Donegall Arms shooting

The IPLO was formed by former members of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) in 1986. Two months before the attack on the Donegall Arms on 11 October an IPLO unit carried out a gun attack on the Protestant-owned "Diamond Jublee" bar killing Protestant civilian Harry Ward.[2] On the same night they injured another Protestant civilian in a shooting in Newry.[3]

During the late 1980s/early 1990s, loyalist paramilitaries stepped up their sectarian campaign of attacks against Catholic civilians and known republican activists. For example, in 1985, the UVF carried out just four attacks, but by 1990, this number had soared to around 20 per year, and continued to rise steadily.[4]

Three IPLO members seemed to be involved in the attack: two gunmen and a getaway driver. According to witnesses two gunmen entered the bar, one with an automatic rifle and the other with a handgun. The gunman with the rifle shot at anything that moved in the bar, while terrified patrons scrambled for cover. The gunfire lasted less than a minute, but it left two Protestant civilians dead: Thomas Gorman, 55, and Barry Watson, 25, who both died almost instantly. Three other people, also civilians, were injured in the shooting. People in the pub said they heard the gunmen shout "Orange Bastards, Orange Bastards!" as they fired into the pub.[5] The stolen car used in the attack was found at Devonshire Place in the Lower Falls area of west Belfast.[6] A few hours after the attack, the UDA shot dead a Catholic civilian less than 2 miles from the Donegall Arms.[7] Earlier in the day the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) shot dead a Protestant civilian near Moy, County Tyrone.[8]

• Orange Cross Social Club shooting
• Central Bar bombing 1975