Cause of death Bomb explosion Name Thomas Begley Religion Roman Catholicism | Other names "Bootsy" Nationality Irish | |
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Died October 23, 1993, Shankill Road, Belfast, United Kingdom | ||
SHANKILL BOMB VICTIMS FAMILIES SILENT VIGIL SUNDAY 20TH 10TH
Thomas Begley (10 November 1970 – 23 October 1993), was a member of the Belfast Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). Begley was killed when a bomb he was planting on the Shankill Road, West Belfast, Northern Ireland exploded prematurely, killing him, a UDA member and eight Ulster Protestant civilians.
Contents
- SHANKILL BOMB VICTIMS FAMILIES SILENT VIGIL SUNDAY 20TH 10TH
- Racist Mario Reaction
- Background
- Paramilitary activity
- Funeral
- Aftermath
- References
Racist Mario Reaction
Background
Begley was born in the Irish nationalist Ardoyne area of north Belfast; in January 1993 he joined the Provisional IRA.
Paramilitary activity
Begley was linked to the killing of Royal Irish Regiment soldier Stephen Waller on 30 December 1992, at Waller's home in Belfast. He was identified by Waller's wife.
Begley and two other IRA volunteers from the Ardoyne area hijacked a blue Ford Escort and drove it to the fish shop. When they arrived, Begley and Sean Kelly, wearing the white coats and caps of delivery men, entered the shop carrying the bomb. Begley was killed when the bomb exploded prematurely, also killing an off-duty UDA member, Michael Morrison, and eight civilians, including two children. Forensic evidence pointed to Begley holding the five pound bomb, which had an 11-second fuse, above the refrigerated serving counter at the fish shop when it exploded. Kelly was convicted of murder for his part in the Shankill Road bombing.
Funeral
IRA member Eddie Copeland was shot and injured when a British Army soldier fired 20 live rounds in a crowd of mourners who were attending Begley's wake in north Belfast. Private Andrew Clarke, 27 from Merseyside, who fired the shots, was later jailed for ten years for attempted murder. At Begley's funeral, Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams carried Begley's coffin, which caused angry backlash from some quarters, including the victims' families.
Aftermath
Violence erupted in Northern Ireland in the weeks after Begley's death. The UDA stated that they would obtain revenge for the attack and claimed "John Hume, Gerry Adams and the nationalist electorate will pay a heavy, heavy price for today's atrocity." Within 12 hours of the Shankill bombing, a 22-year-old male Catholic civilian was shot and killed, and within a week five others were also killed.
In 2001, residents of the loyalist Glenbryn estate displayed a banner, on the eighth anniversary of Begley's bombing, with the words "Walk of Shame", and photographs of those killed by the bomb attached, as riot police escorted schoolgirls and their parents along Ardoyne Road during the Holy Cross dispute.
A mural dedicated to deceased IRA volunteers, including Begley, was painted in Ardoyne Avenue, near the Begley family home. In October 2013, 20 years after the fish shop bombing, a plaque commemorating Begley was unveiled in the republican Ardoyne section of North Belfast.