Battle at Springmartin 1972
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 13 May 1972 – 14 May 1972 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1972 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | Post-1945 (1946 onwards) | derived from year |
| Location | Northern Ireland | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Operation Banner, The Troubles | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | United Kingdom | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 54.5947, -5.9872 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle at Springmartin was a series of gun battles in Belfast, Northern Ireland on 13–14 May 1972, as part of The Troubles. It involved the British Army, the Provisional Irish Republican Army, the Official Irish Republican Army, and the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF).
The violence began when a car bomb, planted by Ulster loyalists, exploded outside a crowded pub in the mainly Irish nationalist and Catholic district of Ballymurphy. UVF snipers then opened fire on the survivors from an abandoned high-rise flat. This began the worst fighting in Northern Ireland since the suspension of the Parliament of Northern Ireland and the imposition of direct rule from London. For the rest of the night and throughout the next day, local IRA units fought gun battles with both the UVF and British Army. Most of the fighting took place along the interface between the Catholic Ballymurphy and Ulster Protestant Springmartin housing estates, and the British Army base that sat between them.
Seven people were killed in the violence: five civilians (four Catholics, one Protestant), a British soldier and a member of Fianna Éireann. Four of the dead were teenagers.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle at Springmartin (revision 1370430550), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Lenadoon 1972 · 3 km
- Battle of St Matthew's 1970 · 5 km
- Battle of Connor 1315 · 16 km
- Battle of Carrickfergus (1597) 1597 · 18 km
- Battle of Carrickfergus (1760) 1760 · 18 km
- Siege of Carrickfergus 1689 · 18 km
Other battles of the The Troubles
- Battle of the Bogside 1969
- Battle of St Matthew's 1970
- Battle of Lenadoon 1972
- Attack on Ballygawley barracks 1985
- Battle of Newry Road 1993
All 6 battles of the The Troubles →
Browse more: battles in Northern Ireland · Europe · Post-1945 battles