1992 Coalisland riots

{{Infobox Civil Conflict

| title = 1992 Coalisland riots

| partof = the Troubles and Operation Banner

| image = 200px

| caption = Confrontation between a British paratrooper and a civilian in Coalisland
(May 1992)

| date =12 and 17 May 1992

| place =Coalisland, County Tyrone,
Northern Ireland

| coordinates = {{coord|54|32|23.92|N|6|42|01.82|W|region:GB_type:event|display=inline,title}}

| map_type =Northern Ireland

| map_size =300px

| map_caption =

| map_label =

| territory =

| causes =Provisional IRA attack on British army patrol near the village of Cappagh, County Tyrone

| status =

| goals =

| result = *Parachute Regiment patrols in Northern Ireland cancelled before official tour's end

Commanding officer of Northern Ireland's Third Brigade removed

| methods =

| side1 = Coalisland residents

| side2 = {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} British Army

| side3 =

| leadfigures1 =

| leadfigures2 =

| leadfigures3 =

| howmany1 =

| howmany2 =

| howmany3 =

| casualties1 = 3 hospitalised
At least 4 others injured

| casualties2 = 2 soldiers hospitalised
7 others wounded{{Cite news |date=19 May 1992 |title=Focal point for trouble |work=Belfast Newsletter |pages=6}}

| casualties3 =

| casualties_label =

| notes = Another soldier lost his legs during the previous IRA bomb attack at Cappagh}}

The 1992 Coalisland riots were a series of clashes on 12 and 17 May 1992 between local Irish nationalist civilians and British Army soldiers (of the Third Battalion of the Parachute RegimentThe Economist, Volume 323, Issues 7761-4 and the King's Own Scottish Borderers) in the town of Coalisland, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The Third Battalion 1992 tour's codename was "Operation Gypsy".[http://british-army-units1945on.co.uk/infantry/parachute-regiment-2/parachute-regiment-3rd-bn.html British Army 1945 on locations and dates]

Provisional IRA attack

On 12 May 1992, a unit of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) East Tyrone Brigade launched a bomb attack on a British Army foot patrol near the republican stronghold of Cappagh, County Tyrone. One soldier of the Parachute Regiment, Alistair Hodgson,[https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/paratrooper-who-lost-legs-is-british-191964 Alistair Hogdson profile], mirror.co.uk; accessed 3 December 2015.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/cumbria/8458700.stm Cumbrian amputee claims skydiving honour] BBC News, 14 January 2010Reynolds, David (1998). Paras: an illustrated history of Britain's airborne forces. Sutton, p. 197; {{ISBN|0750917237}} lost both legs as a result. The improvised landmine was described in an IRA statement as an "anti-personnel device".The Irish Emigrant: [http://www.emigrant.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=37019&Itemid=18 "New Paratroop controversy"], issue Nº 276, 18 May 1992. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312034618/http://www.emigrant.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=37019&Itemid=18|date=12 March 2012}}, emigrant.ie. Other paratroopers received lesser wounds, according to the same statement.{{Cite web|title=British Soldier Wounded in Tyrone Landmine Attack|url=https://ulib.iupuidigital.org/digital/collection/IP/id/20328/rec/1|access-date=2021-03-26|website=ulib.iupuidigital.org|publisher=The Irish People|language=en}} The incident triggered a rampage by members of the Parachute Regiment in the nearby, overwhelmingly Irish nationalist town of Coalisland, some ten miles to the east."British troops launch charm attack in Belfast", by Peter Millership, Reuters, 8 August 1993. The IRA attack was described as a "provocation" tactic, devised to produce an over-reaction by troops to make them even more unpopular among local nationalists.Drake, C.J.M. (1998). Terrorists' Target Selection. Palgrave Macmillan, p. 41; {{ISBN|0-312-21197-X}}

The deployment of the paratroopers, which began in April had already been criticised by republican activist and former Member of Parliament Bernadette Devlin McAliskey, who denounced beatings, shootings and damages to property reportedly carried out by the troops.[http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/3539 "British army terrorises Irish town"], Greenleft.org, 1 July 1992. These previous incidents included the destruction of fishing gear and boats in the townland of Kinturk, near Ardboe, and a brawl on 22 April between soldiers and motorists at a checkpoint in Stewartstown, in which plastic bullets were fired that ended with a civilian and two paratroopers wounded.{{Cite news |date=28 April 1992 |title=Man claims troops went ‘herserk’ in Stewartstown |work=Mid-Ulster Mail |pages=9}}{{Cite news |date=23 April 1992 |title=Three hurt at checkpoint |work=Belfast News-Letter |pages=4}} Unionist politician and Ulster Defence Regiment officer Ken Maginnis, then-Member of Parliament for the area, called for the withdrawal of the regiment after receiving a large number of complaints about their behaviour.Kennedy-Pipe, Caroline (1997). The origins of the present troubles in Northern Ireland. Longman, p. 164; {{ISBN|0-582-10073-9}}

The confrontation

=12 May=

Two hours after the IRA ambush at Cappagh, members of the regiment sealed off the town of Coalisland, ten miles east of Cappagh. According to a Social Democratic and Labour Party politician, the soldiers fabricated a bogus bomb warning, while the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) stated that the operation began when a joint police/military patrol was stoned by a crowd.Wood, Ian S. (1994). Scotland and Ulster. Mercat Press, p. 161; {{ISBN|1-873644-19-1}} Two pubs were ransacked by the troops[http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch92.htm#May CAIN −1992 chronology] and a number of civilian cars were damaged. Several people were allegedly hit with sticks. Following this, a lieutenant was suspended from duty and the regiment was removed from patrol duties in Coalisland.

=17 May=

On the evening of 17 May, a fist-fight began at Lineside Road, where a group of young men were having a drink. A passing four-man patrol of the King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSB) regiment was challenged to a 'boxing match' by the residents. The soldiers set aside their weapons and engaged the youths. Injuries were reported on both sides, none critical. The official claim was that the patrol was attacked by a mob of at least 30 people.Alsing-Børgesen, Kai (1993). The Lift: Basisbog for Hf Og Gymnasiet. Gyldendal Uddannelse, p. 134; {{ISBN|8700106984}} In the melée, a rifle and a light machine gun were stolen. The rifle was later recovered nearby.Fortnight issues 302-12, Fortnight Publications, 1992, p. 6 The youths smashed a backpack radio which had been left behind by the troops.McAliskey, Bernardette (1992). The Moral of Coalisland. Spare Rib (issues 231–39), p. 47 Two KOSB soldiers were hospitalised, while in the end seven other soldiers, including paratroopers, received lesser injuries, one of them hit by a car that crashed through two roadblocks set up by the British Army.

The Parachute Regiment was called to the scene again, and at 8:30 p.m., a major riot started outside The Rossmore pub between local people and about 20 to 25 paratroopers. The soldiers claimed one of their colleagues was isolated and dragged by the crowd. Some witnesses claimed paratroopers were in a frenzy, showing their guns and inviting civilians to try to take them. Suddenly, shots were fired by the troops —first into the air and then towards the people outside the pub. Three civilians were rushed to hospital in Dungannon with gunshot wounds, while the soldiers returned to their barracks. Another four civilians suffered minor injuries. The paratroopers claim that a "member of the growing crowd" attempted to fire the stolen machine gun at them, but the weapon jammed. One of the wounded was the brother of IRA volunteer Kevin O'Donnell, who had been killed by the Special Air Service (SAS) in February during an ambush at the nearby hamlet of Clonoe, shortly after carrying out a machine-gun attack on the local RUC base.

Aftermath

File:Coalisland - geograph.org.uk - 275069.jpg

About 500 people attended a protest rally in Coalisland on 19 May, and the wisdom of deploying the troops to patrol the town was questioned by members of the Dáil in Dublin. The Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Ireland, David Andrews, asked the British Government to withdraw the regiment. As a result, the paratroopers were redeployed outside the urban areas.[https://web.archive.org/web/20120312034744/http://www.emigrant.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=37020&Itemid=18 The Irish Emigrant], "Paratroopers remain in North". Issue No. 277, 25 May 1992 The RUC claimed that the stolen machine gun was found 11 days later at a farmhouse near Cappagh, along with another light machine gun and an AK-47 rifle.Fortnight, issues 302-12, Fortnight Publications, 1992, p. 24 Author Steven Taylor claims that the stolen GPMG and other weaponry was recovered following an aborted IRA attack against a Wessex helicopter.{{Cite book|last=Taylor|first=Steven|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zQPMDwAAQBAJ&q=%22cappagh%22&pg=PT114|title=Air War Northern Ireland: Britain's Air Arms and the 'Bandit Country' of South Armagh, Operation Banner 1969–2007|date=2018-06-30|publisher=Pen and Sword|isbn=978-1-5267-2155-6|language=en}} The IRA had denied they had the machine gun in their possession.{{Cite news |date=24 July 1992 |title=Exclusive |work=Scotland on Sunday |pages=3}} Republicans questioned whether the weapon had really been stolen, suggesting this was merely an excuse for the soldiers' rampage in Coalisland. Bernardette McAliskey went even further, suggesting that the recovery of the machine gun near Cappagh, where the initial IRA attack had taken place, was actually staged by the security forces as a publicity stunt. British officials accused Sinn Féin of being the instigators of the riots, while Michael Mates, then Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office, stated that the incidents were due to "a gang of thugs motivated by the IRA".[https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199293/cmhansrd/1992-05-21/Orals-1.html House of Commons, Thursday, 21 May 1992] Eventually the battalion's 1992 tour in Northern Ireland was scaled down, with the patrols suspended before the official end of the deployment. The Third Brigade's commander, Brigadier Tom Longland,Irish America (1992), Irish Voice, Inc., volume 8 was replaced by Brigadier Jim Dutton.Wood, Ian S. (1994). Scotland and Ulster. Mercat Press, p. 61; {{ISBN|1-873644-19-1}}[https://www.standard.co.uk/news/brigadier-lane-to-be-replaced-6303871.html Brigadier Longland replaced by Brigadier Dutton], standard.co.uk; accessed 17 January 2015.Bew, Paul (1999). Northern Ireland: a chronology of the troubles, 1968–1999. Gill & Macmillan, pg. 260; {{ISBN|0-7171-2926-8}}McLeod, Alexander.[https://web.archive.org/web/20121106033055/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/csmonitor_historic/access/735296692.html?dids=735296692:735296692&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&date=May+28,+1992&author=Alexander+MacLeod&pub=Christian+Science+Monitor&desc=British+Take+Paratroopers+Off+Ulster+Security+Detail&pqatl=google "British Take Paratroopers Off Ulster Security Detail"], The Christian Science Monitor, 28 May 1992 This was the first occasion that a high-ranking officer was disciplined in such a way during the Troubles.

The last patrol took place on 27 June, when two paratroopers drowned while crossing the River Blackwater.[http://www.operationbanner.com/roh/default.asp?MonthAsNumber=6 Operation Banner Deaths: Roll of Honour] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930162715/http://www.operationbanner.com/roh/default.asp?MonthAsNumber=6 |date=30 September 2011 }}, operationbanner.com; accessed 17 January 2015.Fortnight, issues 302-12, Fortnight Publications, 1992, p. 22 The same day there were further clashes with local residents, this time in the town of Cookstown,[http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/heathwood/static/1992.html CAIN – Listing of Programmes for the Year: 1992] – UTV news, 27 June 1992, cain.ulst.ac.uk; accessed 17 January 2015. when a group of people that the Belfast News-Letter called "drunken hooligans" assaulted a number of paratroopers trying to help an elderly man who was suffering a heart attack.{{Cite news |date=29 June 1992 |title=Hooligans attacked paras |work=Belfast News-Letter |pages=2}}

The 3rd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment was replaced by the 1st Battalion of the Coldstream Guards.{{Cite book |last=Paget |first=Julian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uUnuZg9-5RwC&dq=%22Dungannon%22+%22patrol%22+%221992%22&pg=PT583 |title=Second to None: The History of the Coldstream Guards, 1650–2000 |date=2000-09-11 |publisher=Pen and Sword |isbn=978-1-78337-939-2 |language=en}}

Six soldiers faced criminal charges for their roles in the May riots,[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/ulster-soldiers-to-face-charges-1554277.html The Independent], 29 September 1992 but were acquitted one year later. Five were bound over.Fortnight, Issues 324-34, Fortnight Publications, 1994 Maurice McHugh, the presiding magistrate, averred that the soldiers were "not entirely innocent", while Sinn Féin sources dubbed the ruling "a farce". Dungannon priest Father Denis Faul was of the opinion that the soldiers should have been charged with conspiracy.McKittrick, David. [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/coalisland-soldiers-not-entirely-innocent-five-paratroopers-bound-over-by-court-2323551.html "Coalisland 'soldiers not entirely innocent': Five paratroopers bound over by court"], independent.co.uk, 18 May 1993; accessed 17 January 2015. The Ulster Television documentary Counterpoint of June 1993 claimed that Northern Ireland's Director of Public Prosecutions Sir Alisdair Fraser returned the case file to the RUC recommending no prosecution. The programme also interviewed Alistair Hodgson, the soldier maimed at Cappagh, who said that "had another member of my unit been injured in the way that I was, I would have been with the rest of the lads attacking the locals".{{Cite journal|date=July 1993|title=Paras Who Shot Civilians Walk Free|url=http://ulib.iupuidigital.org/cdm/ref/collection/IrishNews/id/2761/|journal=Saoirse|publisher=Sinn Féin Poblachtach|volume=75}} Authors Andrew Sanders and Ian S. Wood{{Cite book|title=Times of Troubles: Britain's War in Northern Ireland|last=Sanders|first=Andrew|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|year=2012|isbn=978-0748646562|page=198}} suggested that the deployment of the battalion in Coalisland and elsewhere hindered the British policy of police primacy in Northern Ireland.

Fresh clashes between local residents and troops were reported at Coalisland on 6 March 1994, a few months before the first IRA ceasefire,Fortnight No. 327 (Apr., 1994), "Troubles Chronology" pp. 30-32 when a crowd assaulted two soldiers after the RUC searched a car. Plastic bullets were fired, and three civilians and two soldiers were slightly injured.{{Cite news |date=7 March 1994 |title=Five hurt in North clashes |work=Irish Independent |pages=6}}

Online references

[http://pacemakerpressintl.com/photo?id=171968 Photo of Coalisland residents demonstrating outside the local RUC barracks, 19 May 1992] (Subscription required)
[http://pacemakerpressintl.com/photo?id=171930 Photo of Northern Ireland GOC Lt Gen Sir John Wilsey visiting troops deployed outside Coalisland, 19 May 1992] (Subscription required)