1972 Donegall Street bombing

1972 Donegall Street bombing
Part of the Troubles
One of the 148 people injured in the Provisional IRA car bomb explosion in Belfast city centre which killed seven men
Location	55-59 Lower Donegall Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Date	20 March 1972 11:58 UTC
Attack type	car bombing
Deaths	7 (4 civilians, 2 RUC, 1 UDR)
Non-fatal injuries	148

The Donegall Street bombing took place in Belfast, Northern Ireland on 20 March 1972 when the Provisional IRA detonated a massive car bomb in Lower Donegall Street in the city centre just before noon when the street was crowded with shoppers, office workers, and many schoolchildren.

Seven people were killed in the explosion, including two members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), who said they had evacuated people to what was considered to have been a safe area following misleading telephone calls, which had originally placed the device in a nearby street. They asserted that when the last call finally identified Donegall Street as the site of the bomb, there wasn't enough time to clear the street. The Provisional IRA Belfast Brigade admitted responsibility for the bomb, which also injured 148 people, but claimed that the security forces had deliberately misrepresented the warnings in order to maximise the casualties. This was one of the first car bombs the IRA used in their armed campaign.

On Monday 20 March 1972, at 11.45 a.m., a local carpet dealer received a telephone call with a warning that a bomb would explode in Belfast city centre's Church Street which was crowded with shoppers, office workers on lunch breaks, and schoolchildren.British Army troops and the RUC were alerted and immediately began to evacuate the people into nearby Lower Donegall Street. The second call to the Irish News newspaper seven minutes later also gave Church Street as the location for the device. When a final call came at 11.55 advising the Unionist News Letter newspaper that the bomb was instead placed outside its offices in Lower Donegall Street to where the crowds were being sent, the warning arrived too late for the security forces to clear the street. The staff working inside the News Letter were told by the caller that they had 15 minutes in which to leave the building, but they never had a chance to evacuate.

At 11.58 a.m. a 100 pounds (45 kg) gelignite bomb exploded inside a green Ford Cortina parked in the street outside the offices of the News Letter, shaking the city centre with the force of its blast, and instantly killing the two RUC constables, Ernest McAllister (31) and Bernard O'Neill (36), who had been examining the vehicle. The remains of the two policemen's bodies, which had been blown to pieces, were allegedly found inside a nearby building. Minutes earlier they had been helping to escort people away from Church Street.