1996 in Northern Ireland

Incumbents

• Secretary of State - Patrick Mayhew

Events

• 24 January - The international body proposes six principles of democracy and non-violence ('the Mitchell principles') as conditions for entry to all-party talks in Northern Ireland.
• 9 February - A large Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb explodes in the London Docklands area, near Canary Wharf, injuring around forty, and marking the end of a 17-month IRA ceasefire.
• 17 March - a three year old is killed by the RUC in Dungannon.
• 31 March - Crumlin Road (HM Prison) in Belfast is closed.
• c. April - Northern Ireland Women's Coalition formed.[[File:Northern_Ireland_Forum_1996.png|thumb |Northern Ireland Forum seats in 1996.]]
• 30 May - Elections to the Northern Ireland Forum.
• 7–11 July - Drumcree conflict: A standoff over the annual Orange Order parade at Drumcree leads to rioting here and elsewhere in Northern Ireland. There are two related deaths and around 150 injuries.
• 1 October - Radio station Belfast CityBeat begins broadcasting.
• 7 October - Thiepval barracks bombing: The IRA explodes two car bombs inside the British Army headquarters at Lisburn, killing one soldier and injuring 37 other people.

Arts and literature

• August - Marie Jones' play Stones in His Pockets premieres in Belfast.
• The Hole in the Wall Gang win a Royal Television Society Award for Best Regional Programme for the comedy Two Ceasefires and a Wedding, the 1995 pilot for Give My Head Peace.
• Seamus Deane publishes his novel Reading in the Dark.
• Seamus Heaney publishes his poetry collection The Spirit Level which wins the poetry section of the 1996 Whitbread Awards.
• Deirdre Madden publishes her novel One by One in the Darkness which is shortlisted for the 1997 Orange Prize for Fiction.
• Robert McLiam Wilson publishes his novel Eureka Street.

Sport

Football

• Irish League ::Winners: Portadown

• Irish Cup ::Winners: Glentoran 1 - 0 Glenavon

Motorcycling

• 20 April - Robert Dunlop, after an accident in 1994, returns to race in the Cookstown 100, taking ninth place in the 125cc race won by brother, Joey Dunlop.

Births

• 15 February - Blue Hydrangea (Joshua Cargill), drag queen

Deaths

• 12 February - Bob Shaw, science fiction novelist (born 1931).
• 6 August - Havelock Nelson, composer and pianist (born 1917).
• 1 October - Pat McGeown, volunteer in the Provisional Irish Republican Army, took part in the 1981 Irish hunger strike (born 1956).
• 4 October - Humphrey Atkins, fifth Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
• 17 December - Ruby Murray, singer (born 1935).

Full date unknown

• Arthur Armstrong, painter (born 1924).

References

References

1. Edwards, Aaron. (2011). "The Northern Ireland Troubles". Osprey Publishing.
2. (1996-02-10). "1996: Docklands bomb ends IRA ceasefire". [[BBC News]].
3. "Crumlin Road Gaol - A Must See attraction in Belfast City". goireland.com.
4. Deane, Seamus. (1996). "Reading in the Dark". Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
5. (1999-09-08). "Eureka Street and me: Robert McLiam Wilson has put a lot of himself into Eureka Street, his novel and now TV drama". [[Evening Standard]].