Attack On Derryard Checkpoint - Aftermath

Aftermath

There was outrage in Parliamentary and unionist circles, as a supposedly well-defended border post had been overrun by the IRA and two soldiers killed. On the other hand, according to Moloney, there was also some disappointment among republicans. Despite the positive propaganda effect, the quick and strong reaction from British troops convinced some high-ranking members that the Army Council was infiltrated by a mole.

A senior British military officer, when quizzed about the IRA attack, said:

They are murdering bastards, but they are not cowards. This team actually pressed home a ground attack right into the heart of the compound. That takes guts when there are people firing back.

KOSB officers and security sources believed that the IRA unit involved was not locally recruited, putting the blame instead on IRA members from Clogher (County Tyrone) and South Monaghan (in the Republic). The same sources said that the plan of the attack was executed "in true backside-or-bust Para style".

From 1990 up to the end of the IRA campaign in 1997, there were a number of further bloodless, small-scale attacks against permanent vehicles checkpoints along this part of the border using automatic weapons, particularly in County Fermanagh and against a military outpost at Aughnacloy, County Tyrone.

Two British soldiers, Corporal Robert Duncan and Lance Corporal Ian Harvey, were bestowed the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM), whilst Lance-Corporal Patterson received a posthumous mention in dispatches for his actions during the attack. The checkpoint was dismantled in 1991.