1972 in Northern Ireland

Centuries:	; ; 20th; 21st; ;
Decades:	1950s; 1960s; 1970s; 1980s; 1990s;
See also:	1972 in the United Kingdom; 1972 in Ireland; Other events of 1972; List of years in Northern Ireland;

Events during the year 1972 in Northern Ireland.

Incumbents[]

Governor - The Lord Grey of Naunton
Prime Minister - Brian Faulkner (until 30 March)
Secretary of State - William Whitelaw (from 24 March)

Events[]

17 January – The "West Belfast Seven" Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) internees escape from prison ship Maidstone moored in Belfast Lough by swimming ashore.^[1]
30 January - Bloody Sunday: Thirteen unarmed civilians are shot dead in Derry as British paratroopers open fire on a banned civil rights march. A fourteenth, John Johnston, is also to die some months later after having been shot by a paratrooper.
9 February – A day of disruption takes place in Northern Ireland as people take to the streets in protest.
12 February – William Craig launches the Ulster Vanguard movement in Lisburn.
22 February – 1972 Aldershot Bombing: The Official Irish Republican Army detonates a bomb outside the headquarters of the British Army's 16th Parachute Brigade in Aldershot, England, killing 7 and injuring 17.
22 March – Bomb explodes near Europa Hotel, Belfast.
28 March – Northern Ireland Parliament suspended after Prime Minister Brian Faulkner resigns. Direct rule introduced.^[2]
19 April – A report by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Widgery, into the Bloody Sunday shootings exonerates the British troops of blame because the demonstration had been illegal.^[3]
30 May – The Official Irish Republican Army declares a ceasefire in Northern Ireland.^[4]
3 June – A Protestant demonstration in Derry against the creation of "no-go" areas in the city ends in violence.^[5]
13–14 June – The Provisional Irish Republican Army proposes a ceasefire. The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), as intermediaries, make offer to British, who accept terms.^[2]
9 July – End of British–IRA ceasefire.^[2]
21 July – Bloody Friday: Nine people die and over one hundred are injured in a series of Provisional IRA explosions in Belfast city centre.
31 July
- Operation Motorman, 4:00 AM: British Army begins to regain control of the "no-go areas" established by Irish republican paramilitaries in Belfast, Derry ("Free Derry") and Newry.^[6]
- Claudy bombing ("Bloody Monday"), 10:00 AM: Three car bombs in Claudy, County Londonderry, kill six immediately with three dying later in hospital. It becomes public knowledge only in 2010 that a local Catholic priest was an IRA officer believed to be involved in the bombings but his role was covered up by the authorities.^[7]
July – Shankill Butchers begin killing Catholics.^[8]
10 September – Three British soldiers are killed and four injured when the IRA blows up their Saracen armoured personnel carrier at Sanaghanroe near Dungannon.^[9]
25 September - Darlington conference on the future of Northern Ireland opens.
28 December - Belturbet Co Cavan Geraldine O'Reilly 15 from Cavan and Patrick Stanley 16 from Offaly murdered by an unclaimed bomb.
1972 is the worst year for casualties in The Troubles, with 479 people killed (including 130 British soldiers) and 4,876 injured.^[9]

Arts and literature[]

The Planning (Northern Ireland) Order first provides for listed buildings in Northern Ireland.
Seamus Deane's poetry Gradual Wars is published.

Sport[]

Athletics[]

Olympics (Munich)

Pentathlon: Mary Peters becomes the first Irish woman to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games.

Football[]

Irish League

Winners: Glentoran

Irish Cup

Winners: Coleraine 2 – 1 Portadown

On 13 October 1972 Derry City withdraws from senior football in the Irish League due to security problems in the Brandywell Stadium area.

Motorcycling[]

Ulster Grand Prix cancelled due to the political situation.

Snooker[]

Alex Higgins wins the World Professional Snooker Championship.

Births[]

15 January – Derek Heasley, cricketer.
24 January – Éamonn Burns, Gaelic footballer.
12 February – Owen Nolan, ice hockey player.
6 March – Terry Murphy, snooker player.
24 April – Sinéad Morrissey, poet.
27 May – Maggie O'Farrell, novelist.
21 June – Neil Doak, cricketer and rugby player.
9 July – Darren Corbett, boxer.
6 September – , flautist.
1 November
- Kevin Horlock, soccer player.
- Gillian Sewell, field hockey player in Canada.
24 November – Iain Jenkins, soccer player.
28 November – Bronagh Gallagher, actress and singer.

Deaths[]

22 February – Eva McGown, Official Hostess of Fairbanks and Honorary Hostess of Alaska (born 1883).
15 April – Joe McCann, Official Irish Republican Army volunteer killed by British soldiers (born 1947).

References[]

^ Hamill, Desmond (1985). Pig in the Middle: The Army in Northern Ireland, 1969–1984. London: Methuen. p. 95. ISBN 0413508005.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Larkspirit Irish History". Archived from the original on 2 May 2007.
^ "1972: 'Bloody Sunday' report excuses Army". On This Day. BBC. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
^ "1972: Official IRA declares ceasefire". On This Day. BBC. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
^ "1972: Protestant march ends in battle". On This Day. BBC. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
^ CAIN: Chronology of the Conflict – 1972
^ "Claudy bomb: conspiracy allowed IRA priest to go free". BBC News Northern Ireland. 24 August 2010. Archived from the original on 25 August 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2010.
^ "A Chronology of the Conflict – 1979". Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN). Retrieved 29 January 2010.
^ ^a ^b Edwards, Aaron (2011). The Northern Ireland Troubles: Operation Banner 1969–2007. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. pp. 40–44, 88. ISBN 978-1-84908-525-0.

[1] Hamill, Desmond (1985). Pig in the Middle: The Army in Northern Ireland, 1969–1984. London: Methuen. p. 95. ISBN 0413508005.

[LS-2] "Larkspirit Irish History". Archived from the original on 2 May 2007.

[3] "1972: 'Bloody Sunday' report excuses Army". On This Day. BBC. Retrieved 20 August 2012.

[4] "1972: Official IRA declares ceasefire". On This Day. BBC. Retrieved 20 August 2012.

[5] "1972: Protestant march ends in battle". On This Day. BBC. Retrieved 20 August 2012.

[CAIN1972-6] CAIN: Chronology of the Conflict – 1972

[7] "Claudy bomb: conspiracy allowed IRA priest to go free". BBC News Northern Ireland. 24 August 2010. Archived from the original on 25 August 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2010.

[8] "A Chronology of the Conflict – 1979". Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN). Retrieved 29 January 2010.

[Edwards-9] Edwards, Aaron (2011). The Northern Ireland Troubles: Operation Banner 1969–2007. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. pp. 40–44, 88. ISBN 978-1-84908-525-0.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]