| Killeeshil ambush | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofthe Troubles andOperation Banner | |||||||
 Killeeshil crossroads, the site of the ambush | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Provisional IRA•East Tyrone Brigade |  United Kingdom•  RUC | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 1active service unit 1technical vehicle | 1 mobile patrol | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| None | 3 wounded 1 vehicle disabled | ||||||
| 2 civilians wounded | |||||||
  Location within Northern Ireland | |||||||
TheKilleeshil ambush took place on 15 July 1994, when an armour plated vehicle of theRoyal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was intercepted by atipper lorry driven by aProvisional IRAactive service unit from theEast Tyrone Brigade and riddled with automatic rifle fire while travelling on the Dungannon Road at Killeeshil crossroads, in southernCounty Tyrone,Northern Ireland. Three members of the RUC were wounded, as well as aSinn Féin councillor fromClones,Republic of Ireland, who by chance had been arrested earlier at theIrish border and was being transported toBelfast. An elderly female motorist was also wounded. The action occurred a few weeks before the IRA ceasefire of August 1994.
Expectations regarding a Provisional IRA permanent ceasefire were high by mid-1994; that decision would have the potential of moving the political process forward, which could lead to an everlasting peace in the region. The situation on the ground, however, revealed that the IRA was in a state of “high alert”, quizzing the experts on whether the IRA was bracing for a new phase in their military campaign or preparing to end the game from a position of force.[1] The mood was dampened not only by the continuing cycle of violence, but also by the prevalent skepticism among republicans, especially those from Sinn Féin, the political wing of the IRA. TheDowning Street Declaration had proved to be incapable of convincing the IRA to stop violence.[2] In east and south County Tyrone meanwhile, the IRA East Tyrone Brigade, after taking heavy casualties in the previous years, was compelled since 1992 to change tactics, relying mostly onbarrack buster mortar attacks on British security bases in the region.[3] There were also a number of shootings on security facilities such as at Dungannon (June 1992),[4]Omagh (December 1992),[5]Killymeal (May 1993)[6] orAughnacloy (May 1994)[7] as well as on RUC/British Army patrols inCookstown (June 1992)[8][9] andPomeroy (August 1992).[10] The most notable of these incidents was a double ambush that took place inFivemiletown on 12 December 1993, when two RUC constables were killed and a British ArmyLynx helicopter shot at in the aftermath.[11]
On 15 July 1994, Pat Treanor, a farmer and Sinn Féin councillor forClones, a town near theIrish border betweenCounty Monaghan andCounty Fermanagh, was showing a cross-border road blocked with concretebollards by the British Army to two Swedish journalists when he was arrested by the RUC.[12] Republican sources claim that Treanor and his guests were caught by a party of three British soldiers and an RUC officer at Lackey Bridge, a border crossing point, approximately at 10:30 p.m.[13] Treanor was taken in custody to Belfast to be questioned about terrorist offenses,[14] while the Swedish journalists were escorted back to the southern side of the border by British troops.[13] The journalists, a reporter and a cameraman, waited for Treanor in vain, and were eventually scared away by British soldiers training their weapons on them.[13]
Unaware of Treanor's arrest, an IRA team had been in the meantime lurking at Killeeshil crossroads since 8:30 a.m., waiting for information from other units placed along Dungannon Road about any RUC mobile patrol travelling fromBallygawley toDungannon. The militants held a nearby house overlooking the route for five hours to use it as a base for their attack.[15] Some 15 hours earlier, the IRA had hijacked atipper lorry atSixmilecross and adapted it to be use as atechnical to ambush a security forces vehicle.[16] Right after midday, the lorry was moved to the roadside of Dungannon Road.[16] Once the RUC vehicle, an armour platedVauxhall Cavalier, was identified, the lorry overtook the car, while at least two masked IRA men, shielded by the tipper body, opened up with automatic rifles.[15][17][16] Up to 20 shots were fired at the RUC vehicle, hitting the Cavalier on the sides and the roof.[16] One of the constables fired back, but scored no hits. One constable was wounded in the back, another in the side and a third in an arm. Pat Treanor was injured in a hand. The driver of the RUC car lost control, and it smashed into a civilian vehicle; a female motorist in her fifties was hurt in her shoulders.[16][12][18] The incident also involved other three civilian vehicles; a coach with 50 Scottish tourists aboard, heading for the ferry atLarne, a car driven by two Dutch tourists and another belonging to a locally resident Chinese citizen. All of them were struck by bullets and splinters during the shootout, but there were no further injuries.[12] The IRA men got away unscathed on the tipper lorry.[16][17]
The shootout at Killeeshil increased the pessimism and uncertainty about the chances of an IRA ceasefire.[12][19] The IRA ambush was described as “indiscriminate, foolhardy and mad” by localSDLP councillor Anthony McGonnell, who stressed that “It was an absolute miracle that nobody was murdered”.[12] Two of the RUC constables wounded in the incident were airlifted toMusgrave Park Hospital in Belfast, while the remainder injured were taken to theSouth Tyrone Hospital at Dungannon. The lorry was abandoned by the IRA unit in a hilly area a few miles away.[17] An RUC statement reports that an improvised grenade launcher and a grenade were found in the follow-up operation.[20] Pat Treanor was released from custody on 21 July 1994, and, on 31 August, he was granted a U.S.visa along with veteran IRA leaderJoe Cahill.[21] The same day, a Provisional IRA "permanent" ceasefire came into force at 12:00 p.m.[2]