Dungannon Bomb: 50th Anniversary Memorial

0:00On March 15th, on St. Patrick's Day in 1976, a bomb exploded at the Hillcrest Bar in Dunganon, Northern Ireland, killing four people. The victims included two 13-year-old boys, James McCahay and Patrick Barnard, who were playing nearby, along with local men Andrew Small, 62, and Joseph Kelly, 57. The Ulster Volunteer Force planted the device with no warning, targeting a spot where both Protestants and Catholics gathered. A Dunganon UVF member, garnet James Busby, admitted his role five years later, and got a life sentence for that attack and other crimes. He walked free on life license in February 1997. The blast wrecked the bar and nearby buildings, leaving emergency crews rushing to a chaotic scene in the dark, with rubble everywhere. I witness his still carry heavy memories from that day. The bar owner raced to the site after a phone call and found bodies amid the debris. At South Tyrone Hospital nearby, staff handled the influx of injured covered in glass and

1:01trappinum, while cries filled the halls. One porter who moved the deceased to the mortuary says, the whore never fades. Today a new memorial plaque honors those killed, and the survivors with life-changing injuries. Local councillor Barry Montyth helped family set it up near the old bar site. For Dunganon, St. Patrick's Day mixes celebration with deep sorrow from that loss. As the 50th anniversary nears, this plaque keeps the story alive, reminding everyone of the innocent lives cut short, and the scars that linger in, the community.