Draft:1976 Andersonstown incident

1976 Andersonstown-Finaghy incident
Part of the Troubles
Date 10 August 1976 Location Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland 54°34.18′N 5°59.41′W
Belligerents
Provisional IRA Belfast Brigade	United Kingdom British Army
Strength
5 IRA men 1 Ford Cortina	1 foot patrol 2 Land Rovers
Casualties and losses
1 killed and 1 injured	0
3 civilians killed and 1 injured
class=notpageimage| Location within Northern Ireland

The 1976 Andersonstown incident or the 1976 Andersonstown-Finaghy incident, was a brief altercation between members of the Provisional IRA and the British Army, in Andersonstown and North Finaghy, in August 1976. Which resulted in the deaths of 3 children who were killed when car struck after it’s driver was killed.

Incident

On 10 August 1976 two members of the Provisional IRA’s Belfast Brigade stole a light blue Ford Cortina at the Centra Moneen Filling Station on the corner of Andersonstown Road and Finaghy Road North, the two men Danny Lennon (23) who was driving and John Chillingworth who was his passenger planned to deliver a broken ArmaLite rifle, the two would meet up with three other IRA members. Shortly before 2.30 p.m. gunfire was exchanged between the three men and soldiers in a Land Rover and foot patrol of the King's Own Royal Border Regiment, the three men would would go down Rossnareen Avenue, where they successfully evaded the pursing soldiers by going through some estates, but Lennon and Chillingworth were still being pursued by one of the Land Rovers, Lennon would drive down Shaw's Road and Andersonstown Road and then finally down Finaghy Road North.

While on Finaghy Road North, Chillingworth allegedly pointed the broken rifle at the Land Rover and in response opened fire on the Cortina, instantly Lennon and injuring Chillingworth, who was shot in the leg and abdomen. The car then mounted the pavement, pinning four members of the Maguire family against a metal fence, near the St. John the Baptist Primary School and intersection of Finaghy Road North and Brenda Park. The crash would kill Andrew (6 weeks) who was still in his prom, Joanne (8) who was riding a bicycle and John Maguire (2); Andrew and Joanne died instantly while John died the next day; the only one to have survived the crash was the children’s mother Anne Maguire (31) who suffered severe leg and pelvic injuries as well as brain damage and was left unconscious for several days, while Mark Maguire (7) narrowly escaped being hit by the Cortina.

Aftermath

Two days after the incident, Mairead Corrigan and her neighbor who also witnessed the incident Betty Williams founded the Women for Peace, which was later renamed to the Peace People when Ciaran McKeown became involved in the group. Corrigan and Williams then held a petition for peace that had over 6,000 signatures and led a peaceful march to the children’s graves, but was stopped by angered protesters. On 5 December 1976 the Community of Peace People began two marches in Belfast and Dublin, the marchers would meet on the Bridge of Peace in Drogheda, over 35,000 people participated in the march. Corrigan and Williams would be awarded the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize for their activism to end the conflict in Northern Ireland.

On 18 January 1980 Anne Maguire would commit suicide by slitting her own wrists and throat with an electric carving knife in her flat in Belfast, while preparing for a three day trip to Cambodia.