Declan Arthurs

Declan Arthurs
Born	October 1965 Galbally, County Tyrone Northern Ireland
Died	8 May 1987 (aged 21) Loughgall, County Armagh, Northern Ireland
Nationality	Irish
Occupation	Provisional Irish Republican Army Volunteer
Known for	Loughgall Ambush digger driver

Military career
Allegiance	Irish Republic Provisional IRA
Service/branch	Military wing
Years of service	1982–1987
Rank	Volunteer
Unit	Provisional IRA East Tyrone Brigade
Conflicts	The Troubles Attack on Ballygawley barracks Attack on RUC Birches barracks Loughgall Ambush

Declan Arthurs (28 October 1965 – 8 May 1987) was a Northern Irish Volunteer in the Provisional IRA's (IRA), East Tyrone Brigade in the mid-1980s. He was killed in the Loughgall ambush.

Early life

Declan Arthurs was born in Galbally, County Tyrone on 28 October 1965. He was one of six children, and the fourth of Paddy and Amelia Arthurs. Declan worked on the family farm learning how to drive diggers. He worked as an agricultural contractor for the farm. He had one young daughter.^[1]

IRA Volunteer

Declan Arthurs joined the East Tyrone Brigade of the Provisional IRA in 1982 in the wake of Martin Hurson's death on the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike. Hurson was also from Galbally like Arthurs, and Arthurs and his friends looked up to Hurson. At the time he joined so did other young men from the same area, like Tony Gormley, Eugene Kelly, Seamus Donnelly and Martin McCaughey.

Over a year and a half year period in the mid-1980s the East Tyrone Brigade attacked and bombed RUC barracks and stations in Ballygawley, Tynan, The Birches, Coalisland, Dungannon, Carrickmore and Castlederg.^[2] They bombed hotels and other businesses in Kildress, Ballyronan, Dungannon and Cookstown^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

Arthurs took part in two of the IRA's biggest attacks of the 1980s. At the Attack on Ballygawley barracks in December 1985 and then the Attack on RUC Birches barracks in August 1986, Arthurs was a key member of the team who drove a digger past a security fence, stopped it outside the barracks, lit a fuse, ran to safety and wrecked the barracks with a 200lb bomb in the JCB Digger.

Death

Arthurs was killed along with seven other IRA Volunteers who were ambushed by the SAS during the Loughgall Ambush.^[7] Before the SAS fired he lit the 40-second fuse on the bomb and it destroyed most of the station, injuring a British soldier inside. The Loughgall ambush was planned to be a carbon copy attack of the bombing of The Birches barracks and the IRA expected no resistance. One of the photos of the aftermath of the ambush shows that Arthurs died with the Zippo lighter he used to light the fuse still in his hand.^[8]

Amelia Arthurs, Declan's mother, said of the ambush in an interview with journalist Peter Taylor, "He was mowed down. He could have been taken prisoner. They knew that the "boys" were coming and they lay in wait. The SAS never gave them a chance. Declan died for his country and I'm very proud of him. He was caught up in a war and he died."^[9]

Declan Arthurs is buried in St John's Cemetery, Galbally beside IRA Volunteer Seamus Donnelly who also died in the Loughgall ambush.^[10]

References

^ Tirghra I nDil Chuimhne - Ireland's Patriot Dead pp.286
^ "Mortar attack on police station". UPI. 19 December 1985. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
^ "CAIN: Peter Heathwood Collection of Television Programmes - Search Page". cain.ulster.ac.uk. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
^ "CAIN: Peter Heathwood Collection of Television Programmes - Search Page". cain.ulster.ac.uk. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
^ Robert W White - Out Of The Ashes: An Oral History of the Irish Republican Movement pp243
^ Mark Urban - Big Boys' Rules: The SAS and the Secret Struggle against the IRA pp.221 - 224
^ "CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths". cain.ulster.ac.uk. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
^ Peter Taylor - Behind The Mask: The IRA and Sinn Fein pp.314 - 319
^ Peter Taylor - Behind The Mask: The IRA and Sinn Fein pp.320, 321
^ Tirghra I nDil Chuimhne - Ireland's Patriot Dead pp.286

Provisional Irish Republican Army

General

Organisation

Actions

1970–1979	Battle of St Matthew's Falls Curfew 1970 Crossmaglen bombing Scottish soldiers' killings Red Lion bombing Balmoral showroom bombing Abercorn bombing Donegall Street bombing Battle at Springmartin Battle of Lenadoon Bloody Friday Claudy bombing Newry customs bombing Old Bailey bombing Honey Trap killings King's Cross & Euston bombings Coleraine bombings 1973 Westminster bombing M62 bombing Clogher attack Houses of Parliament bombing Tower of London bombing Guildford pub bombings Harrow School bombing Brooks's Club bombing Woolwich pub bombing British Airways bombing attempt Birmingham pub bombings London pillar box bombings Talbot Arms bombing Bristol bombing Telephone exchange bombings 1974 Oxford Street bombing Carlton Tower & Portman Hotel shootings Mountainview attack Bayardo Bar attack Forkhill attack Caterham Arms bombing Tullyvallen massacre London Hilton bombing Piccadilly bombing Trattoria Fiore bombing Scott's Oyster Bar bombing Walton's Restaurant bombing Drummuckavall ambush Balcombe Street siege Kingsmill massacre Cannon Street train bombing West Ham station attack Olympia bombing Store bar shooting Stag Inn attack Garryhinch ambush Jonesborough Gazelle downing La Mon restaurant bombing Crossmaglen ambush Warrenpoint ambush Brussels bombing Dungannon attack
1980–1989	Dunmurry train bombing Lough Foyle attacks Glasdrumman ambush 1981 Bessbrook attack Chelsea Barracks bombing Hyde Park & Regent's Park bombings Harrods bombing Royal Artillery Barracks bombing Brighton hotel bombing Ballygawley land mine attack Newry mortar attack Ballygawley attack Enniskillen mortar attack RUC Birches barracks attack Rheindahlen bombing Loughgall ambush Operation Flavius Corporals killings Lisburn bombing Aughanduff Lynx shootdown 1988 Netherlands attacks Glamorgan barracks bombing Inglis Barracks bombing Ballygawley bus bombing Jonesborough ambush Clive Barracks bombing Deal barracks bombing Mayobridge attack Derryard attack
1990–1991	Derrygorry Gazelle downing South Armagh sniper Downpatrick roadside bomb Operation Conservation Carlton Club bombing 1990 Eltham bombing 1990 Wembley bombing Honourable Artillery Company bombing Lichfield gun attack RFA Fort Victoria bombing Proxy bombings Downing Street mortar attack Paddington & Victoria station bombings Mullacreevie ambush Glenanne barracks bombing Coagh ambush Musgrave Park Hospital bombing Crumlin Road Prison bombing
1992–1997	Teebane bombing Clonoe ambush London Bridge bombing Staples Cnr bombing Baltic Exchange bombing Sussex Arms bombing Cloghoge attack Coalisland riots Forensic Science Laboratory bombing Stoke Newington Road bomb 1992 Manchester bombing Night of the Long Knives 1993 Harrods bombing Warrington bombings Cullaville occupation Camden bombing Bishopsgate bombing Finchley Road bombings Battle of Newry Road Shankill Road bombing 1993 Fivemiletown ambush Heathrow attacks Crossmaglen Lynx downing Drumcree conflict Docklands bombing Aldwych bus bombing 1996 Manchester bombing Hammersmith Bridge bombing Osnabrück mortar attack Thiepval barracks bombing Coalisland attack 1997 Northern Ireland riots