Northern Ireland

Decommissioning special report: Bloody feuds followed 1972 ceasefire

The Official Republican Movement declared a ceasefire in 1972 but became involved in a series of bloody republican feuds
The Official Republican Movement declared a ceasefire in 1972 but became involved in a series of bloody republican feuds The Official Republican Movement declared a ceasefire in 1972 but became involved in a series of bloody republican feuds

IN the early days of the Troubles the Official IRA was mainly led by veteran republicans who had been involved in the 'border campaign' of the 1950s and '60s.

Shortly afterwards the Irish Republican Army split into two factions with the formation of the younger, more militant Provisional IRA.

Members of the OIRA were involved in gun battles during the Falls Curfew in 1970; in December 1971 they killed Ulster Unionist Senator John Barnhill at his home in Strabane; and they carried out the 1972 Aldershot bombing which killed six civilian staff and an army priest at the headquarters of the 16th Parachute Brigade.

In May 1972, the group declared a ceasefire and vowed to limit its actions to defence and retaliation.

However, the mid-70s would see feuds break out with the Provisional IRA and INLA.

The Official IRA was linked to the political party Official Sinn Féin, later renamed the Workers Party, and members became known as 'Stickies' because they sold stick-on lilies to commemorate the Easter Rising.

Although formally on ceasefire, it continued some operations up until mid-1973, killing seven British soldiers in separate attacks.

Lost Lives, which documents all of those killed during the Troubles, records the Official IRA as being responsible for 54 deaths in total.

In 1975 the INLA and Official IRA engaged in a violent feud that claimed the lives of three INLA and five OIRA members.

The Officials later murdered the INLA's founder, Seamus Costello, while senior OIRA member Billy McMillen was shot dead in April 1975 by the infamous INLA killer Gerard Steenson.

In October 1975 a second bloody feud broke out, this time with the PIRA. It would claim the lives of 11 people and injure more than 40.

The first victim, Robert Elliman, was a member of the Officials and lived in the Markets area of south Belfast. He was shot dead on October 29.

Up to 90 members of the Provisional IRA were believed to be involved in more than 60 attacks in one night alone.

John Brown, also from the Markets, was shot nine times on November 11, with his 15-year-old brother also injured in the attack.

Shortly afterwards the OIRA shot dead Owen McVeigh in what was believed to be a case of mistaken identity.

The February 1972 IRA bombing of Aldershot Barracks. The front of the glass-panelled officers' mess was ripped out and vehicles wrecked when a car packed with explosives detonated, killing seven people. The IRA claimed it was in retaliation for Bloody Sunday
The February 1972 IRA bombing of Aldershot Barracks. The front of the glass-panelled officers' mess was ripped out and vehicles wrecked when a car packed with explosives detonated, killing seven people. The IRA claimed it was in retaliation for Blood The February 1972 IRA bombing of Aldershot Barracks. The front of the glass-panelled officers' mess was ripped out and vehicles wrecked when a car packed with explosives detonated, killing seven people. The IRA claimed it was in retaliation for Bloody Sunday

Two teenagers, Jack McAllister (19) and Comgall Casey (18), were killed within hours in separate attacks by the IRA.

In total seven members of the Official IRA died in the feud, as well as one member of the PIRA and three civilians.

The bloodletting only ended after a truce negotiated by Fr Alec Reid, who would later oversee IRA decommissioning.

In June 1982 the feud with the INLA flared up again after OIRA member James Flynn, the alleged assassin of Seamus Costello, was shot dead by the INLA in Dublin.

In 1995, some former Official IRA members in the Newry area were involved in the launch of the 'Official Republican Movement'.

Members of the group were instrumental in the decommissioning of Official IRA weapons in February 2010.