Birmingham pub bombings
 | |
| Date | 20:27 21 November 1974 |
|---|---|
| Location | Birmingham, England |
| Blamed on | Provisional Irish Republican Army |
| Type | Time bombs |
| Deaths | 21 |
| Injured (non-fatal) | 182 |
| Description | 1974 bombings in UK attributed to the Provisional IRA |
The Birmingham pub bombings took place on 21 November 1974 and were attributed to the Provisional IRA.[1]
The devices were placed in two central Birmingham pubs: the Mulberry Bush at the foot of the Rotunda building, and the Tavern in the Town, a basement pub on New Street. The resulting explosions, at 20:25 and 20:27, were together the worst terrorist attack in Britain until the December 1988 Lockerbie bombing; 21 people were killed (ten at the Mulberry Bush and eleven at the Tavern in the Town) and 182 people were injured. A third device, outside a bank on Hagley Road, failed to detonate.[2]
Recent developments
On 1 June 2016, Birmingham's senior coroner, Louise Hunt, announced that the inquest into the deaths is to be reopened 42 years after it was adjourned.[3]
The Official Culprits
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Birmingham Six | A group of six Irishmen sentenced in 1975 to life imprisonment for carrying out the Birmingham pub bombings who were freed 16 years later and had their convictions quashed after it emerged that police had forged incriminating evidence and suppressed exonerating evidence. |
| Provisional Irish Republican Army |
References
- ↑ Although the IRA denied that it was involved in the bombings two days after the event, and the IRA has never formally admitted responsibility, in 1985 a former IRA chief of staff, Joe Cahill, did acknowledge the IRA's role, and 30 years after the bombings Gerry Adams, president of Sinn Féin, expressed his regrets about the huge loss of life and the injuries inflicted (Chrisafis, Angelique. IRA fails to say sorry for Birmingham pub bombs, The Guardian 22 November 2004, Staff. Adams expresses regret for Birmingham pub bombings Irish Examiner 22 November 2004)
- ↑ "Birmingham pub bombings inquests to be reopened"
- ↑ "Birmingham pub bombings: coroner orders new inquests"
