1997 Coalisland attack

1997 Coalisland attack
Part of the Troubles and Operation Banner
Coalisland approaching from the east, with the former RUC base's radio masts in the background
Date 26 March 1997 Location Coalisland, County Tyrone Northern Ireland 54°32′23.20″N 6°42′07.28″W / 54.5397778°N 6.7020222°W / 54.5397778; -6.7020222Coordinates: 54°32′23.20″N 6°42′07.28″W / 54.5397778°N 6.7020222°W / 54.5397778; -6.7020222 Result British Army/RUC base damaged Gareth Doris wounded and arrested
Belligerents
Provisional IRA Coalisland residents	United Kingdom British Army (SAS) RUC
Strength
2 IRA members	12 SAS soldiers
Casualties and losses
1 suspect wounded	None
2 civilians wounded by the RUC
Location within Northern Ireland

 United Kingdom

On the evening of 26 March 1997, the Provisional IRA East Tyrone Brigade launched an improvised grenade attack on the fortified Royal Ulster Constabulary/British Army base in Coalisland, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The blast sparked an immediate reaction by an undercover Special Air Service unit, who shot and wounded Gareth Doris, an Irish republican and alleged IRA volunteer. The SAS unit was then surrounded by a crowd of protesters who prevented them approaching Doris or leaving. RUC officers arrived and fired plastic bullets at the crowd, allowing the special forces to leave the area.

Coalisland is a town in County Tyrone that had a tradition of militant republicanism; five residents had been killed by British security forces before the first IRA ceasefire in 1994. In February 1992, four IRA volunteers were killed in a gun battle with the SAS during their escape after a machine gun attack on the RUC/British Army barracks there. Three months later, an IRA bomb attack on a British Army patrol at Cappagh, in which a paratrooper lost his legs, triggered a series of clashes between local residents and British troops on 12 and 17 May. A number of civilians and soldiers were injured, a soldier's backpack radio destroyed and two British weapons stolen. The meleé was followed by a 500-strong protest in the town and bitter exchanges between Republic of Ireland and British officials.

At 9:40 pm on Wednesday 26 March 1997, a grenade was thrown at the joint British Army/RUC base at Coalisland, blowing a hole in the perimeter fence. The RUC reported that a 1 kg device hit the fence 10 feet (3.0 m) off the ground. Another source claimed that the device was a coffee-jar bomb filled with Semtex. The grenade was thrown or fired by two unidentified men. At the time of the attack, there was an art exhibition at Coalisland Heritage Hall, also known as The Mill, from where the explosion and the gunshots that followed were clearly heard. The incident lasted one to two minutes.