Timeline of British undercover forces in Operation Banner

The following is a timeline of notable British Army and Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) undercover operations during the course of Operation Banner.

1970s 1972 15 April – Brothers Gerry and John Conway—both Catholic civilians—were walking along Whiterock Road to catch a bus.Murray, Raymond. The SAS in Ireland. Mercier Press, 1990. pp.44–45Marrtin Dillon, The Dirty War, pp.52–55 As they passed St Thomas's School, a car stopped, and three men leapt out and began shooting at them with pistols. The brothers ran, but both were shot and wounded. Witnesses said one of the gunmen returned to the car and spoke into a handset radio. Shortly afterward two armoured personnel carriers arrived, and there was a conversation between the uniformed and the plainclothes soldiers. The three vehicles then left, and the brothers were taken by ambulance to the Royal Victoria Hospital. The British Army told journalists that a patrol had encountered two wanted men, that one had fired at the patrol, and that the patrol returned fire. In a 1978 interview, a former MRF member claimed he had been one of the gunmen. On 1 December 2015 the PSNI listed this shooting as one of nine incidents it was investigating in relation to the activities of the British Army's Military Reaction Force (MRF). In 2020, the High Court ordered the MoD to pay compensation to the widow of John Conway. It also established that the Conway brothers were actually shot by a special unit from the King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSB) led by Lieutenaunt Julian Ball. 6 May – An 18-year-old male was shot and injured at the Glen Road area of west Belfast, by the MRF. 7 May – A 15-year-old boy was shot and injured outside a disco in the Glen Road area of west Belfast by the MRF. 9 May – The MRF fired shots at a vehicle in the Kashmir Road area of west Belfast. Nobody was injured 12 May – Patrick McVeigh a 44 year old Catholic civilian was shot dead by the British Army's undercover MRF unit, at Riverdale Park South, Andersonstown, Belfast. Four other people were injured in the attack. 12 May – Later the same night Patrick McVeigh was shot and killed, the MRF shot and injured an 18-year-old man in the Slievegallion area of west Belfast. 26 May – The MRF shot and injured a 34-year-old man, in the Silvio Street area of north Belfast. 22 June – In the afternoon the MRF shot and injured four civilians in the Glen Road area of west Belfast. 26 June – 19 year old Catholic civilian Daniel Rooney was shot dead by the MRF, at St James Crescent, Falls Road, Belfast. Another 18-year-old man was also shot and injured in this shooting attack. In total at least two people were killed by the MRF between April – June 1972 with another 13 people being injured.CAIN Web Service A Chronology of the Conflict – 1972 2 October – Attack on MRF – After extracting confessions from IRA Volunteers who were working for the MRF, the Provisional IRA Belfast Brigade attacked the Military Reaction Force. From the confessions of one of the IRA Volunteers, they found out the MRF had a number of front companies including the Four Square Laundry and the Gemini massage parlour on the Antrim Road. The Belfast Brigades 2nd Battalion led by Brendan Hughes first attacked the Four Square Laundry van in the Twinbrook, Belfast area. Four Volunteers attacked the van and killed the driver who was an undercover soldier in the Royal Engineers, a MRF woman posing as Nationalist under attack from Loyalists escaped. The IRA claimed they machine-gunned and killed undercover operatives in the hidden roof part of the van, the 3rd Battalion of the brigade shot up the Massage Parlour. The IRA claimed they had killed five undercover soldiers, the British only admitted to one killing, the driver shot dead at Twinbrook.Ed Moloney – A Secret History of the IRA pp.119,120

1973 4 February – IRA member Tony Campbell (19), and civilians Ambrose Hardy (26), Brendan Maguire (33) and John Loughran (35) were shot dead by British undercover snipers in the New Lodge area of Belfast. Further detail: New Lodge Six shooting.

1974 26 January – The Special Air Service (SAS) intercepted a team of loyalist paramilitaries returning weapons to a derelict farmhouse on the outskirts of Saintfield, County Down that was being used as an arms cache. One of the loyalists was shot and wounded in the chest as he ascended the staircase. Three comrades waiting for him in front of the building were captured by soldiers emerging from a hidden observation post. 24 February – IRA Belfast Brigade commander Ivor Bell was arrested in Belfast after being spotted entering a known safehouse by an SAS unit carrying out covert surveillance.McCallion, 2020, p. 25 14 April – Captain Anthony Pollen (27) was shot dead in Meenan Square, Derry while conducting undercover surveillance with 14 Intelligence Company. Pollen was part of a group of four operators, divided into two-man observation teams, that were posing as journalists covering a parade held to commemorate the upcoming anniversary of the Easter Rising. As the other team kept their distance, Pollen and his teammate mingled with the crowd, but soon drew suspicion from IRA 'marshals' monitoring the event. Failing to answer when challenged, Pollen was killed by armed IRA members originally assembled to fire a tribute volley. Despite being armed, he hesitated and failed to draw his personal protective weapon. The other operators escaped the scene without injury.McCallion, pp. 33–34 12 June – The Belfast detachment of 14 Intelligence Company tracked weaponry being moved by loyalists to an Orange Hall on Shankhill Road, Belfast. The building was subsequently raided by regular British Army soldiers, who retrieved an arsenal of weapons likely stored for an intended 'major military offensive' in North Belfast.McCallion, p. 40

1975 20 January – IRA member Kevin Coen (28) was killed in an exchange of gunfire with two operators from 14 Intelligence Company as he attempted to hijack a bus at an IRA roadblock at Cassidy's Cross, near Kinawley, County Fermanagh.McCallion, pp. 40–41

1976 12 March – The SAS abducted IRA member Sean McKenna (23), who was wanted for attempted murder and a string of other offences. McKenna was abducted at 2:30 am while sleeping at home in Edentubber, County Louth in a cross-border raid. Once across the border, he was officially arrested by another detachment of the British Army. 16 April – IRA member Peter Cleary (26) was captured and shot dead by the SAS near Forkhill, County Armagh. Suspected of involvement in the Kingsmill massacre, Cleary was snatched when he returned to the home of his girlfriend a few hundred yards inside the border. He was killed when he allegedly attacked his guard while the SAS unit were waiting for a helicopter from Bessbrook. IRA sources claimed Cleary had been 'assassinated'. 5 May – The Irish Army and the Garda Síochána arrested an 8-man strong SAS unit that unwittingly strayed across the border into County Louth. The SAS team were stopped at a Gardaí checkpoint, and initially resisted arrest until more Irish Army soldiers showed up, at which point they laid down their weapons and were taken into custody. The fiasco was blamed on outdated maps.Harnden, 1999, pp. 164– 166

1977 16 January – IRA member Seamus Harvey (20) was shot dead by four SAS soldiers as he examined an abandoned car three miles outside of Crossmaglen in the Coolderry area. The SAS unit, concealed in nearby brackles and nettles, was observing Harvey as well as IRA comrades watching events from further away.Harnden, 1999, pp. 155–157 15 May – Captain Robert Nairac (29) was kidnapped on an 'undercover mission' at the Three Step Inn near Forkhill. He was driven across the border, beaten and shot, then buried in an unmarked grave. Nairac was a Military Liaison Officer (MLO) attached to 14 Intelligence Company – his sole mandate was to brief soldiers on information received and collated from MI5 and RUC Special Branch, so his unsanctioned presence at the Three Step Inn may have been a sign he was attempting to develop his own sources of intelligence. His remains have never been found.Harnden, pp. 53–57McCallion, pp. 47–48 12 December – Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) member Colm “Rooster” McNutt (18) was shot dead by an operator from 14 Intelligence Company at the corner of Rossville Street and William Street in Derry. McNutt and fellow INLA member Patrick Phelan attempted to hijack a car, unaware the occupant was an undercover soldier. The soldier played along and exited the vehicle, then double tapped McNutt with a Browning pistol as he moved to the passenger side. Phelan fled but was later arrested by the RUC and prosecuted for the attempted hijacking.McCallion, pp. 41–42 14 December – Corporal Paul Harman (27) of 14 Intelligence Company was shot dead by the IRA in West Belfast. Harman was undercover when he stopped his red Morris Marina on Monagh Avenue. When an IRA group approached and attempted to hijack the vehicle, Harman exited and tried to engage them but was killed by a concealed sniper there to cover the other IRA members – this extra precaution may have been influenced by the way Colm McNutt was killed two days earlier.McCallion, pp. 42–43

1978 26 February – IRA member Paul Duffy (23) was shot dead by SAS soldiers in the yard of an unoccupied farmhouse at Washing Bay, near Coagh, County Tyrone – the building was being used to store explosives and Duffy made a 'spur of the moment decision' to move them elsewhere. Another IRA member, who had driven Duffy to the site, was shot and wounded while escaping.McCallion, p. 67McKittrick, p. 749 17 March – Lance Corporal David Jones (23) of 14 Intelligence Company was killed during a firefight near Maghera, County Londonderry. Multiple IRA members were unknowingly approaching a covert observation post on the Glenshane Pass manned by Jones and fellow operator Lance Corporal Kevin Smyth. Jones, worried the men could be allies from the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR), shouted a challenge – IRA commander Francis Hughes immediately sprayed fire from the hip, which struck Jones and Smyth, mortally wounding the former. Hughes was injured by a shot through the femur likely fired by Smyth, who then radioed for backup. The other IRA members fled unharmed. Hughes was discovered the next morning hiding in gorse bushes and arrested. Jones' decision to break cover was criticised in the aftermath, as he had been told the area around Glenshane Pass was off-limits to regular soldiers.McCallion, pp. 45–46 10 June – IRA member Denis Heaney (21) was shot dead while attempting to hijack a car in Harvey Street, Derry, at 2:30pm; he was unaware it was occupied by an operator from 14 Intelligence Company. As Heaney approached the driver's side, another undercover soldier in a second car exited and opened fire from a distance of ten to twelve feet. Heaney was struck by five bullets, 'killing him instantly'. An IRA comrade of Heaney was also shot and wounded as he stood at the passenger's side of the first vehicle. Heaney's death would alert the local IRA to the presence of plain-clothes soldiers in Derry.McCallion, p. 49McKittrick, p. 759Trigg, 2025, pp. 153–154 21 June – IRA members Denis 'Dinny' Brown (28), William 'Jackie' Mailey (30) and John Mulvenna (28), were killed by an SAS team as they unloaded explosives from a van at Ballysillan post office. The SAS were acting on a tip-off from an informant that an active service unit was planning to destroy the post office. A fourth IRA member escaped the scene. During the pursuit, the SAS unit confused him with a civilian passer-by, William Hanna (28), who was consequently shot dead. Due to the controversy caused by Hanna's death, the SAS was temporarily removed from Belfast. Senior RUC officers felt the death of Hanna 'could not be balanced out' by the destruction of an IRA unit.McCallion, pp. 67-68