News

New details about Loughgall ambush to be revealed

The scene in Loughgall after an IRA bomb exploded during an attack on the local RUC station on May 8, 1987 during which eight IRA men died
The scene in Loughgall after an IRA bomb exploded during an attack on the local RUC station on May 8, 1987 during which eight IRA men died The scene in Loughgall after an IRA bomb exploded during an attack on the local RUC station on May 8, 1987 during which eight IRA men died

The SAS ambush at Loughgall which claimed the lives of eight IRA men was the single largest loss of life suffered by the republican movement during the Troubles.

Next week the Irish News will bring you the inside story of what happened.

With the exception of civilian Anthony Hughes, who unknowingly drove into the ambush, all those who died were experienced IRA operators.

They included the IRA’s leader in east Tyrone at the time Paddy Kelly.

The IRA unit had planned to kill members of the RUC as they clocked off duty and blow up the police station, which sits on the edge of the mainly unionist village.

The families of those killed believe their loved ones died as a result of a ‘shoot-to-kill’ operation and insist the dead men could have been arrested.

Next week the Irish News will shed fresh light on the planning and aftermath of the ill-fated IRA attack.

We will also examine the background of the attack and provide details of the scale of the British army operation put in place around Loughgall that night.