Droppin Well bombing: 40 years since INLA attack claimed 17 lives at Ballykelly

The INLA bombing of the Droppin Well pub in Ballykelly took place on 6 December 1982.

Of the dead, six were local people and 11 were soldiers, principally from the Cheshire Regiment, as well as the Army Catering Corps and the Light Infantry. They were all based at the nearby Shackleton Barracks.

Six other soldiers and two civilians were left seriously ill in hospital after the explosion.

Estimates of the number of people injured ranged up to 70.

Prime Minister of the time Margaret Thatcher described the attack as "one of the most horrifying crimes in Ulster's tragic history”.

Col Bob Stewart, who is now a Tory MP, heard the bomb from his house about half a mile away and was quickly on the scene.

His worst memory was of holding a girl in his arms who had lost limbs.

He told her that there had been a bomb and she asked if she was hurt.

"And of course she was badly hurt so I said, 'Yes, very badly hurt'."

"And she said, 'Am I going to die?' and I said, 'Yes, I think so'.

She asked if she was going to die now and he replied "I think you will".

"And she just said, 'Will you hold me?'

“And I held her and she died in about 30 seconds. She was only about 18 and she died in my arms."

"She was in such shock that I was able to tell her mother afterwards that she died in a state of grace and that she died in no pain."

Six of his soldiers were killed and 35 were wounded.

"And there were five girls killed and as I understand it the majority of them were Catholic - not that it matters."

A 40th anniversary church service was held in nearby Tamlaghtfinlagan Parish Church on Sunday.

About 40 veterans of the regiment attended along with widows and sisters of the soldiers who died.

The service was also significantly cross community, he said.

A memorial to those who died in the church graveyard is, he believes, unique, in that it includes the names of both soldiers and civilians who died, under the regiment's crest.

He went to the trial in Belfast Crown Court in 1986 where three women and two men were convicted of the bombing.

"When I gave my evidence I looked them all in the eye and they changed their plea to guilty.

"I'm not sure if that was down to me, but it saved all my men from having to go into the witness box.”

He had a message for those on both sides who consider that violence could be the way forward today.

"Please ask those people that were around during the bad old days how frightening it was - particularly the mothers.

"The women on both sides were the people who kept the place together so often. They did not want this violence because everyone suffered.”

Mary Bagshaw’s brother Lance Corporal Steven Bagshaw of the Cheshire Regiment was one of those who was killed.

She told the News Letter: "When December comes and the dark nights are here I am always taken back to that time, and it's as if it just happened yesterday.

"My Dad died just 18 months after Steven was murdered, he was never the same, he had good health before then. You do accept that with the passage of time parents will inevitable pass away but Steven was just a kid and it is so difficult knowing that his life, and that of 16 others, ended due to hatred.”

She said that visiting Northern Ireland for the memorial service on Sunday made a real difference for her “because I'm with others who understand".

Kenny Donaldson, Director of Services with victims group The South East Fermanagh Foundation, said: “Our thoughts and solidarity are with all impacted by this heinous atrocity which resulted in the murders of 17 innocents (11 military and 6 civilians) and perpetrated by INLA terrorists”.

“Sadly over the years of ‘The Troubles,’ terrorists from both republican and loyalist backgrounds attacked people when they were at their most vulnerable, when their guard was down - those out for the night socially were ripe pickings for their warped objectives.

“SEFF currently supports a number of the bereaved families and individuals directly impacted by the atrocity, here in Northern Ireland but also across Great Britain, and this work will further develop in the months ahead, thankfully we SEFF able to connect in with others following yesterday’s service of remembrance.

“We commend those involved in organising yesterday’s service which was very well attended - and with a strong contingent present from the Cheshire Regiment.”