Chronology of Provisional Irish Republican Army Actions (1970-1979) - 1975

1975

• 10 January 1975: The British Army shot dead unarmed IRA volunteer John Francis Green in a shed in Castleblaney in County Monaghan. The incident is notable as British troops crossed the border to kill an unarmed IRA man at his home.
• 20 January 1975: IRA volunteer Kevin Coen was shot dead by the British Army in Fermanagh.
• 21 January 1975: Two IRA volunteers driving along Victoria Street, Belfast were killed when the bomb they were transporting exploded prematurely. There were also a series of bomb attacks across Belfast.
• 24 January 1975: A British soldier was killed in an IRA bomb attack on Colinward Street, Belfast.
• 31 January 1975: An RUC officer was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on foot-patrol in Dungannon, County Tyrone.
• 8 February 1975: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on foot-patrol in the village of Mullan, County Fermanagh.
• 10 February 1975: The IRA leadership declare a truce. The ceasefire was to last officially until 23 January 1976, however it was not respected by all IRA units and violence continues throughout the year.
• 27 February 1975: Off-duty police officer Stephen Tibble was shot dead as he joined in the chase of a suspect on his motorbike in Barons Court, London. The suspect had been spotted by a detective coming out of a house which was later discovered to be an IRA bomb factory.
• 17 March 1975: An unarmed IRA volunteer was shot dead by the Irish Army while attempting to escape from Portlaoise Prison, County Laois.
• 24 March 1975: A post office official was shot dead when he arrived at the scene of a robbery at the post office in Silverbridge, County Armagh. It is alleged that the IRA was responsible and that the gunmen thought he was an RUC officer.
• 25 April 1975: A UDA member was shot dead as he walked along Bachelor's Walk in Portadown, County Armagh. Gunmen, thought to be IRA volunteers, pulled-up alongside him in a car and opened fire. Although the Sutton Database lists him as a civilian, Lost Lives lists him as a "high-ranking local UDA member".
• 2 May 1975: A UDA member was shot dead by the IRA at Ardoyne Bus Depot in Belfast.
• 10 May 1975: An RUC officer was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on foot-patrol on Waterloo Road in Derry.
• 18 May 1975: An IRA volunteer was stabbed to death in a lane by the UVF in a lane outside Rathfriland, County Down.
• 31 May 1975: The IRA kidnapped and shot dead one of their own members from Belfast who they alleged was an informer. His body was returned to his family by the IRA in 1999.
• 3 June 1975: A UDR soldier and two civilians were found shot dead in a car in Killeen, County Armagh. The IRA are believed to have been responsible. The UDR soldier was also a member of the Orange Order.
• 4 June 1975: An IRA volunteer was shot dead by British soldiers outside the British Army barracks in Bessbrook, County Armagh.
• 10 June 1975: A UVF member was shot dead by the IRA in a shop on the Crumlin Road in Belfast.
• 7 July 1975: An RUC officer was killed in an IRA booby-trap bomb attack in Lurgan, County Armagh.
• 12 July 1975: A UDA member was found shot dead on Old Templepatrick Road at Ballyutoag, County Antrim. He was a doorman at a UDA club. It is believed the IRA was responsible. Although the Sutton Database lists him as a civilian, Lost Lives lists him as UDA member.
• 17 July 1975: The IRA killed four British soldiers in a remote controlled bomb attack near Forkill, County Armagh.
• 2 August 1975: The IRA shot dead a former UDR soldier near his home in Moy, County Tyrone. He was also a member of the Orange Order.
• 13 August 1975: Four Protestant civilians and a member of the UVF were killed in a gun and bomb attack on the Bayardo Bar in Belfast.
• 13 August 1975: The IRA kidnapped and shot dead a former RUC officer in County Armagh. His body was found near Newtownhamilton on 15 August 1975. He was also a member of the Orange Order.
• 15 August 1975: The IRA shot dead a Protestant civilian at Camrick Bar on Market Street, Armagh town. He was a close friend of Harris Boyle, one of the UVF men killed the month before in the Miami Showband massacre. He and Boyle were often seen together. The IRA said it killed him because of an alleged association with Captain Robert Nairac and claimed it was in possession of his diary, which had been stolen in Portadown.
• 27 August 1975: A bomb exploded without warning at the Caterham Arms public house in Caterham, Surrey, England. Ten off-duty British soldiers and 23 civilians were injured.
• 28 August 1975: Seven people were injured when a bomb exploded in Oxford Street, London. A telephone warning was issued to The Sun newspaper five minutes before the explosion.
• 29 August 1975: A British Army bomb-disposal expert attached to the police was killed attempting to defuse an IRA bomb which had been left in a shoe shop on Kensington Church Street, Kensington, London.
• 30 August 1975: The IRA shot dead a UDR soldier near Whitecross, County Armagh.
• 31 August 1975: The IRA shot dead a UDR soldier on his farm near Keady, County Armagh. He was also a member of the Orange Order.
• 5 September 1975: Two people are killed and 63 injured when an IRA bomb exploded in the lobby of the Hilton hotel in London.
• 8 September 1975: A UDA member was shot dead by the IRA in the Markets area of Belfast.
• 3 October 1975: A bomb exploded at a shop on Albertbridge Road in Belfast, which was owned by Red Hand Commandos leader John McKeague. A Catholic civilian was hurt and died of her injuries on 6 October 1975. It is believed that the IRA was responsible.
• 6 October 1975: An RUC officer was killed in an IRA bomb attack near Limavady, in County Londonderry.
• 9 October 1975: A British soldier was killed in an IRA landmine attack on a British Armoured Patrol in Crossmaglen, County Armagh.
• 9 October 1975: A civilian was killed when an IRA bomb exploded outside Greenpark Underground Station in London, England.
• 10 October 1975: A UDA member was shot dead in his home by an IRA unit on the Ormeau Road in Belfast.
• 14 October 1975: An RUC officer was killed in an IRA booby-trap bomb attack in Portadown, County Armagh.
• 29 October 1975: The IRA shot dead an Official IRA (OIRA) volunteer, in McKenna's Bar in the Markets area of Belfast. Between 29 October 1975 and 12 November 1975, 11 people were to die in the continuing feud between the two wings of the IRA. Most of those killed were members of the 'official' republican movement.
• 31 October 1975: The IRA shot dead an OIRA volunteer in the Short Strand area of Belfast.
• 31 October 1975: An IRA volunteer was shot dead by the OIRA in the New Lodge area of Belfast.
• 3 November 1975: The IRA shot dead a Republican Clubs member in the Ballymurphy area of Belfast. Part of the ongoing IRA/OIRA feud.
• 3 November 1975: A 33 year old lawyer was injured by a car bomb in Connaught Square, London W2.
• 6 November 1975: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA near Newtownhamilton, County Armagh.
• 9 November 1975: The IRA shot dead an OIRA volunteer in the New Lodge area of Belfast.
• 10 November 1975: A UDR soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper outside Gough British Army Base at Carramoyle, County Armagh.
• 11 November 1975: The IRA shot dead an OIRA volunteer, A Republican Clubs member and his relative in separate attacks in Belfast. Part of the ongoing IRA/OIRA feud.
• 12 November 1975: A civilian was killed when an IRA unit threw a bomb into Scott's Restaurant on Mount Street, in the upper-class Mayfair area of London.
• 16 November 1975: An RUC officer was killed in an IRA landmine attack on a patrol in Sixmilecross in County Tyrone.
• 18 November 1975: Two civilians were killed when an IRA unit threw a bomb into Walton's Restaurant on Walton Street, in the Chelsea area of London.
• 21 November 1975: A British soldier was killed by an IRA booby-trap bomb when he picked up a rifle which was left in an abandoned car in Forkill, County Armagh.
• 22 November 1975: Three British soldiers were killed in a gun battle when an IRA unit attacked their undercover observation post at Drummuckavall, County Armagh. See Drummuckavall ambush.
• 25 November 1975: Two RUC officers were killed when their patrol was caught in an IRA sniper ambush in Pomeroy, County Tyrone. In a separate incident a British soldier was shot dead by the IRA in the Fountain area of Derry City.
• 27 November 1975: The IRA killed businessman and TV personality Ross McWhirter, who with his brother Norris McWhirter, had offered reward money to anyone who would inform on the IRA.
• 1 December 1975: Two IRA volunteers died when killed when the bomb they were transporting exploded accidentally on King Street in Belfast.
• 6 December 1975: Two IRA volunteers died when the landmine they were setting exploded accidentally in Killeen, County Armagh.
• 6–12 December 1975: Four IRA volunteers held two people hostage in the Balcombe Street Siege.
• 18 December 1975: The IRA killed two British soldiers in a bomb attack in Derry. It was later established that the soldiers had been lured out of the sangar by children who offered them sweets. While they were distracted the IRA lowered a bomb onto the roof of their sangar which exploded a few minutes later.