On September 5, 1975, a bomb explodes in the lobby of the London Hilton on Park Lane, London, killing two people and injuring sixty-three others.
Ten minutes before the explosion, the Daily Mail newspaper receives a warning by telephone. Having been notified, Scotland Yard immediately sends three officers to investigate, but they are not able to evacuate the building before the bomb explodes at 12:18 BST. The Provisional Irish Republican Army claims responsibility for the bombing. Police work quickly to clear the area after the explosion fearing there could be another device nearby. The blast causes extensive damage to the hotel and neighbouring shops with broken glass spread over a wide area. Witnesses say police arrived only five minutes before the bomb went off, and it is not clear whether the hotel was warned before they showed up. A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police says an officer telephoned the Hilton shortly after receiving the warning, but the hotel denies this. “A policeman was just telling the assistant manager that he had better evacuate when the bomb went off,” says press officer Anne Crewdson.
London is on a high state of alert and several areas of the capital are sealed off as a series of hoax warnings follow the Hilton blast. A commander in the Metropolitan Police says they were forced to act every time they were telephoned. “No call can be taken casually,” he says.
A second attempt to bomb the London Hilton hotel is made on September 7, 1992. The explosion causes slight damage in a lavatory on the ground floor but nobody is injured.
In 1974 and 1975, London is subjected to a 14-month campaign of gun and bomb attacks by the Provisional IRA. Some 40 bombs explode in London, killing 35 people and injuring many more. The four members of what becomes known as the “Balcombe Street gang,” Joe O’Connell, Edward Butler, Harry Duggan and Hugh Doherty, are part of a six-man IRA Active Service Unit (ASU) that also includes Brendan Dowd and Liam Quinn.
The Balcombe Street siege starts after a chase through London, as the Metropolitan Police pursues Doherty, O’Connell, Butler and Duggan through the streets after they had fired gunshots through the window of Scott’s restaurant in Mount Street, Mayfair. The four IRA men ultimately run into a block of council flats in Balcombe Street, adjacent to Marylebone station, triggering the six-day standoff.
The four men go to 22b Balcombe Street in Marylebone, taking its two residents, middle-aged married couple John and Sheila Matthews, hostage in their front room. The men declare that they are members of the IRA and demand a plane to fly both them and their hostages to Ireland. Scotland Yard refuses, creating a six-day standoff between the men and the police. Peter Imbert, later Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service, is the chief police negotiator.
The siege ends peacefully on December 12, 1975, after the men free their two hostages and surrender following several days of intense negotiations between Metropolitan Police Bomb squad officers, Detective Superintendent Peter Imbert and Detective Chief Superintendent Jim Nevill, and the unit’s leader Joe O’Connell, who goes by the name of “Tom.” The other members of the gang are named “Mick” and “Paddy,” thereby avoiding revealing to the negotiators precisely how many of them are in the living room of the flat. The resolution of the siege is a result of the combined psychological pressure exerted on the gang by Imbert and the deprivation tactics used on the four men. The officers also use carefully crafted misinformation, through the BBC Radio news to further destabilise the gang into surrender. A news broadcast states that the British Special Air Service are going to be sent in to storm the building and release the hostages. This seems to deter the gang and they eventually give themselves up to the police.
The four are found guilty at their Old Bailey trial in 1977 of seven murders, conspiring to cause explosions, and falsely imprisoning John and Sheila Matthews during the siege. O’Connell, Butler and Duggan each receive 12 life sentences, and Doherty receives 11. Each of the men is later given a whole life tariff, the only IRA prisoners to receive this tariff. During the trial they instruct their lawyers to “draw attention to the fact that four totally innocent people were serving massive sentences” for three bombings in Woolwich and Guildford. Despite telling the police that they are responsible, they are never charged with these offences and the Guildford Four and Maguire Seven remain in prison for 15 more years, until it is ruled that their convictions are unsafe.
In 1971, during the Troubles, after two years engaged in violence based on a defensive strategy in Irish communal districts of Northern Ireland, the Provisional IRA launches an offensive against the United Kingdom. At a meeting of the IRA Army Council in June 1972 the organization’s Chief of Staff, Seán Mac Stíofáin, first proposes making bombing attacks in England. The Army Council does not at first agree to the suggestion, but in early 1973 after its negotiations with the British Government for a truce the previous year had failed to advance the political objective of the removal of Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom by the application of the threat of violence, it re-engages its paramilitary campaign and sanctions Mac Stíofáin’s proposal. Mac Stíofáin had put the strategy forward on the basis that extending the urban paramilitary violence of the Northern Ireland state into England would help to relieve pressure being exerted by the British Army on the IRA’s strongholds of Irish communal support in districts in the province, such as west Belfast and Derry, by diverting British security strength from them back into England, while at the same time increasing strategic pressure upon the British Government to resolve the conflict by political concessions to the IRA’s demands. He also believes that a successful bombing campaign in London, as the capital city of the United Kingdom, will offer substantial propaganda value for paramilitary Irish Republicanism, and provide a morale boost to its supporters.
The effects of the previous 1973 Old Bailey bombing appear to give some credence to the idea of the propaganda value of extending violence into London as, although it is considered almost routine in Northern Ireland by the mid-1970s and draws only brief media notice, being carried out instead in London, a global capital city, makes the event world news headlines. However, although the bombing of the Old Bailey is successfully carried out, and gains media attention, increasing political pressure upon the British Government to address the issue of the conflict in Northern Ireland with more urgency, it is costly to the IRA, as 10 out of the 11-man active service unit that carry it out are arrested by the British police while trying to leave England before the bombs they had planted detonate. Drawing the tactical lesson that large teams are a security liability, for the second wave of bombings in England later in 1973, instead of sending a large team to carry it out with orders to withdraw back to Ireland immediately afterwards, smaller detached “cell” units of 3-4 personnel are sent to carry out the operation, with instructions to remain in England afterward and wage a campaign of bombings around England upon a variety of targets.
There are bombings on September 8, 1973, including one at London Victoria station which injures four civilians.
On September 10, 1973, a bomb (with no warning issued beforehand) explodes at King’s Cross railway station in the booking hall at 12:24 p.m. when a youth of around 16 to 17 years of age walks up to the entrance of the station’s old booking hall and throws a bag into it which contains a 3 lb. (1.4 kg) device, which detonates, shattering glass throughout the hall and throwing a baggage trolley several feet into the air. The youth then flees into the station’s crowd and escapes the scene.
Approximately 45 minutes after the attack at King’s Cross, after a telephone call warning to the Press Association five minutes beforehand by a man with an Irish accent, a second bomb detonates in a snack bar at Euston railway station, injuring another eight civilians. One witness at Euston says, “I saw a flash and suddenly people were being thrown through the air – it was a terrible mess, they were bleeding and screaming.” A total of 13 civilians are injured in the two attacks. The Metropolitan Police issue a photofit picture of a 5 ft. 2 in. (157 cm) tall youth they are seeking in regard to the King’s Cross attack.
On September 12, 1973, two more bombs explode, one in Oxford Street and another in Sloane Square, targeting retail shopping centres. Police subsequently announce that they are looking for five people in connection with this second wave of bomb attacks in England.
Judith Ward is later wrongly convicted of having been involved in the late 1973 London bombings, along with the M62 coach bombing. She is later acquitted. No one else is brought to trial for this IRA bombing campaign.
McGrath is born in Dublin on August 12, 1888. By 1916 he is working with his brother George at Craig Gardiner & Co., a firm of accountants in Dawson Street, Dublin. He works with Michael Collins, a part-time fellow clerk and the two strike up a friendship. In his spare time he works as secretary for the Volunteer Dependents’ Fund.
McGrath soon joins the Irish Republican Brotherhood. He fights in Marrowbone Lane in the 1916 Easter Rising. He is arrested after the rising, and jailed in Wormwood Scrubs and Brixton prisons in England. In the 1918 Irish general election, he is elected as Sinn Féin TD for the Dublin St. James’s constituency, later sitting in the First Dáil. He is also a member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), and successfully organises many bank robberies during the Irish War of Independence (1919–1921), where a small percentage of the proceeds is retained as a reward by him and his fellow-soldiers. During this time he is interred briefly at Abercorn Barracks but escapes by dressing in army uniform and walking out of the gate with soldiers going on leave. He is eventually recaptured and spends time in jail in Belfast.
In October 1921 McGrath travels with the Irish Treaty delegation to London as one of Michael Collins’ personal staff. When the Provisional Government of Ireland is set up in January 1922, he is appointed Minister for Labour. In the Irish Civil War of 1922–1923, he takes the pro-Treaty side and is made Director of Intelligence, replacing Liam Tobin. In a strongly worded letter, written in red ink, he warns Collins not to take his last, ill-fated trip to County Cork.
McGrath is later put in charge of the police Intelligence service of the new Irish Free State, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). It is modelled on the London Metropolitan Police department of the same name, but is accused of the torture and killing of a number of republican (anti-Treaty) prisoners during the civil war. It is disbanded at the war’s end with the official reason given that it is unnecessary for a police force in peacetime. He goes on to serve as Minister for Labour in the Second Dáil and the Provisional Government of Ireland. He also serves in the 1st and 2nd Executive Councils holding the Industry and Commerce portfolio.
In September 1922 McGrath uses strikebreakers to oppose a strike by Trade Unionists in the Post Office service, despite having threatened to resign in the previous March of the same year when the government threatened to use British strikebreakers.
McGrath resigns from office in April 1924 because of dissatisfaction with the government’s attitude to the Army Mutiny officers and as he says himself, “government by a clique and by the officialdom of the old regime.” By this he means that former IRA fighters are being overlooked and that the Republican goals on all Ireland has been sidelined. He and eight other TDs, who had resigned from Cumann na nGaedheal, resign their seats in the Dáil and form a new political party, the National Party. However, the new party does not contest the subsequent by-elections for their old seats. Instead, Cumann na nGaedheal wins seven of the seats and Sinn Féin wins the other two.
In 1927, McGrath takes a libel case against the publishers of The Real Ireland by poet Cyril Bretherton, a book that claims he is responsible for the abduction and murder of Noel Lemass, the brother of Seán Lemass, in June 1923 during the civil war, as well as a subsequent coverup. He wins the court case. During the 1930s, he and Seán Lemass reconcile and regularly play poker together.
Following his political career, McGrath goes on to become involved in the building trade. In 1925 he becomes labour adviser to Siemens-Schuckert, German contractors for the Shannon hydroelectric scheme near Limerick. He founds the Irish Hospitals’ Sweepstake in 1930, and the success of its sweepstakes makes him an extremely wealthy man. He has other extensive and successful business interests always investing in Ireland and becomes Ireland’s best-known racehorse owner and breeder, winning The Derby with Arctic Prince in 1951.
McGrath dies at his home, Cabinteely House, in Ballsbridge, Dublin on March 26, 1966. Cabinteely House is donated to the state in 1986 and the land is developed as a public park. His son, Patrick W. McGrath, inherits many of his father’s business interests, and also serves as Fine Gael Senator from 1973 to 1977.
(Pictured: Screenshot of a film of Irish politician Joseph McGrath shot in 1922)
Sharkey’s debut single is a collaboration with Madness member Cathal Smyth titled “Listen to Your Father.” The single is released on Madness’s label Zarjazz in 1984, reaching No. 23 in the UK chart. The track is performed on Top of the Pops with members of Madness.
Sharkey’s solo work is significantly different from the post-punk offerings of The Undertones. His best-known solo material is the 1985 UK chart-topping single penned by Lone Justice frontwoman Maria McKee, “A Good Heart,” which goes to No. 1 in several countries including the UK in late 1985. He also has a UK Top 5 hit in 1986 with “You Little Thief.” His eponymous debut album reaches No. 12 in the UK Albums Chart.
Following on from his second album Wish in 1988, Sharkey achieves further success in 1991 with his UK Top 30 album Songs From The Mardi Gras, which produces the No. 12 hit single “I’ve Got News for You.”
Starting in the early 1990s Sharkey moves into the business side of the music industry, initially as A&R for Polydor Records, and then as managing director of EXP Ltd. He is appointed a member of the Radio Authority for five years from December 1998 to December 2003.
When the Undertones reunite in 1999, Sharkey is offered the opportunity to rejoin the group but turns down the offer. His position as lead vocalist/frontman for the Undertones is taken by fellow Derry native Paul McLoone, who is also a radio presenter for the Irish national and independent radio station, Today FM.
Sharkey becomes chairman of the UK Government task force the ‘Live Music Forum’ in 2004, to evaluate the impact of the Licensing Act 2003 on the performance of live music, and gives public evidence before the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on November 11, 2008.
In 2008, Sharkey is appointed as the CEO of British Music Rights, replacing Emma Pike. In October 2008, he becomes head of UK Music, an umbrella organisation representing the collective interests of the UK’s commercial music industry. He has become prominent in criticising the use of Form 696 by the Metropolitan Police requiring event promoters to provide data on performers and audiences. He resigns from UK Music on November 11, 2011.
In 2011 Sharkey makes a one-off appearance in a set named Erasure + Special Guests singing “Never Never.” He states that he has not sung live for 20 years and that Vince Clarke is the only person he would have returned for.
Sharkey appears on BBC Radio Newcastle, interviewed by Simon Logan on the afternoon show on August 7, 2013. He speaks about his career and his decision to retire from the stage. “I’ve had an absolutely brilliant career… It’s time to get off the stage and make room for [new artists].”
Sharkey is awarded the “Scott Piering Award” by the radio industry in 2004, the “Bottle Award” at the International Live Music Conference in 2006, and an Honorary “Doctor of Arts” by the University of Hertfordshire in 2008. In 2009 he enters The Guardian‘s MediaGuardian 100 at number 56. In 2010 he appears in Wired‘s The Wired 100 at number 45. The same year he receives a Doctor of Letters honoris causa from the University of Ulster in recognition of his services to music.
The Clerkenwell explosion, also known as the Clerkenwell Outrage, is a bombing that takes place in London on December 13, 1867. The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), nicknamed the “Fenians“, explode a bomb to try to free one of their members being held on remand at Clerkenwell Prison. The explosion damages nearby houses, kills 12 people and causes 120 injuries. None of the prisoners escape.
The whole of Ireland has been under British rule since the end of the Nine Years’ War in 1603. The Irish Republican Brotherhood is founded on March 17, 1858 with the aim of establishing an independent democratic republic in Ireland, and the Fenian Brotherhood, ostensibly the American wing of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, is founded in New York City in 1859.
On November 20, 1867, Ricard O’Sullivan Burke and his companion Joseph Casey are arrested in Woburn Square in London. Burke had purchased weapons for the Fenians in Birmingham. Burke is charged with treason and Casey with assaulting a constable. They are remanded in custody pending trial, and imprisoned at the Middlesex House of Detention, also known as Clerkenwell Prison.
Burke’s IRB colleagues try to free him on Thursday, December 12, without success. They try to blow a hole in the prison wall while the prisoners are exercising in the prison yard but their bomb fails to explode. They try again at about 3:45 PM the following day, December 13, using a barrel of gunpowder concealed on a costermonger‘s barrow. The explosion demolishes a 60-foot section of the wall, but no one escapes. The prison authorities had been forewarned and the prisoners were exercised earlier in the day, so they are locked in their cells when the bomb explodes. The blast also damages several nearby tenement houses on Corporation Lane on the opposite side of the road, killing 12 people and causing many injuries, with estimates ranging from around 30 to over 120.
Barrett, a native of County Fermanagh, protests his innocence, and some witnesses testify that he was in Scotland on December 13, but another identifies him as being present at the scene. Two defendants are acquitted on the instructions of the presiding judges in the course of the trial, leaving four before the jury. Following deliberations, three of the defendants are acquitted, but Barrett is convicted of murder on April 27 and sentenced to death. Barrett is hanged by William Calcraft on the morning of Tuesday, May 26, 1868, outside Newgate Prison. He is the last man to be publicly hanged in England, with the practice being ended from May 29, 1868, by the Capital Punishment Amendment Act 1868.
The trial of Burke and Casey, and a third defendant, Henry Shaw, begains on April 28, all charged with treason. The prosecution claims that Burke had been involved in finding arms for the Fenians in Birmingham in late 1865 and early 1866, where he was using the name “Edward C Winslow.” The case against Casey is ultimately withdrawn, but Burke and Shaw are found guilty of treason on April 30 and sentenced to 15 years and 7 years of penal servitude respectively.
The bombing enrages the British public, souring relations between England and Ireland and causing a panic over the Fenian threat. The radical, Charles Bradlaugh, condemns the incident in his newspaper, the National Reformer, as an act “calculated to destroy all sympathy, and to evoke the opposition of all classes.” The Metropolitan Police form a Special Irish Branch at Scotland Yard in March 1883, initially as a small section of the Criminal Investigation Department, to monitor Fenian activity.
In April 1867, the supreme council of the Irish Republican Brotherhood condemns the Clerkenwell Outrage as a “dreadful and deplorable event,” but the organisation returns to bombings in Britain in 1881 to 1885, with the Fenian dynamite campaign.
(Pictured: The House of Detention in Clerkenwell after the bombing as seen from within the prison yard)
Tibble sees Quinn fleeing from the police after he has been noticed acting suspiciously near a house in which Quinn and fellow members of the Balcombe Street Gang are later found to have been preparing bombs. Tibble chases Quinn on his motorbike and, while attempting to stop him, is fatally shot twice in the chest.
Quinn escapes to Dublin in the aftermath of the shooting and serves a short prison sentence after his arrest for assaulting a police officer there. After his release in 1978 he returns to his hometown of San Francisco but is arrested in 1981 and later extradited to England in February 1988 where he is convicted of murder and jailed for life with a recommended minimum term of 35 years.
Quinn serves eleven years before he is released in April 1999, aged 51, along with the rest of the Balcombe Street Gang, under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. While with the IRA, Quinn adopts an Irish accent and is tagged with the nickname “Yankee Joe” because of his American origins.
Annesley attends the Royal College of Defence Studies in 1980 and the following year returns to the Metropolitan Police as Deputy Assistant Commissioner (Central & North West London). In 1983 he becomes Deputy Assistant Commissioner (Personnel) and in 1984 is director of the Force Re-organisation Team.
In April 1985, under the new organisational structure, Annesley is appointed Assistant Commissioner Personnel and Training (ACPT) and in 1987 becomes Assistant Commissioner Specialist Operations (ACSO). In 1986 he graduates from the FBI National Executive Institute in the United States. In 1989 he takes up command of the RUC, despite the post being widely expected to go to Geoffrey Dear. He holds the post until his retirement in 1996.
Annesley is awarded the Queen’s Police Medal (QPM) in the 1986 New Year Honours and is knighted in the 1992 New Year Honours.
seamus dubhghaill 