1997

January 1997

Friday 10 January 1997
Memorials: Ken Maginnis, then Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Security Spokesperson, called on the Department of the Environment to remove an IRA memorial to Sean South and Feargal O'Hanlon who had been killed by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) in 1957.

Friday 17 January 1997
Inquiry Demand: A British television news programme, Channel 4 News, carried a report which presented evidence that soldiers, other than those of the Parachute Regiment, had opened fire on those taking part in the civil rights march on 'Bloody Sunday' in Derry on 30 January 1972. It was suggested that members of the Royal Anglian Regiment could have been responsible for the deaths of three of the 14 victims. Relatives of the victims renewed their call for a fresh inquiry into the events of 'Bloody Sunday'.

February 1997

Sunday 2 February 1997
Commemoration: A march was held in Derry to commemorate the 25th anniversary of 'Bloody Sunday'. The march attracted an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 people.

Tuesday 4 February 1997
Apology: Ken Maginnis, then Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Member of Parliament (MP), called on the British government to apologise for 'Bloody Sunday'.

Friday 14 February 1997
Inquiry Demand: Relatives of those killed on 'Bloody Sunday' met with Patrick Mayhew, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, to put the case for a fresh inquiry in the events of 30 January 1972.

Saturday 15 February 1997
Inquiry Demand: Patrick Mayhew, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, said that there would be no official apology or no new inquiry into the killings on 'Bloody Sunday'. The relatives of those killed on 30 January 1972 expressed outrage and disappointment.

Thursday 20 February 1997
Bloody Sunday: Edward Heath, former British Prime Minister, was criticised by Nationalists for comments he made about the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping and his part in the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989. Speaking on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) programme Newsnight Heath said that "we can criticise it [the massacre] in exactly the same way as people criticise 'Bloody Sunday' in Northern Ireland, but that isn't, by any means, the whole story."

March 1997

Monday 10 March 1997
Victims: The parents of Stephen Restorick, a British soldier who had been shot dead by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) on 12 February 1997, received a letter of condolence from Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF).

Sunday 16 March 1997
Bloody Sunday: An article in the Sunday Post carried claims by a former member of the Parachute Regiment of the British Army that on 'Bloody Sunday' (30 January 1972) some of his fellow soldiers had deliberately killed unarmed civilians. John Bruton, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), called on the British government to investigate this new evidence.

Sunday 30 March 1997
Commemoration: Various Republican groups held commemorations of the Easter Rising, which took place in Dublin in 1916, at locations across Northern Ireland. The groups involved were: SF, Republican SF, the Workers' Party, and the Official Republican Movement.

April 1997

Sunday 27 April 1997
Victims: Robert Hamill, a Catholic civilian, was severely beaten in a sectarian attack by a gang of up to 30 loyalists in the centre of Portadown, County Armagh. [Hamill died from head injuries on 8 May 1997.] Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers were present close to the scene of the attack in a police vehicle some 30 meters away and were accused by witnesses and Hamill's family of not intervening to save him. [The Independent Commission for Police Complaints later began an investigation into the incident. Later still a public Inquiry was held into the killing and the police action.]

May 1997

Thursday 1 May 1997
General Election
Policy: A general election was held across the United Kingdom (UK). [When all the votes were counted the Labour Party had won a majority in the House of Commons of 147 seats and had returned to power for the first time since 1979.]

Saturday 3 May 1997
Mowlam Appointed Secretary of State
Policy: Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, appointed Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam as the new Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

Thursday 8 May 1997
Victims: Robert Hamill (25), a Catholic civilian, died as a result of injuries sustained in a sectarian attack in the centre of Portadown on 27 April 1997. Hamill, who left a wife and three children, had been savagely beaten by a loyalist gang and it was claimed that Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers sitting in a police vehicle some 30 meters away did not intervene to save him. [The Independent Commission for Police Complaints later began an investigation into the incident.]

Monday 12 May 1997
Victims: Sean Brown (61), a Catholic civilian, was abducted and killed by members of the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF). [On 19 January 2004 the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland published a report that was highly critical of the police investigation into Brown's killing (PDF File; 432KB).]

Friday 16 May 1997
Blair Keynote Speech
Policy: Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, travelled to Belfast to deliver a speech on Northern Ireland. The issue of victims was not mentioned in the speech.

Tuesday 20 May 1997
Inquiry Demand: John Hume, then leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), tabled a motion in the House of Commons calling on the British government to conduct a new inquiry into the events of 'Bloody Sunday' in Derry on 30 January 1972.

Wednesday 28 May 1997
Bloody Sunday: John Bruton, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), briefed the relatives of those killed on 'Bloody Sunday' on a report being prepared by the Irish government on the killings on 30 January 1972. Bruton said that a "grave injustice" had been done to the families of the dead. [The report contained new information on events of the day and was eventually presented to the British government.]

June 1997

July 1997

Thursday 3 July 1997
Inquiry Demand: Relatives of those killed on 'Bloody Sunday' presented a 40,000 signature petition for a new inquiry into the killings to Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

Tuesday 22 July 1997
Enquiry Demand: The relatives of the 33 people killed by bombs in Dublin and Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland on 17 May 1974, said that they would take the case to Europe because of the failure of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) to establish a murder enquiry.

Wednesday 23 July 1997
Enquiry Demand: In the European Parliament, MEPs from many countries supported a call for the release of files related to the Dublin and Monaghan bombings in the Republic of Ireland on 17 May 1974 which resulted in the deaths of 33 people. The relatives of those killed claimed that the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) had hampered the investigations of the Garda Síochána (the Irish police) . [Although the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) admitted responsibility for the bombs many commentators claimed that there had also been British Intelligence involvement.]

August 1997

Sunday 3 August 1997
Commemoration: The 25th anniversary of the bombing of Claudy, County Derry was marked in the village when approximately 1,500 people attended an open air service. [Although no group claimed responsibility for the explosions it was widely believed that the Irish Republican Army (IRA) had planted the three car bombs in the village which resulted in the deaths of nine people. Inadequate warnings were given about the bombs.]

Wednesday 27 August 1997
Legal Action: Relatives of the 33 people killed in bombings in Dublin and Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland on 17 May 1974 failed in their court attempt to get the Garda Síochána (the Irish police) to release the files on their investigations of the bombings.

September 1997

Monday 1 September 1997
Inquest: Relatives of three men that were shot dead on 13 January 1990 by undercover soldiers walked out of an inquest in Belfast in protest at the "restricted scope" of the inquiry. [The three men, Edward Hale (25), John McNeill (43), and Peter Thompson (23), all Catholic civilians, were shot dead during an attempted robbery at Sean Graham's bookmaker's shop at the junction of Whiterock Road and Falls Road, Belfast.]

Friday 26 September 1997
Memorial: A memorial to the 33 people who were killed in the Dublin and Monaghan bombs in the Republic of Ireland on 17 May 1974 was unveiled in Talbot Street in Dublin.

October 1997

Monday 20 October 1997
Inquest: There were disturbances during an inquest at the Coroners Court in Derry into the killing on 12 November 1990 of Alex Patterson (31), then a member of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA), by members of an undercover British Army unit. [It was believed that the soldiers responsible were members of the Special Air Service (SAS).] The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) were called to clear the court and the police used their batons during scuffles.

Friday 24 October 1997
Victims Commission Announced
Victims Commission: Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, announced the formation of a Victims Commission which would be headed by Sir Kenneth Bloomfield. The commission was established "to look at possible ways to recognise the pain and suffering felt by victims of violence arising from the troubles of the last 30 years, including those who have died or been injured in the service of the community".

Thursday 30 October 1997
Inquiry Demand: The United Nations (UN) called for an judicial inquiry into the killing of Pat Finucane, at the time a solicitor based in Belfast, on 12 February 1989. Finucane had represented a number of Republicans in high profile cases. The Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF), a covername used by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), claimed responsibility for the killing. Republicans alleged that the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) had colluded with the UFF in targeting Finucane. The UN also criticised the Law Society for not defending lawyers from threats and harassment from members of the security forces.

November 1997

Sunday 9 November 1997
Victims: The body of Raymond McCord (22), a Protestant civilian, was discovered at Ballyduff quarry, near Belfast. Loyalist paramilitaries were believed to be responsible for the killing although the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) denied any involvement in his death.
Apology: During a radio interview on the tenth anniversary of the Enniskillen bomb which killed 11 people on 8 November 1987, Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), said he was "deeply sorry about what happened".

Thursday 13 November 1997
Inquiry Demand: During a visit to Washington, United States of America (USA), Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, said that she would try to meet the deadline set for the multi-party talks at Stormont. She also "vowed" to help establish a new inquiry into the events of 'Bloody Sunday' in Derry on 30 January 1972.

Wednesday 19 November 1997
Victims' Commission: Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, wrote to Sir Kenneth Bloomfield, then head of the Victims Commission, with the following formal Terms of Reference: "To lead the Commission and to examine the feasibility of providing greater recognition for those who have become victims in the last thirty years as a consequence of events in Northern Ireland, recognising that those events have also had appalling repercussions for many people not living in Northern Ireland"

December 1997

Monday 1 December 1997
Inquiry Demand: Unionists demanded an inquiry into the events surrounding the 1970 arms trial in Dublin. [The trial began on 28 May 1970 into a plot to smuggle guns from the Republic of Ireland to the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in Northern Ireland. This demand for an inquiry was seen as an attempt to obtain a quid pro quo for any new inquiry into events on 'Bloody Sunday' on 30 January 1972.]

Monday 15 December 1997
Legal Action: The family of Robert Hamill launched an appeal for funds to allow them to bring a private prosecution against his killers and member of the RUC. [Hamill, a Catholic civilian, was severely beaten in a sectarian attack by a gang of up to 30 loyalists in the centre of Portadown, County Armagh, on 27 April 1997 and died of his injuries on 8 May 1997. It was alleged that RUC officers in a vehicle nearby did not intervene to save his life.]

Saturday 27 December 1997
Billy Wright Shot Dead in Maze Prison
Victims: Members of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) shot and killed Billy Wright (37), then leader of the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF), within the Maze Prison. [In the coming weeks 10 Catholics were shot dead by the LVF and the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF). A Public Inquiry into the killing of Wright was eventually held.]

Monday 29 December 1997
Inquiry: Adam Ingram, then Security Minister, announced that the inquiry into the escape of Liam Averill from the Maze Prison would be extended to include the killing of Billy Wright.

Notes
Information contained within square brackets [   ] may contain commentary or information that only became publicly available at a later date. Any piece of information which is followed by a question mark in parenthesis (?) is a best estimate while awaiting an update.

See also:
The main CAIN chronology of the conflict
The Sutton Index of Deaths 1969-2001