Unionist Voice is running a 3 week ‘Stand Up Against Sectarianism’ #SUAS series. Each day we will highlight republican sectarianism and/or ethnic cleansing. Today we focus on the slaughter of 10 Protestants in what is known as the Kingsmill massacre.
The brutal IRA killing of 10 innocent Protestant workmen took place on the 5 January 1976 in County Armagh.
Gunmen, which included Omagh bomber Colm Murphy, stopped a mini bus carrying eleven Protestant workmen. The sectarian IRA gang then placed the innocent men up against the mini bus and shot them all. One victim, Alan Black, survived despite being shot 18 times.
A Historical Enquiries Team report confirmed that the sectarian slaughter was carried out simply because the victims were Protestants. The weapons used were linked to upwards of 110 other sectarian attacks.
No one has ever been convicted of their role in the sectarian slaughter, despite the identity of many of the gunmen being widely known.
The innocent victims of the IRA’s sectarian attack, including survivor Alan Black, are as follows;
John Bryans (46)
Robert Chambers (19)
Reginald Chapman (25)
Walter Chapman (23)
Robert Freeburn (50)
Joseph Lemmon (46)
John McConville (20)
James McWhirter (58)
Robert Walker (46)
Kenneth Worton (24)
Alan Black (Survivor)