A memorial service took place on Monday (September 1) to mark the 50th anniversary of the Tullyvallen massacre.
Events have also taken place across Northern Ireland as part of ‘Orange Victims Day’ to remember all victims of The Troubles who were members of the Orange Order.
On September 1 1975, members of the self-declared South Armagh Republican Action Force attacked the Tullyvallen Orange Hall – just outside Newtownhamilton – while a meeting was taking place.
Five men were killed in the attack and seven were wounded. It was the Orange Order’s largest loss of life on a single day during The Troubles.
Those who were killed in the Tullyavllen attack were: John Johnston (80); James McKee (73); Ronnie McKee (40); Nevin McConnell (48); and William Herron (68).
Despite a truce having been in effect at the time of the shooting, it is believed that the Provisional IRA were responsible for the murders.
At about 10pm on September 1, two masked gunmen – armed with assault rifles – entered the Tullyvallen Orange Hall and indiscriminately fired shots towards attendees. Other gunmen stood outside the hall and fired through the windows. An off-duty RUC officer who was in the hall at the time fired back at the attackers, wounding one. As they were leaving, the gunmen placed a two-pound bomb outside the hall, however, it failed to detonate.
In the weeks prior to the attack, loyalist gunmen had killed five Catholics in the Armagh area in two separate sectarian attacks. Following the Tullyvallen attack, a caller to the BBC claimed that the murders were carried out in retaliation for those murders.
In November 1977, John Anthony McCooey – from Cullyhanna – was convicted of driving the gunmen to and from the hall during the night in question. Nobody else has been convicted in relation to the attack.
Speaking ahead of the commemorations Carla Lockhart of the DUP said: “Today we pause to remember the 342 members of the Orange Institution who were murdered during the Troubles. All innocent victims, many targeted as part of a vile, sectarian campaign of border ethnic cleansing.
“The date of 1st September was chosen with solemn significance. It is the anniversary of the 1975 Tullyvallen Massacre one of the most brutal atrocities of the IRA’s terrorist campaign, and today marks its 50th Anniversary.
“As the members of Tullyvallen Orange Hall bowed in prayer, two gunmen stormed in and opened fire. Five Orangemen were murdered in cold blood. More lives would have been lost had it not been for the courage of an off-duty RUC officer who returned fire. This horrific attack left a lasting scar on the small Protestant community of south Armagh, and stands as a stark reminder of the suffering inflicted on innocent people.”
Also speaking yesterday, Jonathan Buckley MLA said: “Today marks 50 years since the horrific Tullyvallen Orange Hall Massacre of 1975, in which 5 innocent lives were brutally taken by PIRA terrorists.
“As heads were bowed in prayer, two terrorists stormed in and opened fire. This massacre was the largest loss of life suffered by the Orange Order in a single attack.
“This day also poignantly marks Orange Victims Day, a day in which we pause to remember the 342 members of the Orange Institution who were murdered by terrorists throughout the Troubles.”
