08-17-2020, 04:52 PM
17 killed in Boyle explosion amid largest police raid on the IRA
The quiet town of Boyle, 35 miles from the Irish border, was the scene of the worst terror incident in Ireland since the 1970s last night, amid the largest raid ordered on the IRA since the beginning of the Troubles. Hospital authorities at Roscommon University Hospital, where the majority of the injured were taken, have confirmed that 17 people were killed last night, with dozens more taken to hospital with serious injuries, including a number of children. Firefighters have been continuing to fight the blaze at site of where the warehouse believed to be a store for the IRA once stood, with a number of other houses and buildings surrounding the site severely damaged. The Taoiseach, Charles Haughey, today visited the injured and expressed his condolences, calling the bombing “an act of unparalleled butchery.” Local TD Terry Leyden has expressed his “shock and outrage,” and has called for an immediate investigation by the Government into the events and into the operation as a whole.
The bombing came amid the failure of the most ambitious joint operation undertaken by the British and Irish police against the IRA, which was ordered in response to the assassinations of former government ministers Michael Portillo and Norman Lamont in London late last year. Four major sites, including the warehouse in Boyle were raided by the RUC and the Garda under the orders of Irish justice minister Ray Burke and the Home Secretary, William Croft. Sources close to the operation, who have spoken to BBC News on the condition of anonymity, have slammed the running of the operation, citing incompetence on behalf of the RUC’s commanders, poor communication between the two forces, and a repeated allegation that an IRA informer within the Garda informed them ahead of time to move the majority of their weapons. A number of handguns and bomb making materials were retrieved, along with 3 rifles in total, with many now unaccounted for. A number of weapons stored in Boyle along with the van bomb were destroyed.
In a concurrent operation, Kevin McKenna, who has been identified in multiple reports as the chief of staff of the Provisional IRA, was arrested following a shootout at his home in Smithborough, in which two of his accomplices were shot by police. Under the rules of the Green Book, the IRA’s code of conduct, McKenna will automatically lose his rank, with his successor unknown. A quiet and reclusive figure, little is known of McKenna aside from his reported close affiliation with Gerry Adams. McKenna is expected to be charged with terrorism offences.
- IRA detonate bomb in Boyle during shootout with police
- Joint RUC/Garda operation raids four sites across the border region with little success.
- Reports that mission was undermined by Garda leak
- Kevin McKenna, the organisation's chief of staff, arrested at his home
The quiet town of Boyle, 35 miles from the Irish border, was the scene of the worst terror incident in Ireland since the 1970s last night, amid the largest raid ordered on the IRA since the beginning of the Troubles. Hospital authorities at Roscommon University Hospital, where the majority of the injured were taken, have confirmed that 17 people were killed last night, with dozens more taken to hospital with serious injuries, including a number of children. Firefighters have been continuing to fight the blaze at site of where the warehouse believed to be a store for the IRA once stood, with a number of other houses and buildings surrounding the site severely damaged. The Taoiseach, Charles Haughey, today visited the injured and expressed his condolences, calling the bombing “an act of unparalleled butchery.” Local TD Terry Leyden has expressed his “shock and outrage,” and has called for an immediate investigation by the Government into the events and into the operation as a whole.
The bombing came amid the failure of the most ambitious joint operation undertaken by the British and Irish police against the IRA, which was ordered in response to the assassinations of former government ministers Michael Portillo and Norman Lamont in London late last year. Four major sites, including the warehouse in Boyle were raided by the RUC and the Garda under the orders of Irish justice minister Ray Burke and the Home Secretary, William Croft. Sources close to the operation, who have spoken to BBC News on the condition of anonymity, have slammed the running of the operation, citing incompetence on behalf of the RUC’s commanders, poor communication between the two forces, and a repeated allegation that an IRA informer within the Garda informed them ahead of time to move the majority of their weapons. A number of handguns and bomb making materials were retrieved, along with 3 rifles in total, with many now unaccounted for. A number of weapons stored in Boyle along with the van bomb were destroyed.
In a concurrent operation, Kevin McKenna, who has been identified in multiple reports as the chief of staff of the Provisional IRA, was arrested following a shootout at his home in Smithborough, in which two of his accomplices were shot by police. Under the rules of the Green Book, the IRA’s code of conduct, McKenna will automatically lose his rank, with his successor unknown. A quiet and reclusive figure, little is known of McKenna aside from his reported close affiliation with Gerry Adams. McKenna is expected to be charged with terrorism offences.