Birmingham Pub Bombings

The Birmingham pub bombings occurred on 21 November 1974 in Birmingham, England. The explosions killed 21 people and injured 182. The devices were placed in two central Birmingham pubs – the "Mulberry Bush" and the "Tavern in the Town" (renamed the "Yard of Ale" for many years before becoming a buffet restaurant). Although warnings were sent, the pubs were not evacuated in time. The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) was immediately and widely blamed for the bombings, although it denied responsibility. The attack was claimed by a small militant group called Red Flag 74, but this was treated with scepticism by police.

As the IRA was believed to have been responsible, the bombings yielded a wave of anti-Irish sentiment and attacks on the Irish community in parts of Great Britain. A few days after, the Prevention of Terrorism Act was swiftly introduced by the British Government. Six Irishmen, who became known as the Birmingham Six, were arrested immediately after and in 1975 were given life sentences for the bombings. After 16 years in prison, their convictions were quashed after the court finally acknowledged that the scientific evidence and their "confessions", which had been obtained through violence, were unreliable.

The bombings were the deadliest such attacks in Great Britain until the July 2005 London bombings. A memorial service was held in Birmingham Cathedral on the 35th anniversary and a memorial plaque is in the grounds of Saint Philip's Cathedral in Birmingham.