March 1988 saw an uptick in violence in the Troubles, promulgated by a string of fatal events between British security forces and local paramilitary groups. Starting with a British military operation in Gibraltar on March 6, the ensuing chain reaction of incidents would last for fourteen days, ushering some of the worst violence of the conflict and nearly bringing Northern Ireland into civil war according to some. The attacks, which received extensive domestic and global coverage, helped ultimately initiate the Northern Ireland peace process.

The events began on March 6, when the British Special Air Service (SAS) shot dead three members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA or IRA) in Gibraltar as part of Operation Flavius. As their bodies were flown back to Ireland to be buried, tensions between security forces, Protestants, and Catholics intensified. On March 14, a PIRA member attempting to attack a patrol in Belfast was shot dead by a British Army soldier, and the following day, a Catholic trade-unionist named Charles McGrillen was fatally shot by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). At the funeral for the fallen IRA members at Milltown Cemetery in Belfast on March 16, attended by Sinn Féin leaders Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness, a loyalist militant, Michael Stone, launched a gun and grenade attack, killing three and injuring over 60; after being chased and beaten by a mob, he was arrested by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). The attack, the first of the so-called Funeral Murders, informed Catholics present at the later March 19 funeral for one of Stone's victims, who believed that two British Army corporals who had driven towards their procession were loyalists attempting to instigate another attack; they were subsequentially dragged out of their car, abducted, and killed. Additionally, the day prior, a chemist named Gillian Johnston was killed by an IRA ambush intended for her brother, accused of being a Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) member.

The succession of event generated extensive, international headlines; in particular the Funeral Murders had both been caught by news crews who distributed their pictures throughout the world, described as among the "most dramatic and harrowing" of the entire conflict. The incidents angered many in Great Britain and London, who faced increased political and public pressure to tackle the conflict in Northern Ireland. The IRA and Sinn Féin were also undermined by series of events, having already seen decreasing public support following another bombing in Enniskillen during a Remembrance Sunday ceremony in November 1987. In response to the events, as well as a fatal bombing of a British Army bus in Ballygawley later that year, the British government implemented a broadcasting ban on various loyalist and republican groups, including Sinn Féin. The brutality of the attacks helped foster growing sentiment amongst the public, as well as political and militant actors for peaceful dialogue, helping initiate the peace efforts of the 1990s that ended in the Good Friday Agreement of 1998.

Background

Anglo presence in Ireland began in the 12th century, when the Kingdom of England, under the House of Anjou, invaded and subjugated large parts of Ireland. English control of Ireland fluctuated for the remainder of the Middle Ages, eventually being reduced to a pale around Dublin by the 15th century, however, renewed efforts by the Tudors in the 16th century resulted in the last Irish rulers being subjugated by 1603. To help maintain order, the English began anglicization efforts starting in the 14th century, culminating in the settling of British colonists in Ireland starting under the Tudors. Unlike Scotland and England, Ireland remained Catholic during the Protestant Reformation, resulting in longstanding sectarian violence between Irish Catholics and the descendants of the British, mostly concentrated in the adjacent province of Ulster. A wave of violence during the mid and late 17th centuries resulted in the Protestants dominating Irish socioeconomic and political life for the next two centuries, intensifying after Ireland was formally annexed by Britain in 1801. Irish nationalism grew rapidly in the 19th century, largely amongst Catholics who began embracing an independence-oriented movement known as republicanism; this culminated in Ireland seceding from the United Kingdom during an independence war following World War I. The treaty that ended the war separated six of the counties of Ulster into the Protestant Northern Ireland, which remained British.

The ruling Unionist establishment in Northern Ireland oppressed the Catholic minority, leading to sectarian clashes. During the independence war, the Irish republicans fought under the name of the Irish Republican Army (IRA); after the treaty, the IRA, who opposed the UK retention of Northern Ireland, as well as the continued link between Ireland and the UK outlined in the treaty, fought a civil war against Pro-Treaty forces that ended in defeat for them; afterwards, they became proscribed as a terrorist organization by the new Irish state. The IRA waged several campaigns in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, aiming to integrate Northern Ireland into a new Irish republican state. They also defended Catholic communities in the north. Sectarian violence mounted in the 1960s, with Ulster loyalist and Irish republican militias mobilizing, culminating in a riot in Derry in 1969 that prompted the intervention of the British Army and is widely regarded as the start of the Troubles, a nearly three decade era of sectarian unrest between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland. The IRA split in response to the events in Derry, with the new Provisional IRA (PIRA) emerging as the preeminent organization; they fought and competed with various loyalist militias, namely the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), as well as the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), Northern Ireland's police service, and the British military, the latter two which were accused by Catholics of being partial to loyalists. The conflict, which would see widespread shootings, bombing attempts, the militarization of Northern Ireland, and attacks outside the region, would lead to over 3,000 deaths and nearly 50,000 injuries over its duration in the late 20th century.Coogan, Tim Pat (2002). The Troubles: Ireland's Ordeal and the Search for Peace. Palgrave Macmillan.

After an initial insurgency phase early in the conflict, the PIRA took their campaign into a more indirect approach starting in the mid 1970s, in response to infiltration by British intelligence, successful counter-insurgency efforts, and withering public support.Jackson, Mike (2006). Operation Banner: An Analysis of Military Operations in Northern Ireland . MoD, Army Code 71842 The PIRA prioritized smaller-scale, cellular organization, and became more selective in their attacks, targeting specific high-profile figures and sites. They also began a campaign outside Northern Ireland, targeting mainland Britain and British personnel and sites on Continental Europe, and attempted to drum up public support via actions such as the 1981 hunger strike and increasing prioritization of electoral politics via their associated party, Sinn Féin, led by Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness, both accused by many of being on the PIRA Army Council. The PIRA continued launching attacks throughout the United Kingdom and Europe, with the 1980s seeing worsening violence, with both sides of the conflict launching major attacks. The PIRA attempted to assassinate British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the 1984 Brighton hotel bombing, and continued attacks on loyalists and security forces; often prompting or in response to clashes from them in a continuing cycle of violence. All sides frequently held memorial services for their fallen, which often drew conflict with the other factions; the Republicans in particular accused security forces of excessive conduct at their funerals. In November 1987, a PIRA time bomb at a Remembrance Sunday procession in Enniskillen, meant to kill British soldiers in a possible response to the harassment of a republican memorial service by the RUC the week prior, detonated early, killing 11 civilians and an RUC officer, as well as injuring 63 others.Liam Clarke & Kathryn Johnston. Martin McGuinness: From Guns to Government. Mainstream, 2003. p.189 The attack, which prompted an apology from the PIRA, greatly damaged the reputation of it and Sinn Féin, and outraged loyalists, who embarked on a campaign of revenge attacks on Catholics.McKittrick, David. Lost Lives: The stories of the men, women and children who died as a result of the Northern Ireland Troubles. Random House, 2001. The months leading up to March 1988 saw an uptick in violence, as loyalists and republicans continued to harass and kill one another.

Attacks

Operation Flavius

Beginning in late 1987, British authorities began gaining intelligence on a possible Provisional IRA attack in the overseas territory of Gibraltar in Iberia. British and Spanish intelligence became aware of a PIRA active service unit operating in Andalusia's Costa del Sol. After a known PIRA member was spotted at two guard mounting ceremonies at the Convent, the official residence of Gibraltar's governor, in late 1987 and early 1988, British authorities began monitoring the activities of three PIRA members; Seán Savage, Daniel McCann, and Mairéad Farrell, all of whom had experience in explosives, with the latter two even serving prison time for related charges. The three traveled to the Andalusian town of Málaga in February, where they were extensively monitored by authorities; by March, British authorities believed that a PIRA attack was imminent. The Special Air Services (SAS), a special force unit under the British Army, under the approval of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, subsequently dispatched a team to the territory. The SAS planned to arrest the trio in collaboration with the Gibraltar Police.