November 22 1974
ANGRY condemnation of the bomb attacks on Birmingham public houses in which 19 people, five of them women, were killed and 120 injured came last night from leading politicians and a number of organisations in Northern Ireland and Britain – including a prominent member of Provisional Sinn Fein.
The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association in Belfast expressed “utter horror and condemnation of the carnage in Birmingham” and demanded the Provisional IRA, whether responsible or not, should end their bombing campaign immediately “before Northern Ireland is plunged into Civil War”.
The NICRA statement said: “Those of us in Northern Ireland who seek change through peaceful methods are facing an increasingly difficult task with every bomb that explodes either here or in Britain, and with every life that is lost.”
Seven bombs exploded in Birmingham last night but two of them in crowded pubs – the Mulberry Bush beneath the 17-storey Rotunda office block, and the Tavern in the Town – caused all the casualties. Other bombs exploded nearby after other public houses, dance halls and other buildings had been cleared.
A pale-faced porter, close to tears, told how he had the gruesome task of helping to carry the remains of one of the victims into Birmingham General Hospital Mortuary.
He said: “The poor man was blown limb from limb – it’s a sight I shall never forget”.
A young girl, distressed and crying said she was drinking in the Tavern in the Town when the bomb went off.
“I went over to the bar and suddenly there was an almighty bang. The ceiling came down and the lights went out. I remember my boyfriend holding my face to his chest. Then, I saw a girl who had lost her foot. It was terrible. You can’t say how you feel. I thought I was dead. I heard people shouting ‘Irish bastards’.”
Inside Birmingham General Hospital, early today as relatives and friends waited for news, a canteen was turned into a reception centre for more than 150 people waiting to hear who had survived.
Women sobbed as police officers told them “no trace at present”. For one woman it was too much – she yelled out and collapsed after being told the bad news.
The Birmingham pub bombings resulted in the deaths of 21 people with over 200 more injured, in what was the worst bombings in Britain since the Blitz during the Second World War.
