Foiled Bombers Open Fire, Kill 1 at IRA Fund-Raiser
Two gunmen opened fire while attempting to bomb a fund-raiser for IRA prisoners, killing one man and wounding another, police said Sunday. It was the first bombing attempt in Dublin since the 1970s.
Police searched for the gunmen who left the 18-pound bomb, which failed to detonate. The Ulster Volunteer Force, an outlawed Protestant paramilitary group in Northern Ireland, claimed responsibility for the Saturday night attack.
“Had the device itself exploded, as was clearly intended, the entire pub and all of the occupants would have been blown up, including our own men at the scene,” a police spokesman said.
Authorities identified the dead man as Martin Doherty, 35, of Dublin. The wounded man was identified as Patrick Burke, 29, also of Dublin.
Both were working as doormen at an event held to raise money for people imprisoned for IRA activities and their families.
The attack came a day after the Irish Republican Army shot and killed an off-duty soldier in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
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