- published: 08 May 2013
- views: 95312
Coordinates: 54°25′00″N 6°36′00″W / 54.416667°N 6.6°W / 54.416667; -6.6
Loughgall (/lɒxˈɡɔːl/ lokh-GAWL; from Irish: Loch gCál, meaning "cabbage lake") is a small village, townland (of 131 acres) and civil parish in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is situated in the historic baronies of Armagh and Oneilland West. It had a population of 282 people (116 households) in the 2011 Census. (2001 Census: 285 people)
Loughgall was named after a small nearby loch. The village is at the heart of the apple-growing industry and is surrounded by orchards. Along the village's main street is large set of gates leading to Loughgall Manor. An imposing building, the Manor was once the home of the Cope family who arrived as part of the Plantation of Ulster in the 17th century.
In 1795, rival sectarian gangs, the Catholic Defenders and Protestant Peep-o'-Day Boys fought a bloody skirmish called the Battle of the Diamond, that left around 80 people dead. The Orange Order was founded in Dan Winter's House, Loughgall following these events.
The Loughgall ambush took place on 8 May 1987 in the village of Loughgall, Northern Ireland. An eight-man unit of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) launched an attack on the village's Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) base. Three IRA members drove a digger with a bomb in its bucket through the base's perimeter fence, while the rest of the unit arrived in a van and fired on the building. As the bomb exploded, the IRA unit was ambushed and killed by a 36-man unit of the British Army's Special Air Service (SAS). The British Army and RUC had received detailed intelligence about the IRA's plans and had been waiting in hidden positions. A civilian was also killed by the SAS after unwittingly driving into the ambush zone. The joint SAS and RUC operation was codenamed Operation Judy. It was the IRA's greatest loss of life in a single incident during the Troubles.
The Provisional IRA East Tyrone Brigade was active mainly in eastern County Tyrone and neighbouring parts of County Armagh. By the mid-1980s it had become one of the IRA's most professional and effective units. Members of the unit, such as Jim Lynagh and Pádraig McKearney, advocated a strategy of destroying bases and preventing them being rebuilt or repaired, thus "denying ground" to British forces. In 1985, Patrick Joseph Kelly became its commander and began implementing the strategy. In 1985 and 1986, it carried out two major attacks on RUC bases described by author Mark Urban as "spectaculars". The first was an attack on the RUC barracks in Ballygawley on 7 December 1985. The second was an attack on an RUC base at The Birches on 11 August 1986. In both attacks, the bases were raked with gunfire and then destroyed with a bomb. In the attack at The Birches, they had breached the base's perimeter fence with a digger that had a bomb in its bucket. It planned to use the same tactic in an attack on the lightly-manned Loughgall base.
In Memory of the Eight Volunteers of the East Tyrone Brigade P.I.R.A who were killed on active service at Loughgall, County Armagh on the 8th May 1987. They Will Always Be Remembered
itn news report loughgall ambush
Sinn Féin Northern leader Michelle O'Neill MLA is the main speaker at the 2017 Loughgall Martyrs 30th anniversary commemoration in Cappagh, Co. Tyrone.
It was always believed that SAS soldiers hiding in nearby fields fired the first shots as the IRA men retreated after bombing the station using a hijacked digger to carry the bomb and smash through a perimeter fence. But the Belfast Telegraph has revealed that the HET report will claim that the IRA men could not have been safely arrested and the soldiers were within their rights to open fire. East Londonderry MP Gregory Campbell said that the eight IRA men deserved to die - a claim which infuriated a Sinn Fein member of the Northern Ireland Assembly whose wife's brother, Patrick Kelly, 30, from Dungannon, Co Tyrone, was among the eight shot dead by the soldiers.
Sinn Fein MLA Barry McElduff condemns a leaked HET report on the SAS murder of 8 IRA Volunteers and 1civilian at Loughgall in 1987.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/WHAT-PRICE-TRUTH-Special-Branch-ebook/dp/B00S55OX4G
Over 250 people assembled in the Ryandale, Moy on Monday 7th May for the Loughgall Martyrs 25th anniversary memorial lecture. Republicans from all generations listened as Arnie O Connell from Cork and Sean Hughes from South Armagh delivered a lecture entitled 'From Clonmult to Loughgall, the IRA's War against the British Army in Ireland'. The lecture was chaired by Francie Molloy MLA.
This is my latest vlog of my weekend. There was a local car rally around my local country park. These included Mark 2 Escorts mainly. I love all Motorsport and this was a treat for me. My girlfriend was also dragged along, which she usually is.
Views in and around Armagh City on 25th November 2010. Includes a glimpse of Loughgall and Richhill
Vanishing Lake - Loughareema, also known as the Vanishing Lake, is located on the coast road, just a few miles from the seaside town of Ballycastle in Ireland. The lake sits on a leaky chalk-bed with a “plug hole” that often becomes jammed with peat causing the Loughareema depression to fill, especially during heavy rain. When the plug clears, the lake drains rapidly underground. A passerby who is not aware of the lake and its disappearing act would never even know it existed in the first place. Interestingly, the road to Ballycastle runs right through the lake, though the modern road sits high enough to avoid flooding, unlike the original. It is quite possible that even the road engineers who built road were fooled by the lake’s trickery. In former days the route was frequently under wa...
The Independent Workers Union commissioned a mosaic to commemorate the centenary of the great Dublin Lockout. Joan Casey created the piece and Joe Bowers unveiled the work in Conway Mill Belfast on 4 May 2013
How significant is the attack on British servicemen in Northern Ireland? CNN's Andrew Carey reports.
While visiting family in Northern Ireland (July, 2010), we toured the west coast and visited Dunluce Castle, Giant's Causeway, Bushmills Distillery and Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge. This a view of the cliffs along the shore leading up to the bridge. The island in the distance is Raithlin Island (home of Irish folk singer Mary Black's family and where Robert the Bruce was inspired by the spider while hiding in a cave there). The name "Carrick-a-rede" means 'rock in the road'. Since at least the early 17th century, Salmon fishermen have used rope bridges to reach the island. The island offered prime fishing spots where the salmon pass by to spawn in the River Bann and River Bush, nearby. Over three hundred salmon a day was a common catch. The intimidating rope bridge is about 60 m...
Intro: yo, I'm gonna talk to you about life for a minute (coolio)
Verse 1: I'm going to a chain 'cause it ain't the same
I remain no geak, life's just to play the game
trying to brake this chain off my brain so I can gangsta change
swinging with your things out without a name
a stranger is too much too beat but I ain't scared
I pray to god, hope he wont send me to the devils land
I hope that's not in heaven, trying to get my stand out
hope my hopes and dreams dont burn in flames, but I'm aware
a life ain't promised, trying to avoid the drama
and live up the expectations for my dear old mama
inside there's also a fool, inside the court building
make a million maybe a billion we can save for our childeren
face to face we trying to escape that but it's too late
so I grab the world and hope I dont have to wait, to get my strike
I've seen the life and all the pain and suffer
so I put my name in the book
Chorus: life x4 (what life) that's life life life (that's life)
Verse 2: ok now, here's the situation
I was raised in a good nation and given a formal education
my brothers and me lived in a fucked up area
where the innocent life is shitty, lot of grey steam, it's a pitty
when you look over the steam you can miss me
go ahead and talk but if you diss me
they have to come and get me
they wanna pimp me from my sin
pretend they're down but they're against me
think I touch everyone's heart untill it's empty
take my chance as a possibility, no touchdown for a century
regreting me, feeling me, that's why I'm waiting in the bushes
if I dont than I delicate this to all pussies
put yourself in my position, you dont know what you listen
in these conditions most likely a body comes up missing
when the lights come off, when you run away like mice
than think twice if you dont hear your name from the book
Chorus: life x4 (what life) that's life life life (that's life)
Verse 3: can you handle friends, no my life is driving me insane
but I'm a man, so I remain steady, cought up in the game
make a deal with dicky jane for a little change
run from your home, banging with your things out
tripping on everybody, cousin get your thing out, we're ready to roll
when it comes to, show no fear when they hunt you
if you have to use gun foo, they ask for the one-two
everything but the kids n'sync, act quickly dont think
dont sink to the level then you gonna leave with the devil
be quick in the race and try to keep a straight face
and just when there's a new song I feel like I dont belong in this place
hip hop is my proffesion, so I gotta keep on guessing
make it black and white lack another in my session
coming from the west, microphone is my blessing
so I'm testing, check it, I'm talking about life, that life
Chorus x2: life x4 (what life) that's life life life (that's life)
Outro: I'm just trying to live my life, you try to live your life
you want me to smack your face, give me my space
it's all about style, I know you got style, life is all about it