The English public: This sentiment is expressed by Billy McKee in Taylor, Provos, p.152.
‘Only half of it is our war’: P-EM.
‘an incursion into the heart of the Empire’: ‘IRA Bomber Says Gerry Adams Sanctioned Mainland Bombing Campaign’, Telegraph, 23 September 2012.
Price worked with McClure and Gerry Adams: Ibid.; P-EM. Adams has denied any involvement in the plan to attack London, but both Price and Brendan Hughes maintained that he was involved. Hugh Feeney, who was also a member of the Unknowns and took part in the mission, confirmed to me that Adams was intimately engaged with the unit’s activities during this period.
the acid in the devices had leaked: P-EM.
they resolved to plant car bombs instead: H-BC. Hughes, in his interview: ‘The initial idea, right, was discussed at Belfast Brigade meetings, right, with myself, Gerry Adams, Ivor Bell, Pat McClure, basically that group of people. Tom Cahill. We were, we would have been the main people in the Belfast Brigade at the time. And the discussion and the idea and the whole concept of the London bombings came out of that particular group of people.’ Also see ‘IRA Bomber Says Gerry Adams Sanctioned Mainland Bombing Campaign’, Telegraph, 23 September 2012.
When it came time to recruit a team: H-BC.
Gerry Adams explained: ‘IRA Bomber Says Gerry Adams Sanctioned Mainland Bombing Campaign’, Telegraph, 23 September 2012.
prepared to face the full wrath of the state: H-BC.
‘This could be a hanging job’: Adams denies having said this; he denies having been in the IRA at all. But there is ample testimony to his presence and to his remarks. These direct quotes from Adams are drawn from Dolours Price’s recollection. See ‘“Republicanism Is Part of Our DNA,” Says IRA Bomber Dolours Price’, Telegraph, 23 September 2012. Brendan Hughes describes the meeting in similar terms in his Boston College oral history.
exit through the back door: P-EM.
flourish about ten-minute intervals from a book: Ibid.
‘Don’t knock me down in the rush, lads’: Ibid.
about ten people remained: Interview with Hugh Feeney; ‘Central London Bombs Trial Opens’, Irish Times, 11 September 1973.
Gerry Kelly, a handsome young man: P-EM.
Kelly had been on the run: ‘Protest Now Before It Is Too Late!’ The Irish People, 12 January 1974; ‘Biography of an IRA Bomb Squad’, The Times, 15 November 1973; Gerry Kelly, Words from a Cell (Dublin: Sinn Féin Publicity Department, 1989), p.8.
Price thought he was a grand lad: Dolours Price, ‘I Once Knew a Boy’, The Blanket, 17 July 2004.
They were all very young: ‘Biography of an IRA Bomb Squad’, The Times, 15 November 1973.
she joined the Provos six months earlier: Bob Huntley, Bomb Squad: My War against the Terrorists (London: W.H. Allen, 1977), pp.1–2; ‘Police Kept Watch on Group at London Airport’, Irish Times, 18 September 1973.
She still lived with her parents: ‘Police Kept Watch on Group at London Airport’, Irish Times, 18 September 1973; ‘Bomb Trial Court Told of Threat’, Irish Times, 6 October 1973.
As head of the Unknowns: Interview with Hugh Feeney.
he selected Dolours to take the lead: ‘“Republicanism Is Part of Our DNA,” Says IRA Bomber Dolours Price’, Telegraph, 23 September 2012.
None of the recruits: Interview with Hugh Feeney; Taylor, Provos, p.153.
intensive training with explosives and timers: P-EM; H-BC.
detonated and blew his arm off: H-BC.
‘gruesome form of “natural selection”’: Urban, Big Boys’ Rules, pp.32–33.
drinking straw used as a fuse: ‘IRA Bomb Making Manual and Rocket Seized by Troops’, Telegraph, 11 January 1972.
cars were the perfect camouflage: Seán Mac Stíofáin, Revolutionary in Ireland, p.243.
unattended car became, all by itself, a source of terror: ‘Empty Car Causes Panic’, Belfast Telegraph, 3 January 1973.
In February, six cars were hijacked: Interview with Hugh Feeney.
repainted and equipped with false number plates: ‘Central London Bombs Trial Opens’, Irish Times, 11 September 1973.
only four of the cars: Ibid.
more than a hundred pounds of powder explosives: Huntley, Bomb Squad, p.4; ‘A Taste of Ulster’s Violence’, Guardian, 9 March 1973; ‘London Explosions Came from Bombs in Cars Hijacked at Gunpoint in Ulster, Crown Says’, The Times, 11 September 1973.
travelled to London on a scouting mission: Huntley, Bomb Squad, pp.2, 7; Taylor, Provos, p.153; P-EM.
The Unknowns had selected the targets: Marian Price interview in Car Bomb.
‘evoke particular political questions’: Kelly, Words from a Cell, p.9.
bring ‘the reality of colonialism’ home to England: Ibid., p.9.
the Hunter was held up: ‘Bombs Trial Jury Told Girl May Have Had Timing Circuit Sketch’, The Times, 12 September 1973.
problem with the number plate: Ibid.
Martin Brady was behind the wheel: Huntley, Bomb Squad, p.8.
The inspectors appeared suspicious: ‘Bombs Trial Jury Told Girl May Have Had Timing Circuit Sketch’, The Times, 12 September 1973.
McNearney was fidgeting in the back seat: Huntley, Bomb Squad, p.8; ‘Bombs Trial Jury Told Girl May Have Had Timing Circuit Sketch’, The Times, 12 September 1973.
When she returned a few minutes later: Huntley, Bomb Squad, p.8; ‘Central London Bombs Trial Opens’, Irish Times, 11 September 1973.
after the scare at customs: Interview with Hugh Feeney; P-EM.
under an assumed name, Una Devlin: ‘Central London Bombs Trial Opens’, Irish Times, 11 September 1973.
By Wednesday, 7 March, the whole crew: Ibid.
A telephone warning would be issued in advance: Taylor, Provos, p.153.
the team had been given orders: Interview with Hugh Feeney.
‘You don’t know each other’: Price told them: P-EM.
Before sunset, Price assembled everyone: ‘Puncture Gives Raid Disastrous Start’, Telegraph, 15 November 1973; Huntley, Bomb Squad, p.10.
So the young terrorists went sightseeing: Huntley, Bomb Squad, p.11.
Some of the men defied Price’s admonition: Price interview in I, Dolours; ‘The Day of the Terror’, Daily Mirror, 15 November 1973.
before they had a chance to see any good theatre: Interview with Hugh Feeney.
new play by the Irish playwright Brian Friel: ‘Central London Bombs Trial Opens’, Irish Times, 11 September 1973.
about the hysteria, the mythmaking and the misunderstanding: Brian Friel, The Freedom of the City, in Brian Friel: Plays 1 (London: Faber, 1996).
crowds for the show had been sparse: ‘London Preview of Friel’s New Play’, Irish Times, 23 February 1973. The production had previously been staged in Dublin. ‘Shows Abroad’, Variety, 28 February 1973.
received by London audiences ‘in a frost of ignorance’: ‘Stephen Rea’s Tribute to Brian Friel: A Shy Man and a Showman’, Irish Times, 2 October 2015.
he and Dolours Price knew each other: ‘Patriot Games’, People, 8 February 1993.
while good parking spaces were still available: ‘Central London Bombs Trial Opens’, Irish Times, 11 September 1973.
All four cars were driven to their destinations: ‘London Explosions Came from Bombs in Cars Hijacked at Gunpoint in Ulster, Crown Says’, Times, 11 September 1973.
By 7:30, the bombs were in place: ‘Central London Bombs Trial Opens’, Irish Times, 11 September 1973.
to catch an 11:20 plane to Dublin: Ibid.; Huntley, Bomb Squad, p.16.
The officers of London’s Metropolitan Police: Peter Gurney, Braver Men Walk Away (London: HarperCollins, 1993), p.140.
briefing … about an impending IRA attack: Taylor, Provos, p.154.
targets such as government buildings: ‘A Taste of Ulster’s Violence’, Guardian, 9 March 1973.
they needed as few vehicles as possible: Gurney, Braver Men Walk Away, p.140.
They noticed another anomaly: Taylor, Provos, p.
154.
the officers spotted a thin white cord snaking: ‘Central London Bombs Trial Opens’, Irish Times, 11 September 1973.
nearly two hundred pounds of explosives: ‘A Taste of Ulster’s Violence’, Guardian, 9 March 1973.
‘monstrous, tremendously powerful’: Huntley, Bomb Squad, p.16.
the timer, in its box, was audibly ticking: ‘Bombs Trial Jury Told Girl May Have Had Timing Circuit Sketch’, The Times, 12 September 1973.
‘Get those stupid bastards away from the windows!’: Gurney, Braver Men Walk Away, p.143.
his partner gingerly severed it: ‘Suspect Car Exploded As Expert Pulled on Line to Disconnect Fuse’, Irish Times, 15 September 1973; ‘Central London Bombs Trial Opens’, Irish Times, 11 September 1973.
They had defused the bomb: ‘Central London Bombs Trial Opens’, Irish Times, 11 September 1973.
would have detonated at around 3 p.m.: Huntley, Bomb Squad, p.16.
the minute hand on the clock: Gurney, Braver Men Walk Away, p.144.
CLOSE ENGLAND: Huntley, Bomb Squad, p.16.
simply been brilliantly lucky: ‘Central London Bombs Trial Opens’, Irish Times, 1 September 1973.
prior notice that an attack was coming: ‘Police Admit “Human Error” Which Garbled Bomb Warning’, Irish Times, 10 March 1973.
always believe that the operation had been betrayed: Marian Price said to Andrew Sanders, ‘We knew from day one that we had been informed on … They stopped us at the airport, but they were actually waiting on us coming.’ Andrew Sanders, ‘Dolours Price, Boston College, and the Myth of the “Price Sisters”’, The United States of America and Northern Ireland blog, 24 January 2013. Also P-EM.
‘We were set up’: Interview with Hugh Feeney.
his source had been a senior member of the Provisionals: George Clarke, Border Crossing: True Stories of the RUC Special Branch, the Garda Special Branch and the IRA Moles (Dublin: Gill & Macmillan, 2009), p.7.
having no clue as to the rough locations: ‘Police Admit “Human Error” Which Garbled Bomb Warning’, Irish Times, 10 March 1973.
beat the police to the Cortina: Interview with Martin Huckerby.
Inside the Old Bailey: ‘Bombings: “A Sickening Bang, a Pea-Soup Cloud of Dust”’, Washington Post, 9 March 1973.
Someone burst into the courtrooms: Ibid.
customers simply moved deeper into the pub: ‘A Taste of Ulster’s Violence’, Guardian, 9 March 1973.
could only be a hoax: Huntley, Bomb Squad, p.21.
watch the bomb squad: Peter Gurney interview in Car Bomb.
a school bus rolled up: ‘Victims Remember’, Daily Express, 1 June 1974.
forty-nine schoolchildren: Ibid.; ‘Police Admit “Human Error”’, Irish Times, 10 March 1973; Huntley, Bomb Squad, p.21.
the children began to disembark: ‘Police Admit “Human Error” Which Garbled Bomb Warning’, Irish Times, 10 March 1973; Huntley, Bomb Squad, p.21.
The bombers did not hear the bulletin: Huntley, Bomb Squad, p.16.
presented their tickets: ‘Central London Bombs Trial Opens’, Irish Times, 11 September 1973; Huntley, Bomb Squad, p.17; ‘Suspect Car Exploded As Expert Pulled on Line to Disconnect Fuse’, Irish Times, 15 September 1973.
officials entered: Huntley, Bomb Squad, p.17; ‘Thousands Checked in Heathrow Hunt’, Irish Times, 19 September 1973.
Dolours, Marian and Hugh Feeney were scheduled: Huntley, Bomb Squad, p.17.
Special Branch officers were waiting: ‘Police Kept Watch on Group at London Airport’, Irish Times, 18 September 1973.
‘Would you mind coming with me?’: Marian Price interview in Car Bomb.
any sort of cover story that was remotely convincing: Huntley, Bomb Squad, p.17.
Some claimed they had come to London in search of work: Ibid., p.17.
Others said they had been: ‘Central London Bombs Trial Opens’, Irish Times, 11 September 1973.
They all offered false names: Huntley, Bomb Squad, p.18.
one member of the group – an eleventh bomber – was missing: ‘Central London Bombs Trial Opens’, Irish Times, 11 September 1973.
‘You’ve no right to keep me here’: Huntley, Bomb Squad, p.18.
locket might contain some kind of poison: ‘Jury Told Why Crucifix Was Taken Off Girl’, The Times, 10 October 1973.
would not be seeing the sunshine again: ‘Girl Branded “Evil Maniac” Court Told’, Irish Times, 10 October 1973.
something robotic, almost trance-like, about her demeanour: Ibid.
They would fix their eyes on an object: ‘Car-bomb Defendant Smiled at Watch In Interview, Court Told’, Irish Times, 9 October 1973.
looked pointedly at her watch: Ibid.
police finally discovered the Hillman Hunter: ‘A Taste of Ulster’s Violence’, Guardian, 9 March 1973.
With five minutes to go before detonation: ‘Whitehall Shaken by Blast’, Guardian, 9 March 1973.
the timer’s hand reached its terminus: ‘Suspect Car Exploded As Expert Pulled on Line to Disconnect Fuse’, Irish Times, 15 September 1973.
The Hillman split apart, ripped open by a sheet of flame: Huntley, Bomb Squad, p.20.
a dull thud, and a reverberation so strong: ‘A Taste of Ulster’s Violence’, Guardian, 9 March 1973.
Windows shattered in the offices and shops: Ibid.
tiny missiles of glass and metal whizzing: ‘Whitehall Shaken by Blast’, Guardian, 9 March 1973.
A sooty mushroom cloud rose: ‘Bombs in Placid London’, Christian Science Monitor, 10 March 1973.
A gas main ruptured: ‘Shattering Day that Brought the Ulster Troubles Home’, Guardian, 6 March 1993.
People staggered about, dazed: ‘A Taste of Ulster’s Violence’, Guardian, 9 March 1973.
cars were hollowed out and twisted up: ‘Shattering Day that Brought the Ulster Troubles Home’, Guardian, 6 March 1993.
dismantle the third bomb: ‘A Taste of Ulster’s Violence’, Guardian, 9 March 1973.
An officer ran towards the school bus: ‘Bombings: “A Sickening Bang, A Pea-Soup Cloud of Dust”’, Washington Post, 9 March 1973.
They did, screaming: Huntley, Bomb Squad, p.21.
A police photographer: Ibid., p.21.
The façade of the George pub was torn away: ‘A Taste of Ulster’s Violence’, Guardian, 9 March 1973.
A police officer was evacuating jurors: Ibid.
Another policeman: ‘Bombings: “A Sickening Bang, A Pea-Soup Cloud of Dust”’, Washington Post, 9 March 1973.
Huckerby, the Times journalist, was cut: Interview with Martin Huckerby; ‘Warnings on Phone Sent Reporters Rushing to Find Named Cars’, Irish Times, 21 September 1973.
People with blood running down their faces: ‘Bombings: “A Sickening Bang, A Pea-Soup Cloud of Dust”’, Washington Post, 9 March 1973.
But the whole vicinity: Ibid.
injured victims lay sprawled: ‘Bombs in Placid London’, Christian Science Monitor, 10 March 1973.
Everywhere there was a thick carpet of broken glass: ‘A Taste of Ulster’s Violence’, Guardian, 9 March 1973.
This sort of scene might have: ‘Car Bombs Wreak Terror and Havoc in London’, Irish Times, 9 March 1973.
Between the two bombs that detonated: ‘Bombings: “A Sickening Bang, A Pea-Soup Cloud of Dust”’, Washington Post, 9 March 1973; ‘London Is Shaken by Two Bombings’, New York Times, 9 March 1973.
Even so, when they saw the bloodied patients: ‘London Is Shaken by Two Bombings’, New York Times, 9 March 1973.
Frederick Milton, a fifty-eight-year-old caretaker: McKittrick et al., Lost Lives, pp.1515–16.
Milton collapsed a few hours later: Huntley, Bomb Squad, p.22; McKittrick et al., Lost Lives, pp.1515–16.
An autopsy later revealed: Huntley, Bomb Squad, p.22; McKittrick et al., Lost Lives, pp.1515–16.
Dolours Price would blame: ‘Old Bailey Bomber Dolours Price Accused Gerry Adams of Being Behind Abductions of “The Disappeared
”’, Telegraph, 2 May 2014.
Other members of the bombing team: Roy Walsh, one of the bombers, subsequently said, ‘We believed our warnings were adequate. We thought an hour was plenty of time. We gave the description of the cars, their registration numbers and where they were parked. I think it was the slowness of the police reaction that caused the injuries.’ Taylor, Provos, p.155.
But as a factual matter, Price was not altogether wrong: ‘Police Admit “Human Error” Which Garbled Bomb Warning’, Irish Times, 10 March 1973; ‘Our Blunder Say Police’, Daily Express, 10 March 1973.
nothing but a selfish, last-minute bid: ‘Central London Bombs Trial Opens’, Irish Times, 11 September 1973.
What he regretted more acutely: H-BC.
Their clothing was stripped: Huntley, Bomb Squad, p.24.
Dolours Price was photographed naked: ‘Girl Branded “Evil Maniac” Court Told’, Irish Times, 10 October 1973; ‘Jury Told Why Crucifix Was Taken off Girl’, The Times, 10 October 1973; ‘Bomb Trial Court Told of Threat’, Irish Times, 6 October 1973; ‘Photo with No Blanket Alleged’, Guardian, 6 October 1973.
But the Price sisters and several others refused: Huntley, Bomb Squad, p.24; ‘Girl Branded “Evil Maniac” Court Told’, Irish Times, 10 October 1973; ‘Car-bomb Defendant Smiles at Watch in Interview, Court Told’, Irish Times, 9 October 1973.
Dolours hissed at her sister: Huntley, Bomb Squad, p.24.
Chapter 12: The Belfast Ten
Thomas Valliday was a prisoner: H-BC.
it was considerably heavier than usual: ‘IRA Leader Escapes from Maze Prison’, Irish Times, 10 December 1973.
he knew that nestled inside: H-BC. Valliday died in 1987, apparently choking on his own vomit after taking an overdose of drugs. See ‘Hooded Men Stalk Feud Opponents in Belfast’, Irish Times, 20 February 1987. The sausage roll analogy is not mine: see Taylor, Provos, p.160.
Within thirty-six hours of arriving at Long Kesh: Adams, Before the Dawn, p.225.
Gerry Adams felt that, given the importance: H-BC.
McGuigan donned a set of borrowed black robes: ‘IRA Man Escapes from Long Kesh’, Irish Times, 8 February 1972; ‘McGuigan Keeps Secret of Escape from Long Kesh’, Irish Times, 14 February 1972.
another man, John Francis Green, managed to escape: ‘More Violence As IRA Factions Agree’, Reuters, 11 September 1973.
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