Birmingham pub bombing

Birmingham pub bombing, terrorist bomb attack on two pubs in Birmingham, England, on November 21, 1974. The explosions killed 21 people, making it the deadliest attack on English soil during the Troubles, the 30-year struggle over the fate of Northern Ireland.

In the late 1960s conflict intensified between republican Roman Catholics and unionist Protestants in Northern Ireland. Armed paramilitary groups that had sprung up in both communities were prepared to use violence to protect themselves and achieve their ends. The largest armed organization on the republican, or nationalist, side was the Irish Republican Army (IRA). By the start of 1974, the leaders of the IRA had come to believe that the British were growing weary of their involvement in the conflict and that a serious escalation of violence would push the British into withdrawal. Accordingly, the IRA began a series of terrorist attacks on Britain’s mainland.

The IRA began its campaign when in February 1974 a bomb exploded on a bus that was transporting soldiers and their families to an army base in North Yorkshire; 12 people were killed, including two young children. Other bomb attacks followed over the course of the year, targeting such locations as the Tower of London and the Houses of Parliament. At least six people died as result of the attacks, with scores more injured. Of particular note was the October 5 bombing of a pair of pubs in Guildford, Surrey, the timing and execution of which strongly resembled the later Birmingham attack.

On November 21 a duffel bag containing a bomb was hidden at the Mulberry Bush, a popular pub in downtown Birmingham. A second bomb was left at another nearby pub, Tavern in the Town. It was a Thursday night, and both bars were crowded. Shortly after 8:00 pm a vague warning was phoned to the Birmingham Post and Mail offices; within minutes the two bombs exploded. Ten people were killed in the Mulberry Bush blast; 11 were killed in the Tavern in the Town; and almost 200 were injured in the explosions.

Following the bombings, anti-Irish sentiment ran high in Britain, especially in Birmingham, which had a substantial Irish immigrant community. By late November six Irish immigrants had been arrested and charged with the bombings. Hugh Callaghan, Patrick Hill, Gerry Hunter, Richard McIlkenny, Billy Power, and Johnny Walker became known as the “Birmingham Six.” They were convicted in August 1975 and sentenced to life imprisonment. In 1991, after a long campaign had been conducted on their behalf, an appeals court overturned all six convictions, citing police mishandling of the evidence and indications that the confessions had been coerced.