1980s 1990s On 28 February 1985, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) launched a heavy mortar attack on the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) base at Corry Square in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland.

The first was on 19 March 1979, when Private Peter Woolmore of the Queen's Regiment was killed in a mortar attack on Newtownhamilton British Army base.

[citation needed] British prime minister Margaret Thatcher called the attack "barbaric", while the Republic of Ireland's Taoiseach, Garret FitzGerald, said it was "cruel and cynical", and pledged the help of the Irish security forces to catch those responsible.

[11] On 4 September, an RUC training centre in Enniskillen was attacked; 30 cadets narrowly escaped death due to poor intelligence-gathering by the IRA unit responsible.

[11][12] In November 1986, the IRA launched another attack on the RUC base in Newry, but the bombs fell short of their target and landed on houses.

A four-year-old Catholic girl was badly wounded and another 38 people were hurt, prompting the IRA to admit that "this incident left us open to justified criticism".