Anniversary of IRA Bombing Noted
A memorial church service was held here Tuesday, one year after an IRA bomb blast in this small town killed 11 people.
Relatives and friends of the victims and survivors attended the service made up of hymns, prayers and readings at the town’s Presbyterian church.
The bomb exploded Nov. 8, 1987, in a community center where people had gathered to attend a memorial service for Britain’s war dead.
The outlawed Irish Republican Army said the bomb was set to explode as British soldiers marched by, but an army device set it off early. The army denied the claim.
The Rev. David Couples described Tuesday’s memorial as “a strictly private affair.”
A memorial wreath-laying ceremony and another church service are planned for Sunday in this town near the border with the Irish Republic.
The IRA is fighting to drive the British from Northern Ireland and unite the Protestant-dominated province with the mainly Roman Catholic Irish Republic.
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