# Darkley killings

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Mass shooting near Darkley, County Antrim (1983)

Darkley killings Part of the Troubles The church where the killings took place Location 54°13′05″N 6°40′20″W / 54.2181°N 6.6723°W / 54.2181; -6.6723 Darkley, County Armagh, Northern Ireland Date 20 November 1983 19:00 (GMT) Attack type Mass shooting Deaths 3 Injured 7 Perpetrators Members of the INLA using the covername "Catholic Reaction Force"

v t e The Troubles in Ireland 1960s and 1970s Battle of the Bogside/1969 riots RTÉ bombing Operation Banner Battle of St Matthew's Falls Curfew Crossmaglen bombing Scottish soldiers' killings Operation Demetrius Ballymurphy massacre Newry killings Red Lion Pub bombing McGurk's Bar bombing Balmoral showroom bombing Bloody Sunday Abercorn Restaurant bombing Donegall St bombing Battle at Springmartin Dungiven ambush Battle of Lenadoon Springhill massacre Bloody Friday Operation Motorman Claudy bombing Newry customs bombing Benny's Bar bombing Annie's Bar massacre Belturbet bombing Dublin bombings New Lodge Six shooting Coleraine bombings Rose & Crown Bar bombing Clogher barracks attack Dublin & Monaghan bombings Mountainview Tavern attack Bleary Darts Club shooting Strand Bar bombing Forkhill beer keg bomb Miami Showband killings Bayardo Bar attack Tullyvallen massacre October 1975 attacks Drummuckavall ambush Dublin Airport bombing Dundalk & Silverbridge attacks Central Bar bombing Reavey and O'Dowd killings Kingsmill massacre Castleblayney bombing Hillcrest Bar bombing Flagstaff Hill incident Charlemont pub attacks Walker's Bar attack Chlorane Bar attack Ramble Inn attack Stag Inn attack Andersonstown incident Garryhinch ambush 1976 Balmoral bombing Jonesborough Gazelle shootdown La Mon restaurant bombing Warrenpoint ambush Dungannon land mine attack 1980s Dunmurry train bombing Lough Foyle attacks Altnaveigh landmine attack Glasdrumman ambush Divis Flats bombing Droppin Well bombing Ballygawley land mine attack Darkley killings Kesh ambush Strabane ambush Newry mortar attack Ballygawley barracks attack Birches barracks attack Clontibret invasion Loughgall ambush Remembrance Day bombing Funeral Murders Milltown Cemetery attack Corporals killings Avenue Bar shooting Lisburn van bombing Aughanduff Lynx shootdown Ballygawley bus bombing Drumnakilly ambush Jonesborough ambush Derryard checkpoint attack 1990s Derrygorry Gazelle shootdown Downpatrick landmine attack Operation Conservation Armagh City roadside bombing Fort Victoria Proxy bombings Lough Neagh ambush Silverbridge Lynx shootdown Mullacreevie ambush Cappagh killings Craigavon mobile shop killings Glenanne barracks bombing Coagh ambush Musgrave Park Hospital bombing Craigavon Hyster killings Teebane bombing Sinn Féin Headquarters shooting Sean Graham bookmakers' shooting Clonoe ambush Cloghoge checkpoint attack Coalisland riots South Armagh sniper campaign Forensic Lab bombing James Murray's bookmakers attack Castlerock killings Cullaville occupation Battle of Newry Road Shankill Road bombing Greysteel massacre Fivemiletown ambush Crossmaglen Lynx shootdown Loughinisland massacre Killeeshil ambush Drumcree conflict Thiepval barracks bombing Coalisland attack 1997 riots Quinn brothers' killings Banbridge bombing Omagh bombing See also: The Troubles in Britain & Europe, Assassinations during the Troubles, and Loyalist feud

The **Darkley killings** or **Darkley massacre** was a gun attack carried out on 20 November 1983 near the village of [Darkley](/source/Darkley) in [County Armagh](/source/County_Armagh), [Northern Ireland](/source/Northern_Ireland). Three gunmen attacked worshippers attending a [church service](/source/Church_service) at Mountain Lodge [Pentecostal](/source/Pentecostalism) Church, killing three [Protestant](/source/Ulster_Protestants) civilians and wounding seven. The attackers were members of the [Irish National Liberation Army](/source/Irish_National_Liberation_Army) (INLA) acting on their own. They claimed responsibility using the cover name "Catholic Reaction Force", saying it was retaliation for recent sectarian attacks on [Catholics](/source/Irish_Catholics) by the [loyalist](/source/Ulster_loyalism) "[Protestant Action Force](/source/Protestant_Action_Force)".[1] The attack was condemned by the INLA leadership.

## Background

In the months before the Darkley killings, several Catholic civilians were killed by loyalists. On 29 October 1983, a Catholic civilian member of the [Workers' Party](/source/Workers'_Party_(Ireland)), David Nocher (26), was shot dead in Belfast.[2][3] On 8 November, Catholic civilian Adrian Carroll (24) was shot dead in [Armagh](/source/Armagh),[2][4] UDR personnel were later convicted but the convictions were cleared on appeal for three of them (see [UDR Four](/source/UDR_Four) case).[5] Carroll was the brother of an INLA member who was killed a year earlier.[6] These attacks were claimed by the "[Protestant Action Force](/source/Protestant_Action_Force)" (PAF), a cover name used mostly by members of the [Ulster Volunteer Force](/source/Ulster_Volunteer_Force). It is believed the Darkley killings were primarily a retaliation for the killing of Carroll.[6]

## Attack

On the evening of Sunday 20 November, about sixty people were attending a church service at Mountain Lodge Pentecostal Church.[1] The small, isolated wooden church was outside the village of Darkley, near the [border with the Republic of Ireland](/source/Republic_of_Ireland%E2%80%93United_Kingdom_border) and several miles from Armagh. As the service began, three masked gunmen arrived,[1] and opened fire on those standing at the entrance.[7] Three church elders were killed: Harold Browne (59), Victor Cunningham (39) and David Wilson (44).[1][8] The fatally wounded Wilson staggered into the service, where he collapsed and died.[1] The gunmen then stood outside the building and sprayed it with bullets, wounding a further seven people,[1][9] before fleeing in a car.[6] The service was being tape-recorded when the attack took place. On the [cassette tape](/source/Cassette_tape), the congregation can be heard singing the hymn "[Are You Washed in the Blood?](/source/Are_You_Washed_in_the_Blood%3F)", followed by the sound of gunfire.[1] All of the victims were Protestant civilians.[1]

## Aftermath

In a telephone call to a journalist, a caller claimed responsibility for the attack on behalf of the "Catholic Reaction Force". He said it was "retaliation for the murderous sectarian campaign carried out by the Protestant Action Force" and added, "By this token retaliation we could easily have taken the lives of at least 20 more innocent Protestants. We serve notice on the PAF to call an immediate halt to their vicious indiscriminate campaign against innocent Catholics, or we will make the Darkley killings look like a picnic". The caller named nine Catholics who had been attacked.[1]

The name "Catholic Reaction Force" had never been used before, and police said they believed the attack was carried out by members of the INLA.[6] The INLA condemned the attack and denied direct involvement, but said it was investigating the involvement of INLA members or weapons.[10] A week later, INLA leader [Dominic McGlinchey](/source/Dominic_McGlinchey) admitted that one of the gunmen had been an INLA member and admitted supplying him with the gun,[11] but said there was no justification for the attack. The INLA member's brother had been killed by loyalists. McGlinchey explained that the INLA member had asked him for a gun to shoot a known loyalist who had been involved in sectarian killings.[11] However, "clearly deranged by the death of his brother", he "used it instead to attack the Darkley Gospel Hall".[12] McGlinchey said: "he must have been unbalanced or something to have gone and organised this killing. We are conducting an inquiry".[11]

There were reprisal sectarian attacks on Catholics in North Belfast, Lisburn, and Portadown within 24 hours of the Darkley massacre.[13] On 5 December, fifteen days after the Darkley attack, the PAF shot dead INLA member Joseph Craven (26) in [Newtownabbey](/source/Newtownabbey).[2]

The name "Catholic Reaction Force" was used several other times. In August 1984 it was used to issue a threat to newspapers against the families of [Royal Ulster Constabulary](/source/Royal_Ulster_Constabulary) (RUC) officers, after a Catholic man ([Sean Downes](/source/Sean_Downes)) died after the RUC shot him with a plastic bullet during an anti-internment march on the Andersontown Road, Belfast.[14] In May 1986 it was used to claim the killing of Protestant civilian David Wilson (39), who was shot while driving his firm's van in [Donaghmore](/source/Donaghmore%2C_County_Tyrone). The IRA also claimed responsibility, saying Wilson was a member of the [UDR](/source/Ulster_Defence_Regiment).[15] The "Catholic Reaction Force" declared a ceasefire on 28 October 1994.[16] In 2001 the name was used to claim two attacks on homes in which there were no injuries,[17] and in 2002 was used to issue a threat to hospital workers suspected of links to the security forces.[18]

## See also

- [Kingsmill massacre](/source/Kingsmill_massacre)– sectarian mass shooting in Northern Ireland in 1976

- [South Armagh Republican Action Force](/source/South_Armagh_Republican_Action_Force)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-lostlives_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-lostlives_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-lostlives_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-lostlives_1-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-lostlives_1-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-lostlives_1-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-lostlives_1-6) [***h***](#cite_ref-lostlives_1-7) [***i***](#cite_ref-lostlives_1-8) David McKittrick; Seamus Kelters; Brian Feeney; Chris Thornton; David McVea (2001). [*Lost Lives: The Stories of the Men, Women and Children who Died as a Result of the Northern Ireland Troubles*](https://books.google.com/books?id=sdYcw7Zs3W4C&pg=PA963). pp. 963–964. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1840185041](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1840185041).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-cain-all-83_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-cain-all-83_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-cain-all-83_2-2) Sutton, Malcolm. ["Sutton Index of Deaths: 1983"](http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/sutton/chron/1983.html). [Conflict Archive on the Internet](/source/Conflict_Archive_on_the_Internet) (CAIN).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** McKittrick, *Lost Lives*, pp.956-957

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** gov.uk, Police Legacy FOI Team (20 July 2018). ["Request for information"](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/762914/07254.pdf) (PDF).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["UDR soldier cleared of Catholic murder: 'I've suffered far more than the guys who were found guilty and were then compensated'"](https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/udr-soldier-cleared-of-catholic-murder-ive-suffered-far-more-than-the-guys-who-were-found-guilty-and-were-then-compensated-31004373.html). *Belfast Telegraph*. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0307-1235](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0307-1235). Retrieved 20 November 2020.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-nyt_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-nyt_6-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-nyt_6-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-nyt_6-3) ["Gunmen Fire Into Ulster Church; 3 Protestants Killed, 7 Wounded"](https://www.nytimes.com/1983/11/21/world/gunmen-fire-into-ulster-church-3-protestants-killed-7-wounded.html). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. 21 November 1983.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Jess, Mervyn (19 November 2023). ["Darkley: A singing congregation silenced by gunfire"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-67452402). *BBC News*. Retrieved 19 November 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Sutton Index of Deaths"](http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/cgi-bin/dyndeaths.pl?querytype=date&day=20&month=11&year=1983). [Conflict Archive on the Internet](/source/Conflict_Archive_on_the_Internet) (CAIN). Retrieved 31 October 2015.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Chronology of the Conflict: 1983"](http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch83.htm#Nov). [Conflict Archive on the Internet](/source/Conflict_Archive_on_the_Internet) (CAIN). Retrieved 31 October 2015.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** *[The Starry Plough](/source/The_Starry_Plough_(magazine))*. [November/December 1983 issue](https://www.angelfire.com/space/derryirsp/starryplough198311.htm). p.5

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-dilemma_11-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-dilemma_11-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-dilemma_11-2) *Ireland's Terrorist Dilemma*. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1986. pp.104-105

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Coogan, Tim. *The IRA*. Palgrave Macmillan, 2002. pp.535-536

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** *[Fortnight Magazine](/source/Fortnight_Magazine)*, Issue 200, p. 9-10. Fortnight Publications, 1984.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** *Aberdeen Evening Express*, 15 August 1984.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** McKittrick, *Lost Lives*, p.1037

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** ["Chronology of the Conflict: 1994"](http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch94.htm#Oct). [Conflict Archive on the Internet](/source/Conflict_Archive_on_the_Internet) (CAIN).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** ["Controlled explosion on suspect device"](https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/1501785.stm). BBC News. 21 August 2001.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** ["Hospital staff get threats"](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/aug/06/northernireland). [The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian). 6 August 2002.

v t e INLA and the IRSP General The Troubles Official Sinn Féin Official IRA Irish Republican Socialist Movement The Starry Plough Marxism–Leninism Blanket protest Dirty protest HM Prison Maze Anti H-Block 1981 Irish hunger strike July 1997 riots Northern Ireland peace process Good Friday Agreement Organized crime INLA Belfast Brigade Attacks Central Bar bombing Assassination of Airey Neave 1982 Divis Flats bombing Droppin Well bombing Darkley killings (denied) Trevor King Personalities Jimmy Brown Ronnie Bunting Patrick Campbell Seamus Costello Miriam Daly Mickey Devine Bernadette Devlin Gino Gallagher Raymond Gilmour Tony Gregory Dessie Grew Seamus Grew Stephen King Harry Kirkpatrick Kevin Lynch Dominic McGlinchey Christopher "Crip" McWilliams Colm Murphy Patsy O'Hara Dessie O'Hare Martin "Rook" O'Prey Michael Plunkett Thomas "Ta" Power Mary Reid Gerard Steenson Hugh Torney Sammy Ward Johnnie White Associates Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America Derivatives Independent Socialist Party Irish People's Liberation Organisation Republican Socialist Collective Prominent killings Billy McMillen Henry Byrne John Morley William McCullough John McKeague Patrick Joseph Morrissey Trevor King Billy Wright

v t e Murders in the United Kingdom in the 1980s 1980 Dunmurry train bombing (17 January) Elizabeth McCabe (11 February) Iranian Embassy siege (30 April – 5 May) Jessie Earl (15–18 May) John Turnley (5 June) Patsy Morris (16 June) Miriam Daly (26 June) Denmark Place fire (16 August) John Greenwood and Gary Miller (16 August) 1981 James and Norman Stronge (21 January) Marion Crofts (6 June) Karen Price (c. 2 July) Vishal Mehrotra (c. 29 July) Jennifer Cardy (12 August) Charles Armstrong (c. 16 August) Claire Woolterton (27 August) Nude in the Nettles (28 August) Chelsea Barracks bombing (10 October) Kenneth Howorth (28 October) Pamela Hastie (4 November) Robert Bradford (14 November) 1982 Roberto Calvi (17 June) David Haigh, George Luckett and David Winter (17, 23 & 28 June) Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombings (20 July) Susan Maxwell (c. 30 July) Divis Flats bombing (16 September) Droppin Well bombing (6 December) 1983 Sheila Anderson (7 February) Caroline Hogg (c. 8 July) Peter Arne (1 August) George Murdoch (29 September) Colette Aram (30 October) Darkley killings (20 November) Lynda Mann (21 November) Edgar Graham (7 December) Harrods bombing (17 December) 1984 Ravindra Mhatre (6 February) Hilda Murrell (c. 24 March) Mary Travers (8 April) Yvonne Fletcher (17 April) Mark Tildesley (1 June) Brian Bishop (27 August) Brighton hotel bombing (12 October) Anthony Berry (12 October) Dierdre Sainsbury (December) Lisa Hession (8 December) 1985 Aristos Constantinou (1 January) Newry mortar attack (28 February) Carole Packman (June) White House Farm murders (6–7 August) Catherine and Gerard Mahon (8 September) Barry Lewis (15 September) Keith Blakelock (6 October) Jason Swift (November) Attack on Ballygawley barracks (7 December) Northolt siege (25–26 December) Alison Day (29 December) 1986 Sarah Harper (c. 26 March) Maartje Tamboezer (17 April) Anne Lock (18 May) Dawn Ashworth (31 July) Diane Sindall (2 August) Ughill Hall shootings (21 September) Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway (9 October) Linda Cook (9 December) 1987 Daniel Morgan (10 March) Helen Fleet (28 March) Maurice and Cecily Gibson (25 April) Heather West (c. 19 June) Hungerford massacre (19 August) Naji al-Ali (29 August) Simon Dale (September) Shirley Banks (c. 8 October) 1987 Redfield and Patchway spree killings (14 October) Remembrance Day bombing (8 November) Dormers Wells High School shooting (11 November) Jayatirtha Dasa (13 November) George Seawright (3 December) John McMichael (22 December) 1988 Helen McCourt (c. 9 February) Lynette White (14 February) Milltown Cemetery attack (16 March) Gillian Johnston (18 March) Corporals killings (19 March) Deborah Linsley (23 March) Avenue Bar shooting (15 May) Tessa Davies (1 June) Robert Seymour (15 June) Marie Wilks (18 June) Pan Am Flight 103 (21 December) Matthew Gannon (21 December) 1989 Pat Finucane (12 February) Monkseaton shootings (30 April) Raymond Codling (14 September) Deal barracks bombing (22 September) Alwyn Harris (8 October) 1970s 1990s

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Darkley killings](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darkley_killings) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darkley_killings?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.