Kingsmills Massacre

All they wanted to do was carry out their normal lives, but even that is not possible as demonstrated by the Kingsmills Massacre on 5th January 1976 when 10 Protestant workmen were killed.

12 workmen returning from a linen mill were hoarded out of their mini-bus at gun point and lined up along the road. The single Roman Catholic among them was ordered to turn around and walk away. The Republican gunmen then mercilessly opened fire slaughtering 10 of the 11 Protestants

They were left lying in pools of blood with their lunchboxes strewn all over the road while their killers drove off cheering and triumphant at a job well done.  The youngest victim was only a boy of 18 years young, others included a Missionary and a Church Sunday School teacher.

How anyone could carry out such an attack is beyond the realms of any right minded thinking person.  This attack is the largest savage attack ever carried out using gunfire such is the gravity of this attack.  One has to question how anyone could even try to justify this senseless, unprovoked murder against humanity.

However, crazed, psychopathic and bloodthirsty killers sanctioned this attack which is glorified within Republican folklore.  This attack shattered a community where Protestant and Catholic live shoulder to shoulder.  Trust and confidence has never been re-built since this outrage such was the impact it had on the local community,

Every time one travels this road this road a cold shiver runs down the spine as you cannot begin to forget what took place that awful night.  This slaughter of innocents stands as a constant reminder to Protestants in South Armagh as to the depths of depravity Republican death squads are prepared to stoop to "In the name of Ireland".  In the words of a Protestant Archbishop at the time "Better to be shot dead than to shoot, these words live on".

On 5th January 2001 a service was held to commemorate the 25th anniversary of this atrocity. Following are some scenes from that event.

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