty minutes after the bombing, Protestant civilian Stafford Mateer was shot while driving nearby, in an apparent revenge attack; he died of his wounds two days later.
The bombing was initially claimed by the "Ulster Young Militants," a name used by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). In September 1975, a 31-year-old member of the RHC was charged with the murders. During a court hearing, the teenage son of one of the victims approached the defendant in the dock and punched him; the teenager was arrested and fined £10 by the magistrate. At trial, the prosecution relied heavily on a witness referred to as "Mr X," who said he had seen the accused driving the getaway car used by the bombers. The defendant was acquitted of murder, with the judge stating that "the certainty required for conviction is missing."
The Provisional IRA and the British government enter a truce and restart negotiations; sectarian killings rise during this period.
The UVF bombs McLaughlin's Bar, killing two Catholic civilians; republicans retaliate by bombing the Mountainview Tavern the same day, killing five Protestants, under the name Republican Action Force.
Red Hand Commando members throw a bomb into the Strand Bar in Short Strand, Belfast, at 8:12pm, killing five people outright and injuring about fifty.
Protestant civilian Stafford Mateer is shot nearby, about twenty minutes after the bombing, in an apparent revenge attack.
Stafford Mateer dies of his wounds two days after being shot.
A sixth Strand Bar bombing victim dies of wounds a week after the attack.
A 31-year-old Red Hand Commando member is charged with the Strand Bar murders.
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
Aged 62; killed in the Strand Bar bombing.[3]
Aged 32; killed in the Strand Bar bombing; father of three children.[3]
Aged 64; killed in the Strand Bar bombing.[3]
Aged 42; killed in the Strand Bar bombing; left behind seven children.[3]
Aged 57; killed in the Strand Bar bombing; mother of 11 children.[3]
Aged 33; died of wounds a week after the Strand Bar bombing.[3]
Protestant civilian shot nearby about twenty minutes after the bombing in an apparent revenge attack; died of his wounds two days later.[3]
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