Chronology of Provisional Irish Republican Army actions (1980–89)

This is a chronology of activities by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) from 1980 to 1989. For actions before and after this period see Chronology of Provisional Irish Republican Army actions.

1980

 * 2 January: An ex-British soldier was shot dead by the IRA near Bessbrook, County Armagh.
 * 3 January: A Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officer was shot dead by the IRA on the Main Street of Newtownbutler, County Fermanagh.
 * 6 January: Three soldiers of the British Army's Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) were killed by a landmine near Castlewellan, County Down.
 * 12 January: An RUC officer was shot dead when an IRA unit ambushed a foot patrol at Seaview football grounds in Belfast.
 * 17 January: An IRA bomb detonated prematurely on a train near Dunmurry. One of the bombers and two civilians were killed.
 * 18 January: A prison officer was shot dead by the IRA outside Derry.
 * 26 January: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper in the Ballymurphy area of Belfast.
 * 5 February: An off-duty UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA in County Fermanagh.
 * 11 February: Two RUC officers were killed and another was badly injured when the IRA detonated an 800 lb landmine on the main Rosslea - Lisnaskea road.
 * 16 February: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA unit in Bielefeld, West Germany.
 * 6 March: A former UDR soldier was shot dead on his farm at Cortynan near Tynan, County Armagh. He was also a member of the Orange Order.
 * 15 March: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper in Crossmaglen, South Armagh.
 * 21 March: A British soldier was killed when the IRA detonated a remote controlled bomb as a British Army patrol passed by in Crossmaglen, County Armagh.
 * 1 April: An IRA volunteer was killed in a premature bomb explosion in Newry.
 * 4 April: An RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA in Glenbank Industrial Estate, Belfast.
 * 9 April: An RUC patrol was ambushed by an IRA unit in the Suffolk area of Belfast. One RUC officer was shot dead.
 * 11 April: An RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA while on his way to work on Franklin Street, Belfast.
 * 25 April: The IRA shot dead a civilian at his home in the Lenadoon area of Belfast. The IRA claimed he was a British informant.
 * 2 May: An undercover British Army unit was ambushed by an IRA unit in the Antrim Road, Belfast. In the ensuing gun battle one undercover British soldier was killed.
 * 7 June: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA in Newtownbutler, County Fermanagh.
 * 28 June: A former British soldier was shot dead by the IRA at a cattle-market in County Monaghan.
 * 1 July: An IRA volunteer was shot dead by the RUC while running away from Whiterock Community Centre in the Ballymurphy area of Belfast.
 * 19 July: A British soldier was shot dead by the IRA while drinking in a pub in the Rosemount area of Derry.
 * 27 July: A British soldier was killed when the IRA detonated a remote-controlled bomb as a British foot patrol crossed the Moy bridge near Aughnacloy in County Tyrone.
 * 3 August: An off-duty British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while travelling in his car near Pettigo in County Donegal.
 * 9 August: A British soldier was killed in an IRA bomb attack on a foot-patrol in Forkhill, County Armagh.
 * 16 August: A civilian was shot dead by the IRA during a gun attack on an RUC patrol in the Ardoyne area of Belfast.
 * 12 September: An RUC officer who had been kidnapped by the IRA 12 days before was found shot dead in Newtownhamilton, County Armagh.
 * 23 September: An RUC officer was shot dead at his home in Roslea, County Fermanagh.
 * 10 October: A UDR soldier was killed in an IRA booby-trap bomb left under his car in Portadown, County Armagh. He was also a member of the Orange Order.
 * 13 October: A Garda Síochána officer was shot dead by the IRA in County Wexford after he attempted to stop a car containing an IRA unit.
 * 27 October: Seven republican prisoners, including Brendan Hughes, Tommy McKearney and Raymond McCartney, began the 1980 hunger strike.
 * 11 November: A British soldier was shot dead by the IRA while sitting in a stationary army vehicle at Altnagelvin hospital in Derry.
 * 26 November: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA while leaving an RUC base in Derrygonnelly, County Fermanagh.
 * 2 December: The IRA injured five people when it bombed a British Army barracks in London.
 * 16 December: IRA prisoner Gerard Tuite, who had been remanded in connection with 1978 bombing offences in London, escaped from Brixton Prison in London, along with armed robber Jimmy Moody and another prisoner.
 * 27 December: A civilian was shot dead during an IRA sniper attack on a British patrol in Strabane, County Tyrone.

1981

 * 16 January: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA in Warrenpoint, County Down.
 * 20 January: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while manning an observation post overlooking the Bogside area of Derry.
 * 21 January: Unionist politician Norman Stronge and his son James (who was an RUC officer) were killed in an IRA attack on their home, Tynan Abbey, near Middletown, County Armagh. Both were also members of the Orange Order.
 * 25 January: A British soldier was shot dead by the IRA during an attack on a British Army pedestrian checkpoint in Berry Street, Belfast.
 * 6 February: The British coal ship Nelly M was bombed and sunk by an IRA unit while at anchor in Lough Foyle.
 * 6 February: An RUC officer was shot dead during an IRA attack in the Malone area of Belfast.
 * 10 February: An off-duty UDR soldier was killed in an IRA gun attack on the Strand Road in Derry.
 * 23 February: An IRA volunteer was shot dead by the UVF at his home in the Falls area of Belfast.
 * 1 March: The 1981 hunger strike began in the Maze Prison when IRA prisoner Bobby Sands refused food.
 * 2 April: An RUC officer was killed in an IRA booby-trap bomb attack near Bessbrook, County Armagh.
 * 7 April: A masked gunman shot dead a woman who was collecting forms for the 1981 United Kingdom census at Anderson Crescent, Derry. Irish republicans were boycotting the census, which was being held during the 1981 hunger strike. Sinn Féin said the shooting was the work of people "frantically attempting to discredit the election campaign of hunger striker Bobby Sands". The RUC said that the gun had been used in two IRA "punishment shootings".
 * 10 April: Bobby Sands was elected Member of Parliament at Westminster for the Northern Ireland constituency of Fermanagh and South Tyrone in a by-election. The moderate nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party had decided not to run a candidate in protest at the British government's handling of the protest, which left Sands as the only nationalist candidate. Sands had been on a hunger strike for "Prisoner of War" or Special Category Status for 41 days prior to being elected.
 * 16 April: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA in Moy, County Tyrone.
 * 28 April: A UDR soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while traveling in a British Army vehicle in Castlewellan, County Down.
 * 5 May: Bobby Sands died after 66 days on hunger strike. His death caused riots in many parts of Northern Ireland, and also in the Republic of Ireland. An estimated 100,000 people attended his funeral.
 * 5 May: One IRA volunteer was injured and another arrested in a gun battle in south County Armagh. Twelve undercover British soldiers opened fire on a three-man IRA unit which resulted in a gun battle which lasted several minutes. The British troops fired nearly 700 rounds.
 * 6 May: An RUC officer was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on patrol in the Duncairn Gardens area of Belfast.
 * 8 May981: The IRA claimed responsibility for firing ten mortars at Newtownhamilton British Army/RUC base, County Armagh. Two British soldiers were hurt.
 * 9 May: A bomb exploded at an oil terminal in the Shetland Islands, while Queen Elizabeth II was attending a nearby function to mark the opening of the terminal.
 * 14 May: An RUC officer was killed when his patrol vehicle was hit by an IRA rocket on Springfield Road, Belfast. The rocket had been fired through the roof of the vehicle as it was driving along the road.
 * 19 May: Five British soldiers were killed when their Saracen armored personnel carrier was destroyed by a large IRA landmine planted in a culvert underneath Chancellors Road near Newry in County Armagh. Vehicle fragments and body parts were found over a 300 yard radius.
 * 23 May: Two British soldiers were injured when a British Army armoured vehicle was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade fired by an IRA unit at Andersonstown, Belfast.
 * 25 May: A UDR soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on patrol in Gulladuff, County Londonderry.
 * 28 May: An off-duty RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA in Whitecross, County Armagh. He was also a member of the Orange Order. On the same day two unarmed IRA volunteers, Charles Maguire (20) and George McBrearty (24) were killed in an undercover British Army ambush in Derry.
 * 31 May: An RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA in the Royal Victoria hospital in Belfast.
 * 3 June: A civilian was killed during an IRA gun attack on a British patrol in the Creggan area of Derry.
 * 5 June: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA in Lisnaskea, Fermanagh.
 * 10 June: Eight IRA prisoners being held on remand at Crumlin Road Jail in Belfast escaped after taking prison officers hostage, taking their uniforms and shooting their way out of the prison using three handguns that had been smuggled in.
 * 12 June: The IRA mortared Fort Pegasus British Army barracks in Belfast.
 * 17 June: An RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA in Beragh, Tyrone.
 * 20 June: An RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA while in a pub in Newry. Four mortars hit MacCrory Park British Army base in West Belfast, injuring four British soldiers. The IRA claimed responsibility and said it had evacuated a number of homes before the attack.
 * 9 July: An RUC officer was shot and wounded in an IRA gun attack on Springhill Avenue in Belfast.
 * 10 July: The IRA carried out a blast-bomb attack on Fort Pegasus British Army barracks in Belfast.
 * 13 July: A British soldier was shot and wounded in the arm by an IRA sniper in the Springhill area of Belfast.
 * 16 July: Eighteen undercover British soldiers who were waiting in ambush position for an expected IRA roadblock were themselves ambushed by a six man IRA unit near Glasdrumman in south County Armagh. The IRA fired over 250 rounds from an M60 machine gun killing one soldier and badly wounding another. See Glasdrumman ambush.
 * 31 July: A former RUC officer shot dead at a house in the Ballycolman area of Strabane.
 * 2 August: An RUC officer was killed when his patrol vehicle struck an IRA landmine near Omagh, Tyrone. A British soldier lost both legs when his armoured vehicle was hit by a rocket.
 * 5 September: A British soldier was shot dead by the IRA in the Stranmills area of Belfast.
 * 7 September: Two RUC officers were killed when their patrol vehicle struck an IRA landmine near Cappagh, County Tyrone.
 * 12 September: A UDR soldier was killed in IRA gun attack in Maghera, Derry.
 * 14 September: An RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA in Magherafelt, County Londonderry.
 * 26 September: An RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA in Killough, County Down.
 * 28 September: An RUC officer was killed in an IRA rocket attack on a British patrol on Glen Road, Belfast.
 * 3 October: The hunger strike was called off, due to pressure from the remaining strikers' families who made it clear they would ask for medical intervention to save their lives. The IRA resumed full-scale military operations
 * 10 October: A bomb blast at Chelsea Barracks in London killed two people and injured 40, including 23 soldiers.
 * 17 October: The Commandant General Royal Marines, Lieutenant-General Steuart Pringle, lost a leg when an IRA car bomb attached to his car exploded outside his home in Dulwich, South London.
 * 21 October: A UDR soldier was shot dead outside Belfast zoo.
 * 26 October: A bomb exploded at a Wimpy Bar in Oxford Street, London, killing the bomb disposal officer trying to defuse it.
 * 9 November: A UDR soldier was shot and wounded by the IRA in Lisnaskea, Fermanagh. The soldier died two days later.
 * 10 November: The IRA shot dead a former RUC officer outside his workplace on Loughgall Road, Armagh town. He was also a member of the Orange Order.
 * 12 November: An RUC officer lost both his legs when an IRA booby-trap bomb exploded underneath his car in Banbridge, County Down.
 * 14 November: The IRA killed Ulster Unionist Party MP Rev Robert Bradford along with the caretaker of a community centre. Irish Taoiseach Dr Garret FitzGerald and former Taoiseach and opposition leader Charles Haughey condemned the killings in the Dáil Éireann. SDLP party leader John Hume accused the IRA of waging a campaign of "sectarian genocide".
 * 17 November: A UDR soldier and an RUC officer were killed in separate IRA attacks in Fermanagh and Tyrone.
 * 19 November: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA in Strabane, County Tyrone.
 * 28 November: An RUC officer was killed in an IRA bomb attack as he patrolled the Unity Flats complex in Belfast.

1982

 * 8 January: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA while working at a petrol station on the Antrim Road, Belfast.
 * 19 January: John Torbitt, an alleged informant, was shot dead by the IRA at his home in Lenadoon, Belfast.
 * 5 March: Seamus Morgan, an alleged inofrmant, was shot dead by the IRA in Forkhill, County Armagh.
 * 15 March: The IRA detonated a large car-bomb on Bridge Street, Banbridge, County Down following a warning to evacuate the area. One civilian was killed.
 * 23 March: A British coal ship, the St. Bedan, was bombed and sunk by an IRA unit while at anchor in Lough Foyle.
 * 25 March: Three British soldiers were killed and five other people injured in an IRA gun attack on Crocus Street, off the Springfield Road in West Belfast. It is believed an M60 machine gun was used during the attack.
 * 28 March: An RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA in Patrick Street, Derry.
 * 1 April: Two British soldiers were killed in an IRA sniper ambush outside Rosemount British Army base in Derry. Both soldiers were traveling in a British Army van when they came under fire.
 * 2 April: An RUC officer was badly wounded in a gun attack on New Barnsley RUC Station in West Belfast. The officer died of his injuries on 16 April.
 * 20 April: The IRA launched a massive bombing offensive in Northern Ireland. A bank in Strabane was hit by a 900 kg carbomb; a garage and car showroom in Armagh was destroyed by three firebombs; a car bomb exploded at the Linen Hall in Ballymena; a 900 kg carbomb exploded in Derry and another 900 kg device was detonated in Bessbrook followed by a smaller 40 kg device which detonated in Bessbrook some hours later, and finally another carbombing in Magherafelt.
 * 27 April: A UDR soldier was shot dead in an IRA gun attack in Lisnagelvin, Derry.
 * 30 April: A British soldier was killed when the vehicle he was travelling in struck an IRA landmine in Belleek, County Fermanagh.
 * 4 May: An RUC officer was shot dead in an IRA sniper attack in The Diamond area of Derry.
 * 12 May: - Thomas Cunningham, ex-UDR soldier, shot dead in Fountain Park, Strabane
 * 11 June: An RUC officer was killed in an IRA booby-trap bomb attack in the Shantallow area of Derry.
 * 15 June: An off-duty UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA in Strabane, County Tyrone.
 * 20 July: The Hyde Park and Regents Park bombings: In Hyde Park, a bomb killed two members of the British Army's Household Cavalry performing ceremonial duties in the park, and seven of their horses were also killed. Another device exploded underneath a bandstand in Regents Park, killing seven bandsmen from the British Army's Royal Green Jackets as they played music to spectators.
 * 27 July: IRA volunteers fired machine-guns and a rocket at two RUC landrovers from an occupied house in West Belfast. Four RUC officers were hurt.
 * 28 August: Twenty-four buses were firebombed by the IRA at the Ulsterbus depot in County Armagh.
 * 20 September: A British soldier was killed when an IRA unit fired a rocket at his observation post at Springfield Road British Army barracks in Belfast.
 * 1 October: An RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA in Drum Manor, Tyrone.
 * 14 October: The IRA carried out a bomb attack on a British Army foot-patrol in the Ballymurphy area of Belfast.
 * 22 October: An off-duty UDR soldier was kidnapped in Glenanne, County Armagh. He was shot dead and his body was found on 29 October at Lislea, County Armagh. He was also a member of the Orange Order.
 * 27 October: Three RUC officers were killed in an IRA landmine attack on their patrol vehicle at Oxford Island, County Armagh.
 * 30 October: An IRA rocket hit an armoured vehicle carrying 12 British soldiers and RUC officers on Lower Falls Road, Belfast. No injuries were reported.
 * 9 November: An RUC officer and a civilian were killed in an IRA bomb attack in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh.
 * 10 November: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA shortly after leaving the Customs Office in Armagh town. He was also a member of the Orange Order.
 * 11 November: Three IRA volunteers were shot dead in an undercover RUC ambush in Craigavon, County Armagh.
 * 16 November: The IRA killed UVF leader Lenny Murphy outside his girlfriend's house in Forthriver Park, Belfast. Murphy, who had been responsible for up to 20 sectarian killings which were carried out by his Shankill Butchers gang, was shot over 20 times at close range by two IRA volunteers.
 * 19 December: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA on Windmill Avenue, Armagh town.

1983

 * 6 January: Two RUC officers were shot dead by the IRA while on patrol in Rostrevor, County Down.
 * 16 January: William Doyle, a judge, was shot dead by the IRA in Belfast.
 * 18 January: An off-duty RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA at a supermarket in Derry.
 * 19 February: A civilian was shot dead by the IRA near Enniskillen, Fermanagh. He had been mistaken for an off-duty British soldier.
 * 20 February: An RUC officer was killed by the IRA in a drive-by shooting at Warrenpoint RUC barracks.
 * 21 February: An RUC officer on foot-patrol was killed by an IRA remote-controlled bomb attack on Lower English Street, Armagh town.
 * 25 February: An off-duty UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA at his workplace in Ballygawley, Tyrone.
 * 2 March: A female RUC officer was shot dead by an IRA sniper while she was on foot-patrol in the Greencastle area of Belfast.
 * 15 March: An off-duty RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA on Tandragee Road, Newry. He was also a member of the Orange Order.
 * 17 March: The IRA launched a gun and rocket attack on a British mobile patrol in the Ballymurphy area of Belfast.
 * 18 March: The IRA badly wounded a British soldier after his Saracen armoured vehicle was hit with an IRA rocket in the Ballymurphy area of Belfast. The vehicle was then sprayed with machine gun fire before the IRA unit made its escape.
 * 31 March: The IRA carried out a bomb attack on a British patrol in the Falls area of Belfast. One British soldier was badly injured and died of his wounds eight days later.
 * 9 April: A British soldier was killed in an IRA booby-trap bomb attack in Omagh, Tyrone.
 * 13 April: An off-duty British Territorial Army soldier was shot dead by the IRA in Keady, County Armagh. He was also a member of the Orange Order.
 * 16 May: An RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA outside his home in Belfast.
 * 24 May: Andersonstown British Army barracks was devastated when the IRA detonated a massive van-bomb outside the front gate.
 * 10 June: A British soldier was killed when the IRA detonated a bomb hidden in a lamp-post as a British Army foot patrol passed in the Ballymurphy area of Belfast.
 * 13 July: Four UDR soldiers were killed when their vehicle struck an IRA landmine near Ballygawley, County Tyrone.
 * 10 August: Fort Pegasus British Army base in Belfast came under heavy machine gun fire from a number of IRA units. On the Whiterock road a British Army land-rover was hit by IRA sniper fire
 * 23 August: An off duty UDR soldier was shot dead as he left his workplace in Strabane, County Tyrone.
 * 24 August: A shopkeeper was shot dead after an altercation with an IRA unit in Derry.
 * 25 September: 38 IRA prisoners took part in the Maze Prison escape. One guard died of a heart attack during the escape, and six others were shot or stabbed.
 * 6 October: Two RUC officers was shot dead in an IRA ambush in Downpatrick, County Down.
 * 10 October: A civilian was shot dead by the IRA in Newry. He had been mistaken for an off-duty RUC officer.
 * 15 October: A British soldier was killed when the IRA detonated a bomb as a British mobile patrol passed in the Creggan area of Derry.
 * 24 October: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA near Aughnacloy, Tyrone.
 * 28 October: An RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA outside his home in Derry.
 * 4 November: The IRA detonated a time-bomb in the ceiling of a classroom in Jordanstown College. Two of the three RUC officers giving a lecture at the time died instantly, another died of his injuries several months later.
 * 5 November: An off duty RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA in Rasharkin, County Antrim.
 * 7 November: A British soldier was killed in an IRA bomb attack in Crossmaglen, County Armagh.
 * 10 November: An RUC officer was shot dead in an IRA gun attack in Ballymartin, County Down.
 * 12 November: An RUC officer was killed and several others injured when the IRA mortared Carrickmore British Army and RUC base.
 * 14 November: Charles Armstrong–who was a UDR soldier, an Orangeman and an Ulster Unionist Party councillor–was killed by an IRA booby-trap bomb attached to his car outside the District Council offices in Armagh town.
 * 4 December: Two unarmed IRA volunteers, Colm McGirr (23) and Brian Campbell (19) were shot dead by the British Army in Coalisland, Tyrone.
 * 7 December: An Ulster Unionist Party MLA was shot dead outside Queens University Belfast.
 * 10 December: An IRA bomb exploded at the Royal Artillery Barracks in London, injuring three people.
 * 16 December: An Irish Army soldier and a Garda officer were shot dead during a gun battle with the IRA in Ballinamore, County Leitrim in an attempt to free Don Tidey who had been taken hostage by an IRA unit which included Bik McFarlane.
 * 17 December: The Harrods bombing in London killed six people including three police officers, and injured 75 other people. On the same day the IRA shot dead a UDR soldier in Maghera, County Londonderry.
 * 26 December: The IRA was blamed for a bombing in London which later was revealed to be the result of the Abu Nidal Organisation.

1984

 * 2 January: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA in Castlederg, County Tyrone.
 * 10 January: An RUC officer was shot dead by an IRA sniper in Newry.
 * 31 January: Two RUC officers were killed in an IRA land mine attack on their armoured patrol car, near Forkill, County Armagh.
 * 10 February: An IRA unit fired a rocket at a British Army Saracen armoured vehicle in Glenalina Park, Belfast. The rocket bounced off the front of the vehicle and landed in a school. Nobody was injured.
 * 21 February: Two IRA volunteers and an SAS member were killed in a gun battle between an undercover British Army unit and the IRA at Dunloy, County Antrim.
 * 2 March: A UDR soldier was killed in an IRA booby-trap bomb attack near Castlederg, County Tyrone.
 * 3 March: A civilian was killed by a booby-trap bomb attached to a garage door at his workplace on Alexander Road, Armagh town. The IRA claimed responsibility and said he was a serving member of the UDR. He was also a member of the Orange Order.
 * 6 March:William McConnell, then Assistant Governor of the Maze Prison, was shot dead by the IRA outside his home in east Belfast.
 * 8 March: An off-duty UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA near Moira, County Down.
 * 22 March: The IRA exploded three bombs in buildings in the centre of Belfast.
 * 27 March: A British soldier was killed in an IRA van-bomb attack in Derry.
 * 8 April: An IRA unit carried out a gun attack on Thomas Travers, then a Resident Magistrate, outside St Brigid's Catholic Church in Belfast. Travers was badly injured in the attack but his daughter Mary Travers was shot dead.
 * 11 April: A former UDR soldier was badly injured when a bomb exploded underneath his car in Belfast.
 * 14 April: A British soldier was badly injured when he was shot in the face by IRA volunteers in an attack in Glassdrummond in south County Armagh.
 * 16 April: The IRA shot and badly injured a civilian in Derry City. They later apologised saying that he was mistaken for an undercover British soldier.
 * 21 April: An IRA unit launched a bomb attack against a British patrol in Derry City. Three British soldiers were injured and IRA volunteer Richard Quigley (22) was killed when he was struck by shrapnel from the explosion.
 * 23 April: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper in Derry. Petrol bombers had dropped sweet-jars filled with petrol on two army landrovers. As the soldiers began fleeing the IRA opened fire, injuring six.
 * 8 May: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA in Dungannon.
 * 9 May: A British soldier was killed in an IRA bomb attack in Newry.
 * 12 May: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA while off-duty at his farm in Lismore, County Tyrone.
 * 18 May: Two RUC officers were killed when the IRA exploded a landmine as their armoured patrol car travelled near Camlough, County Armagh. One of the officers was also a member of the Orange Order.
 * 18 May: Two off duty British soldiers were killed, and another died later as a result of injuries, after the IRA planted a booby trap bomb under their car in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh.
 * 21 May: A British patrol came under IRA sniper attack in the Ballymurphy area of Belfast.
 * 29 May: A British soldier was killed in an IRA landmine attack near Crossmaglen, County Armagh. An IRA bomb on the Whiterock Road in Belfast was defused by the British Army.
 * 4 June: A UDR soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper in Lurgan, County Armagh.
 * 9 June: Alleged criminal James Campbell was shot dead by the IRA in Conway Street, Belfast.
 * 11 June: A taxi-driver and former UDR soldier was lured and shot dead by the Provisionals' East Tyrone Brigade off the main Omagh to Cookstown road. RUC detectives believe that the tax-driver died in a burst of automatic fire and his foot jammed on the accelerator, sending the car crashing into a gate post, where his body was found.
 * 22 June: A British soldier was badly injured when he was shot in the neck by an IRA sniper on the Whiterock Road in Belfast.
 * 2 July: An IRA unit fired an RPG7 rocket at an RUC landrover patrol but missed in Ballygawley, County Tyrone.
 * 13 July: An IRA volunteer was shot dead by the British Army during a bomb attack in Ardboe, County Tyrone.
 * 14 July: Two UDR soldiers among an eight-member foot patrol were killed in a 200 lb IRA landmine attack near the border at Castlederg, County Tyrone. Detectives believed that the bomb was triggered just a few hundred yards across the border. Immediately after the explosion, gunmen opened fire on the foot patrol as colleagues radioed for help. The West Tyrone Brigade of the IRA claimed responsibility for the attack.
 * 10 August: A Garda officer was shot dead by the IRA in County Meath during an attempted armed robbery of a post office.
 * 12 August: One RUC officer was killed in a land mine attack on an RUC mobile patrol, Crockanboy, Greencastle, County Tyrone.
 * 7 September: One UDR soldier and a Protestant civilian were killed in an IRA attack in County Tyrone.
 * 12 October: Brighton hotel bombing: a bomb in the Grand Hotel killed five in a failed attempt to assassinate members of the British cabinet. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher narrowly escaped death. Several others including Margaret Tebbit, wife of Norman Tebbit, were left permanently disabled.
 * 19 October: One British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on foot patrol on Norglen Road, Turf Lodge, Belfast.
 * 2 December: Two IRA volunteers and one SAS member were killed in an exchange of fire after an attempted bombing in Kesh, County Fermanagh.
 * 6 December: Two members of the IRA were shot dead by undercover British soldiers in the grounds of Gransha Hospital, Derry.
 * 17 December: IRA volunteer Sean McIlvenna was killed by the RUC after carrying out a bomb attack against a British Army patrol.

1985

 * 1 February: The IRA shot dead a member of the British Army's UDR regiment in Derrylin, County Fermanagh. The soldier was driving a bus at the time when an IRA volunteer shot him seven times through the front windscreen. Two other gunmen then entered the bus and shot him a further 24 times at point blank range. Ulster Unionist MP Ken Maginnis claimed that this was a "genocide - a conscious effort by the IRA to systematically wipe out Protestant families in the community". His statement was in relation to the fact that two of the soldier's brothers, who were also British soldiers, had been killed by the IRA in 1981.
 * 17 February: A Prison Officer was shot dead by the IRA in Armagh town. The man was leaving Saint Patrick's Cathedral when he was shot three times in the head at point-blank range.
 * 21 February: An RUC officer was killed when the IRA ambushed an RUC vehicle at Drumsallen, near Armagh town. Three gunmen attacked the vehicle with machine guns. They had taken over a house on the road and had been lying in wait. The IRA unit fired 36 shots.
 * 23 February: Charles Breslin and two other IRA volunteers were shot dead in a British Army/SAS ambush in Strabane. Two other IRA volunteers managed to escape. The men were returning weapons to an arms dump when they were shot.
 * 23 February: A civilian from Derry was shot dead by the IRA. They claimed he was a British informant.
 * 28 February: An IRA unit launched a devastating mortar attack on an RUC base in Newry. Nine officers (including a Chief Inspector) were killed while 37 people (including civilians) were injured.
 * 28 February: A UDR soldier was killed in an IRA booby-trap bomb attack while on patrol in Pomeroy, County Tyrone.
 * 3 March: An RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA in Enniskillen. The officer was exiting his vehicle when he was hit by a number of bullets. As he lay wounded a gunman ran up and fired a number of shots into him at point blank range.
 * 23 March: An alleged Garda informant was shot dead by the IRA in Cork. Garda informant Sean O'Callaghan claimed in an interview with a local newspaper that he had shot the man, although he later retracted this.
 * 27 March: A British soldier was killed in an IRA bomb attack while patrolling the Divis Flats Complex in Belfast. The killing was strongly condemned by the Irish government due to the fact that the attack took place in the centre of a heavily populated high rise flat complex. In response, Gerry Adams of Sinn Féin said that:"No Irish politicians who believe in Irish independence should condemn any IRA operation which is clearly directed against the British presence, which takes adequate safeguards to avoid civilian casualties and which is geared towards securing an end to British rule in Ireland. The responsibility for the death of the British soldier rests with the British government. That government is aided and abetted by Mr Barry [Irish foreign Minister] and his cronies in the Dublin administration.
 * 29 March: An RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA while working in a garage in Rathfriland, County Down. Two gunmen approached him and shot him three times at point blank range before escaping.
 * 3 April: The IRA detonated a car-bomb outside Newry Courthouse killing an RUC officer and a security officer employed at the court.
 * 3 May: The IRA shot dead a former Ulster Special Constabulary officer at his home in Leitrim, County Down. The IRA claimed that the man was currently an RUC Reservist and that he had been seen regularly at roadblocks. However, the RUC denied this.
 * 20 May: Four RUC officers were killed by an IRA remote-controlled bomb in Killeen, County Armagh. The officers were part of a police escort for an armoured car, which was transporting £2 million from Dublin to Belfast. The escort had just met the security van on the border when the first armour plated RUC vehicle was hit by a 1000 lb roadside bomb. The vehicle was completely destroyed.
 * 28 May: A civilian who had just applied to join the RUC was shot dead by the IRA in Millfield, Belfast.
 * 14 June: A 1000 lb IRA bomb exploded in the centre of Belfast causing severe damage.
 * 15 June: An RUC officer was shot dead in an IRA gun attack in Derry. The officer was sitting in his vehcile when an IRA volunteer fired through the windscreen with a revolver. The IRA man then opened the driver seat door and beat the officer over the head with the revolver before shooting him again at point blank range.
 * 18 June: An undercover RUC officer was killed after his patrol vehicle struck an IRA landmine in Kinawley, Fermanagh. Another RUC officer was badly injured.
 * 23 June: Four mortars exploded in Crossmaglen British Army base, although no injuries were reported. The IRA claimed responsibility.
 * 2 July: Fort Pegasus British Army base in Belfast was mortared by an IRA unit. The barracks kitchen was hit by an IRA missile and completely destroyed although it was empty at the time.
 * 6 August: IRA volunteer Charlie English (21) was killed during an engagement with an RUC patrol in Derry. He was killed when a home made rocket launcher jammed and then exploded as he tried to fire it. Another IRA volunteer was injured but managed to escape.
 * 7 August: The first of four Libyan shipments of weaponry to the IRA is landed by the trawler Casamara at Clogga Strand, near Wiklow, Republic of Ireland, with 10 tonnes of weaponry consisting of AK-47 rifles, RPG launchers, hand grenades, revolvers and ammunition. Another 14 tonnes were delivered on 2 October.
 * 20 August: A civilian who worked as a contractor to the British Army was shot dead by the IRA at his home in Donnybrook, Dublin. The man's family owned Roughan Castle and a 300 acre estate outside Coalisland. The IRA said he was killed because he supplied building materials to British forces. The IRA also said they had given him warnings by telephone, letter and even through an attack on his estate.
 * 20 August: A van fitted with mortar launchers exploded 100 yards from an RUC base in Newcastle, County Down. The mortars had malfunctioned. Four people were hurt.
 * 22 August: A civilian was shot dead by the IRA in Strabane. He was mistaken for a British Army contractor. The IRA admitted responsibility for the attack and extended "deepest sympathy to the family and friends of Kieran Murray". The dead man had aided Sinn Féin in local elections.
 * 24 August: A civilian was shot dead by an IRA sniper in Pomeroy, Tyrone. The car he was traveling in had been mistaken for that of an undercover RUC officer.
 * 31 August: An RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA outside his home in Crossgar, County Down. Sinn Féin objected to the decision of Down district council to adjourn during the RUC mans funeral as a mark of respect. In a statement the Sinn Féin councillors said: "We feel if the council is going to do this sort of thing then they should do it for all those who have lost their lives due to British occupation, and not just a select few."
 * 4 September: The IRA launched a mortar attack against Enniskillen RUC training centre. The compound was almost completely destroyed.
 * 8 September: Two civilians were found shot dead in the Turf Lodge area of Belfast. The IRA claim the couple were British Army agents and that they had been responsible for the capture of a 30 lb bomb and the arrests of three INLA members. Ex-members of the British Military have confirmed that the couple were recruited by the Special Branch.
 * 22 September: A British soldier was shot dead by the IRA in Derry. The soldier was off-duty and returning from a disco when he was shot six times in the head by an IRA volunteer. Another soldier escaped uninjured.
 * 7 October: A civilian was shot dead in Strabane by the IRA. The IRA claim he was an informant and that he had admitted to working for the police for 13 months while under interrogation. It claimed he had provided the SAS with intelligence which resulted in the deaths of three IRA volunteers in an ambush earlier that year. The three IRA volunteers had been killed in a field overlooking his home.
 * 7 October: A British army base in the Ballymurphy area of Belfast was mortared by an IRA unit. The attack caused serious structural damage to the base and blew a large hole in the perimeter.
 * 15 November: An RUC officer was killed and another badly wounded in an IRA landmine near Crossmaglen, County Armagh. The officer was part of a joint RUC/British Army patrol which had been deployed by helicopter into the area around Crossmaglen.
 * 18 November: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA in the Waterside area of Derry.
 * 21 November: A contractor to the British Army was shot dead outside his home in Derry City. The man was shot 15 times as he was about to drive to work.
 * 29 November: A UDR soldier, who was also employed as a contractor to the Royal Air Force, was killed when he triggered a booby-trap bomb which had been attached to his car in Kilkeel, County Down.
 * 30 November: Alleged criminal Edward Taggart was shot dead by the IRA in the Divis Flats complex in Belfast. The man was shot in the back and both legs. The dead mans family admitted he had been involved in joyriding activities and he had previously been imprisoned for joyriding offences.
 * 7 December: In an attack on the RUC barracks in Ballygawley the IRA killed two RUC officers and destroyed the barracks with a large bomb. IRA volunteers had been lying in wait outside the barracks and, as the officers left, two gunmen stepped out of concealed positions and shot both officers in the head from close range. Another IRA unit then directed heavy machine-gun fire at the front of the barracks, which provided cover for a bomb team to plant a 100 lb bomb inside. The bomb exploded ten minutes later, destroying the barracks. Three other RUC officers who were in the building fled through a back door. One of the dead policemen was also a Methodist preacher.
 * 11 December: The IRA claimed responsibility for mortaring Tynan RUC base, County Armagh. Four RUC officers were hurt.
 * 19 December: The RUC base in Castlederg, County Tyrone, was wrecked by a shell during a mortar attack carried out by the IRA. Seven people were injured, and about 250 families evacuated.

1986

 * 1 January: Two RUC officers were killed when the IRA detonated a remote-controlled bomb hidden in a litter bin as their patrol passed on Thomas Street, Armagh town.
 * 15 January: A UDR soldier was killed when he triggered an IRA booby trap which had been attached to his car in Castlederg, County Tyrone.
 * 3 February: A UDR soldier was killed when the IRA detonated a remote-controlled bomb hidden in a dry stone wall as a British Army foot patrol passed in Belcoo, County Fermanagh.
 * 11 February: An RUC Detective-Constable and a civilian were killed in an IRA gun attack in Maguiresbridge, County Fermanagh. An IRA bomb exploded at the scene 40 minutes later.
 * 22 February: An IRA active service unit launched a sniper attack on a Fort George British Army base in Derry. In the gun-battle which followed IRA volunteer Anthony Gough was killed and another IRA volunteer was captured.
 * 18 March: A British soldier was killed and several others wounded when the IRA detonated a booby-trap bomb concealed in a derelict building as a British Army foot patrol passed by in Castlewellan, County Down.
 * 26 March: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA while off duty near Omagh, County Tyrone. A lone IRA volunteer, who was not wearing a mask, approached him and shot him a number of times.
 * 8 April: A UDR soldier was killed when he triggered an IRA booby-trap bomb which had been attached to his car near Castlederg, County Tyrone.
 * 23 April: An RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA in Newcastle, County Down. IRA volunteers opened fire on him from a wooded area on the opposite side of the road, hitting him a number of times. As he lay wounded they ran across the road and shot him at point blank range in the head.
 * 26 April: The Special Air Service (SAS) killed IRA volunteer Séamus McElwaine in Roslea, County Fermanagh. At an inquest held in 1993, McElwaine was found to have been unlawfully killed. He had been shot in the back after being handcuffed. Another IRA volunteer was wounded and arrested.
 * 12 May: Three British Army bases in west Belfast were targeted in IRA grenade attacks.
 * 15 May: A former UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA in Newry. He was driving his delivery vehicle when a motorcycle pulled up alongside and the pillion passenger opened fire, hitting the man 15 times with low-velocity bullets.
 * 17 May: A civilian was shot dead near Dungannon. The man was ambushed as he drove his pick-up van. Over 30 shots were fired through the windscreen. The IRA claimed the man was a member of the British Army's UDR Regiment but they did not claim responsibility for the killing. Later a caller from the Catholic Reaction Force claimed they were responsible for the killing although many have speculated that the IRA was involved. The dead man was a member of the Orange Order.
 * 20 May: The IRA kidnapped and killed a civilian in Killeen, County Armagh. The IRA claimed he was a local criminal and had been "given a free hand by the RUC in exchange for information on republicans in the area". The RUC refused to comment on the allegations. He had been ordered to leave south Armagh by the IRA in 1979 but later returned.
 * 22 May: Two RUC officers and a British soldier were killed in an IRA remote-controlled bomb attack in Crossmaglen, County Armagh.
 * 25 May: A civilian was found shot dead on the side of a road outside Castlederg. The IRA claimed he was a British informer and had previously been associated with the OIRA and was involved in a bomb attack which killed two civilian employees at a British Army base in Derry.
 * 28 May: A UDR soldier and his sniffer dog were killed and another soldier wounded in an IRA bomb attack in Kilkeel, County Down. The soldiers were searching for a bomb which the IRA had claimed they left in the area when the sniffer dog nudged an oil drum which contained a booby trapped mercury tilt switch device.
 * 16 June: A civilian contractor to the British Army was kidnapped by the IRA and found shot dead near Cullyhanna, County Armagh. The man had previously been warned to cease working for the British Army. He was found with two bullet wounds to his head and one to his neck.
 * 1 July: A UDR soldier was killed in an IRA booby-trap bomb attack in Drumaness, County Down.
 * 8 July: An RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA at his farm in Rosslea, County Fermanagh. The man had been a member of the Orange Order. At his funeral, the local Church of Ireland minister claimed Protestants in Fermanagh were under siege.
 * 9 July: Two British soldiers were killed and two others injured when the IRA detonated a large car-bomb as a British Army foot-patrol passed near Crossmaglen, County Armagh.
 * 10 July: The oil-rig replenisher Villa landed 14 tonnes of weaponry and explosives smuggled by the IRA from Libya off the Clogga Strand, near Wicklow, by inflatable boats. The same ship repeated the operation in October, this time by landing an 80 tonnes cache which included one tonne of Semtex, reportedly ten SAM-7 missiles, more RPG-7s, AK-47s and hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition.
 * 26 July: Three RUC officers were killed when IRA volunteers opened fire on an a stationary armoured patrol car from close range in Newry. The IRA unit fired six shots into the car through an open door. They then threw a grenade into the car although it did not explode as the pin had not been fully pulled out.
 * 30 July: A civilian contractor to the British Army was shot dead by the IRA in Greencastle, County Tyrone.
 * 4 August: A British patrol in the Ballymurphy area of Belfast was attacked by an IRA unit using blast-bombs.
 * 4 August: A UDR soldier was shot dead at his home in the Shankill area of Belfast by the IRA. A two man IRA unit was seen running up the street towards the man firing. They continued firing as he lay on the ground wounded before making their getaway.
 * 11 August: An IRA unit destroyed an RUC base at the Birches near Portadown, County Armagh. The unit drove a digger through the perimeter fence with a 200 lb bomb attached to the bucket. Some members of this unit would be killed the next year by the SAS during a similar attack on Loughgall RUC base.
 * 15 August: A civilian was shot dead by the IRA in the Clonard area of Belfast. The IRA claimed he was a British informer. The IRA said he had previously been a member of their organisation and that he was being paid by the RUC to work as an informer.
 * 28 August: A civilian contractor to the British Army was shot dead by the IRA in Derry. The IRA denied claims that the killing was sectarian stating: "The man's religion is of no interest to us. Despite previous warnings he continued to work for the UDR, and that was the reason he was targeted."
 * 10 September: The IRA shot dead a man they claimed was an informer in Lurgan. The IRA claimed he had been a member of their organisation but had become an informer in 1982 after he was arrested in connection with the bombing of Lurgan Golf Club.
 * 14 September: High-ranking UVF member John Bingham, who was suspected of involvement in the Dublin and Monaghan bombings was shot dead by the IRA at his home in the Ballysillan area of Belfast. Two IRA men, armed with a rifle and a revolver, used an axe to smash down his front door before shooting him in both legs. The UVF man managed to make his way to an upstairs bedroom before being shot three more times. The IRA later released a statement saying: "Relying on accurate intelligence reports we were able to pinpoint the whereabouts of UVF murder-gang leader John Bingham, who after a period of intensive activities which resulted in the deaths of five innocent Catholics, had just in the last number of weeks felt safe to return home." Bingham had also been a member of the Orange Order.
 * 14 September: An RUC foot-patrol came under fire from the IRA in west Belfast.
 * 14 September: Unarmed IRA volunteer James McKernan (29) was shot in the back by the British Army in the Brenda Park area of Belfast. The man was running away from a British Army patrol after planting a booby-trap bomb nearby.
 * 6 October: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA in Dungannon, County Tyrone. He was killed when three bullet fragments hit him after his vehicle was fired on.
 * 11 October: An RUC officer was killed and another officer injured when the IRA mortared New Barnsley British Army base in Belfast. The constable was killed when the mortar bomb exploded just above his head. Two civilians were also slightly wounded in the attack. The other injured officer was later killed by the IRA in 1990.
 * 24 October: A civilian contractor to the British Army was shot dead by the IRA in Magherafelt, County Londonderry. The IRA said the firm had ignored repeated warnings to stop working for the security forces. A DUP MP, Willie McCrea, accused a Sinn Féin councillor of carrying out the attack.
 * 26 October: An IRA unit fired a mortar at Crossmaglen British Army base in County Armagh.
 * 28 October: An IRA unit fired seven mortars at Drummuckavall British Army watchtower in County Armagh. This is the first recorded use of Libyan-supplied Semtex high-explosive. In the aftermath, a red Ford Escort was pursued while escaping across the border towards Thomas Murphy's farm by members of the Scots Guards. One of the guards, a Lance Corporal, broke into a shed, where he was confronted by two IRA members. The guard had inadvertently crossed the border and after a brief brawl with the two men, a Gardaí patrol arrived at the scene and arrested the soldier, for being in possession of an illegal arm. He was taken to a police station at Dundalk but was released six hours later after negotiations between senior RUC and Garda officers.
 * 23 November: Six British soldiers were wounded after the IRA launched seven mortars at a British Army barracks in Middleton, Armagh.
 * 27 November: The IRA launched a mortar at Newry RUC base; however, the device overshot its target, landing in a nearby residential area where it wounded more than 30 people (mainly from flying glass). The IRA apologised for the incident.
 * 12 December: A civilian was killed when he triggered a booby-trap bomb attached to his car. The IRA claimed he had been mistaken for an off-duty RUC officer and apologised for the killing.
 * 16 December: A bus bomb exploded outside a south Belfast RUC barracks slightly injuring seven people. The IRA claimed responsibility.

1987

 * 2 January: Three mortars were fired from a lorry toward Crossmaglen British Army base. Forty minutes later, a timer launched another three mortars at the base.
 * 9 January: An RUC officer was killed when the IRA detonated a remote control bomb hidden in a litter bin as an RUC foot patrol passed the High Street in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh. The RUC officer was also a member of the Orange Order.
 * 26 January: A British soldier was killed in an IRA gun attack in Coalisland, County Tyrone. The soldier was shot three times in the back and head by a two man IRA unit outside his home.
 * 6 March: New Barnsley RUC/British Army base in Belfast came under IRA gun attack. Meanwhile Fort Jericho British Army base, also in Belfast, was mortared by an IRA unit.
 * 7 March: An RUC riot squad were shot at by an IRA sniper in the Whiterock area of Belfast.
 * 10 March: An RUC officer was killed when the IRA detonated a remote controlled bomb at the Ardoyne Shops on the Crumlin Road in Belfast. The RUC had been lured to the area by a hoax phonecall claiming an armed robbery was in progress. The IRA had correctly anticipated which doorway the RUC would take cover in and detonated a small booby-trap bobm when they arrived. The IRA claimed his death was retaliation for "RUC brutality at republican funerals".
 * 13 March: Two RUC officers were injured in an IRA bomb attack at Roselawn Cemetery in Belfast.
 * 23 March: A Prison Officer was shot dead by the IRA as he sat in his car outside Magee College. Three masked gunmen approached the front of the vehicle and fired six shots through the windscreen using a low-velocity rifle. The Prison Officer was shot in the head and died instantly. The IRA unit was then seen casually walking away. The IRA said the officer was killed in reprisal for the inhumane conditions suffered by IRA prisoners in Magilligan Prison.
 * 23 March: 2 RUC officers were killed when the IRA detonated a briefcase bomb on the Rock Road in Derry. The officers were examining the scene of a fatal IRA gun attack on a Prison Lecturer.
 * 23 March: 31 people were injured in a car bomb attack at Rheindahlen Military Complex, nearMönchengladbach in Germany.
 * 30 March: A British soldier was killed in an IRA blast bomb in the Divis Flats complex of West Belfast. The bombs were dropped from the flat complex onto the roof of a passing British land rover. One of the bombs fell through a hatch in the vehicle's roof and exploded, killing one soldier and wounding another. A Sinn Féin member was later charged for his part in the attack. Author Tony Geraghty claims that the bombs were actually Mark-6 mortar shells dropped by hand.
 * 30 March: The IRA launched a gun and grenade attack on New Barnsley RUC/British Army base in Belfast.
 * 3 April: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA in Ederney, County Fermanagh.
 * 3 April: An RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA outside Ballynahinch RUC base in County Down. Two RUC officers were leaving the base when an IRA unit fired on them from the opposite side of the road, killing one officer and wounding another.
 * 11 April: Two RUC officers were shot dead in an IRA ambush while on foot patrol on the Main Street in Portrush, County Antrim.
 * 12 April: The IRA shot dead a man they claimed was a British informer near Killeen, County Armagh. The man's body was found in the back of a van. His hands were tied behind his back and a plastic bag was placed over his face.
 * 16 April: Thirteen mortars were fired at Bessbrook British Army base in County Armagh, injuring two soldiers.
 * 20 April: An RUC officer was killed when an IRA unit opened fire on an RUC foot patrol on Central Promenade, Newcastle, County Down.
 * 21 April: A security contractor to the British Army was shot dead by the IRA at his home near Moneymore, County Londonderry. A five man IRA unit entered his home and shot him four times in the head. The man was also a member of the Orange Order.
 * 23 April: An RUC officer was killed after being shot by the IRA while off-duty in Prehen, County Londonderry. He was leaving a local gold club when he was shot ten times at close range by a two-man IRA unit.
 * 25 April: Chief Justice Maurice Gibson, along with his wife, was assassinated when the IRA detonated a roadside bomb as his car passed in Killeen, County Armagh.
 * 25 April: An off duty British soldier was shot dead by the IRA at his home in Pomeroy, County Tyrone. He was also a member of the Orange Order.
 * 28 April: Senior UVF member William "Frenchy" Marchant was shot dead by the IRA in a drive-by shooting on the Shankill Road in west Belfast. He was leaving the offices of the Progressive Unionist Party when he was shot a number of times at close range with an Armalite rifle and a handgun. The IRA claimed Marchant had been involved in the killing of IRA volunteer Larry Marley and the ITV also alleged he was involved in the Dublin bombings of 1974 which killed over 30 civilians.
 * 2 May: An IRA volunteer was killed in a premature bomb explosion during an attack on Springfield RUC base in Belfast.
 * 8 May: Loughgall Ambush: The SAS ambushed volunteers of the Provisional IRA East Tyrone Brigade as they attempted to attack an RUC station in Loughgall, County Armagh. All eight IRA volunteers, along with a civilian, were killed.
 * 21 May: An off-duty British soldier as shot dead by the IRA in Tiroony, County Tyrone. He was driving through Sixmilecross when his car was hit a number of times by IRA gunfire. He managed to continue driving for several hundred yards before crashing. The officer was a member of the Orange Order, Royal Black Preceptory and chairman of the local Ulster Unionist Party branch.
 * 22 May: A former British soldier and a former prison officer was shot dead by the IRA in the bathroom of his home. The man was a well known local loyalist and a member of the Orange Order and Royal Black Preceptory. The IRA claimed he was involved in over 18 sectarian shootings.
 * 2 June: An off-duty RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA in Letterkenny, County Donegal. The man was shot while working on his farm by two IRA men using a shotgun and a revolver.
 * 4 June: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on patrol on Shaws Road in Andersonstown, Belfast. The soldier was shot in the neck while standing in the back of a Land Rover.
 * 11 June: A British soldier was shot and injured by an IRA sniper in the New Barnsley area of Belfast.
 * 12 June: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA in Lambeg, County Antrim. Three IRA men walked into the Golf Club where he was working and shot him 12 times at close range with handguns. The soldier was also a member of the Orange Order.
 * 15 June: A former British soldier was killed by an IRA booby trap bomb attached to his car in central Belfast. The man was also a member of the Orange Order.
 * 23 June: An RUC officer was killed during an IRA gun attack against Antrim Road RUC base, Belfast.
 * 24 June: A member of the Workers' Party of Ireland was kidnapped and shot dead by the IRA in west Belfast. The IRA claimed the man was an informer and ruled out any feud between themselves and the OIRA, the military wing of the Workers Party.
 * 26 June: An off-duty UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA on Surrey Street in Belfast. The soldier was shot five times in the head at close range.
 * 7 July: A UDA/UFF member was shot dead by the IRA in north Belfast. A two man IRA unit opened fire on him with a submachine-gun and a revolver, hitting him 9 times.
 * 12 July: A former member of the Royal Air Force was shot dead by the IRA on Alliance Avenue in north Belfast. The IRA said it had intervened "to end an hour-long attack by loyalists on the area". Locals claimed the man had been attempting to stop youths from throwing stones and bottles into the nearby Catholic area. A 16-year-old was also wounded in the shooting.
 * 17 July: An IRA unit launched a drogue bomb (improvised anti-armour grenade) at a British Army Land Rover on the Falls Road. This is the first recorded use of such a weapon by the IRA.
 * 19 July: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on foot patrol in Belleek, County Fermanagh. He was providing cover to other members of his unit when he was shot in the head with a single bullet. The RUC claimed the IRA sniper had fired from the southern side of the border, the Gardaí denied this.
 * 23 July: An off-duty UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA in the Twinbrook area of Belfast. He was driving along the Stewardstown road when he was shot through the windscreen with seven 7.62mm rounds.
 * 27 July: An RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA in his home in Ballymena, County Antrim. The IRA unit used a sledgehammer to break down his door before shooting him ten times with a submachine-gun and a pistol. The officer was a member of the Orange Order.
 * 9 August: Five RUC officers were injured when their land-rover was hit by an IRA impact-grenade on Dawson Street, Belfast.
 * 10 August: Three RUC officers were injured when their mobile patrol was attacked by an IRA unit using impact-grenades on the Ballymurphy Road in Belfast.
 * 16 August: The IRA sent letterbombs to six senior civil servants in London.
 * 26 August: Two undercover RUC Special Branch officers were shot dead by the IRA after entering the Liverpool Bar on Donegall Quay in Belfast.
 * 30 August: An RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA outside his home in Ballyronan, County Londonderry. The officer was also a member of the Orange Order.
 * 9 September: The IRA shot dead a civilian in north Belfast. The IRA mistook him for an off-duty member of the British Army's UDR Regiment.
 * 17 September: An off-duty UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA in the Tigers Bay area of Belfast.
 * 20 September: The IRA mortared Springfield Parade RUC Barracks in Belfast.
 * 24 September: The IRA shot dead a civilian as he drove his car along Kilmorey Street in Newry. The IRA stated that the man was mistaken for an RUC officer and it extended "sincere sympathy" to his family.
 * 1 October: An RUC officer was injured in an IRA grenade assault in Pomeroy, County Tyrone.
 * 3 October: Volunteers of the IRA's South Armagh Brigade launched ten mortars at Glassdrummond British Army base. The base was badly damaged but there were no injuries.
 * 14 October: The IRA fired two rockets at separate RUC bases in Belfast in coordinated attacks in the mid-morning. There were no injuries.
 * 21 October: IRA volunteers in Turf Lodge carried out a punishment shooting against 16 year old Francis Finnegan. They claimed he was a joy rider.
 * 26 October: A British soldier was injured in an attack on the Springfield Road, West Belfast, when his Saracen armoured vehicle was hit by a drogue-bomb in an IRA attack.
 * 27 October: A British soldier was injured when an IRA unit detonated an anti-personnel device close to Mackies Factory in West Belfast.
 * 28 October: Two IRA volunteers, Eddie McSheffrey (29) and Paddy Derry (31) were killed when bombs they were transporting exploded prematurely in the Creggan area of Derry.
 * 29 October: A British soldier was injured when an IRA unit attacked North Howard Street barracks in Belfast with a grenade launcher.
 * 31 October: Three RUC officers were injured (one seriously) in an IRA ambush in Strabane, County Tyrone.
 * 1 November: during transit to Ireland, the last arms consignment from Libya was intercepted by the French Navy aboard the MV Eksund, along with five crew members, among them Gabriel Cleary. The vessel was found to contain 120 tonnes of weapons, including HMGs, 36 RPGs, 1000 detonators, 20 SAMs, Semtex and 1,000,000 rounds of ammunition.
 * 2 November: Four RUC officer were injured when their an IRA unit launched a grenade at their Land Rover in North Queen Street, North Belfast.
 * 8 November: The Remembrance Day bombing at Enniskillen killed 11 civilians and one RUC officer, and injured 63 people.
 * 21 November: The IRA in County Tyrone placed three bombs in the Kildress Inn in Cookstown. The bombs exploded at approximately 7.30 pm destroying the building. A warning was given and there were no injuries.
 * 25 November: Belfast was paralyzed by a series of hoax bomb alerts. A small bomb was also detonated near Donegall Pass. There were no injuries.
 * 27 November: The Belfast to Dublin railway was severed when the IRA detonated a 10 lbbomb at Finaghy Halt.
 * 28 November: Two British soldiers were wounded when the IRA launched three mortars at a temporary vehicle check point in south County Armagh.
 * 10 December: Two British soldiers were badly injured when an IRA unit launched a grenade at a mobile patrol in Bank Place, Derry.
 * 17 December: The IRA detonated a 200 lb car-bomb outside the home of Judge Donald Murray in Cadogan Park, South Belfast. A warning was given and there were no injuries.
 * 21 December: Two British soldiers were injured in a gun battle with the IRA in the Bogside area of Derry City. The incident occurred just minutes after the IRA had carried out a punishment shooting on a local youth.
 * 22 December: UDA/UFF leader John McMichael was killed when he triggered a 5 lb booby trap bomb which had been attached to his car outside his home in Lisburn by an IRA unit.

1988

 * 4 January: A British soldier was shot and injured by an IRA sniper during an attack on Woodbourne RUC/British Army barracks in Belfast.
 * 9 January: The IRA detonated a 500 lb car-bomb outside Belfast Law Courts on Chichester Street. A warning was given and there were no injuries.
 * 15 January: A UDR soldier was shot and fatally wounded by the IRA in Coalisland, County Tyrone. Three IRA volunteers had cut holes in a hedge outside his home to make firing positions and as he drove past his car was hit by over 20 rounds fired from two AK-47 assault rifles. He died a day later.
 * 23 January: An RUC officer was injured after an RUC patrol came under gun and grenade assault on the Culmore Road.
 * 25 January: One RUC officer was killed and others were badly injured after an IRA unit launched two drogue bombs at their armoured patrol in Mulholland Terrace in West Belfast. The RUC said this was the first time an officer had been killed by a "drogue bomb/impact grenade". A British Army bomb disposal officer described the devices as "devastating".
 * 26 January: The IRA detonated a 500 lb car-bomb at Dunmurry RUC barracks. The bomb caused extensive damage to the building. A warning was given and there were no injuries.
 * 30 January: An alleged rapist was shot and injured by the IRA in a punishment attack in the Twinbrook area of Belfast.
 * 4 February: An IRA active service unit in Derry engaged a joint British army and RUC checkpoint on the Foyle Bridge. Over 70 rounds were fired before the unit withdrew.
 * 10 February: An IRA grenade attack on a British army observation post on North Howard Street in West Belfast injured two British soldiers.
 * 15 February: A UDR soldier was shot dead by a unit of the IRA's South Down Command at his home in Kilkeel, County Down. The soldier was also a member of the Young Unionists.
 * 19 February: Two RUC officers were injured (one seriously) when an IRA active service unit launched a grenade at an RUC armoured car on Main Street in Coalisland.
 * 24 February: Two UDR soldiers were killed and two injured when an active service unit from the IRA's Belfast Brigade detonated a 250 lb bomb at the Royal Avenue security gate in Belfast. One land rover was ripped apart by the explosion. A second device, intended for the Army response unit, was defused. Both of the dead soldiers were also members of the Orange Order.
 * 26 February: An IRA unit launched two mortars at North Howard Street British army base. The mortars exploded in mid-air.
 * 28 February: Two members of the RUC were injured when the IRA launched two grenades at an RUC patrol in Strabane.
 * 29 February: A British soldier and an RUC officer were injured when they triggered an anti-personnel mine which had been planted by the IRA in the Andersonstown area of Belfast.
 * 29 February: Two IRA volunteers, Brendan Burns and Brendan Moley of the IRA's South Armagh Brigade died when bombs they were transporting exploded prematurely during a raid on a British army base.
 * 3 March: Two IRA units attacked Musgrave Street RUC barracks with Rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles. The base was damaged but there were no injuries.
 * 6 March: Operation Flavius: Three unarmed IRA volunteers, Daniel McCann, Sean Savage and Mairead Farrell, were killed by the SAS in Gibraltar, as they were planning an attack on a public military parade. Although initial reports claimed the three had been shot dead when about to set off a massive car bomb, within 24 hours the Foreign Secretary, Geoffrey Howe, was forced to admit this was not the case. However, a car used by the three was found in Marbella two days after the killings containing140 lb of Semtex, timed to go off during the changing of the guard.
 * 8 March: A British patrol came under heavy fire from an IRA unit at the Poleglass Roundabout in West Belfast.
 * 14 March: An IRA volunteer was killed in a gun battle with British forces in the Turf Lodge are of West Belfast.
 * 16 March: Milltown Cemetery attack: At the funeral of the three IRA volunteers killed in Gibraltar, Michael Stone, a member of the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF), launched hand grenades during the graveside oration, killing three people and injuring over 50 injured; including a 10 year old boy who was shot in the back, a 72 year old grandmother and a pregnant mother of four who was wounded by shrapnel. One of those killed was IRA volunteer Caoimhin MacBradaigh who had attempted to disarm the gunman.
 * 18 March: A civilian was shot dead by the IRA while sitting in a car in Tonaghgorm, near Belleek. Over 30 shots were fired into the vehicle. The IRA said the intended target was a close family friend who was a British soldier and subsequently announced that it had disbanded the unit which had carried out the attack. There is also speculation that this unit had been responsible for the Enniskillen bombing.
 * 19 March: Corporals killings: During the funeral of IRA volunteer Caoimhin MacBradaigh, killed in the cemetery attack by Michael Stone, a car approached the funeral procession at high speed. The car was surrounded by mourners, and two men later identified as corporals in the British Army were overpowered, dragged from the car, stripped and searched, taken to waste ground and shot and stabbed to death by the IRA.
 * 21 March: An RUC officer was killed in an IRA gun attack on a vehicle checkpoint in the Creggan area of Derry. He was shot in the head after an IRA unit fired two bursts of gunfire from a nearby building which they had taken over sometime earlier. A nearby civilian was hit in the leg by a stray bullet.
 * 6 April: A UDR soldier was killed when he detonated a booby trap bomb which had been attached to his car by an IRA active service unit in Fermanagh.
 * 7 April: A British soldier and an RUC officer were injured during a large IRA operation in Clogher, County Tyrone. IRA units took control of the town before launching simultaneous assaults on the RUC and UDR barracks. A UDR Major was shot and injured as was an RUC officer.
 * 18 April: A civilian who worked as a laborer for the British army was injured when he triggered a booby trap bomb which had been attached to his car by an IRA unit in Ballyronan, East Tyrone.
 * 18 April: Two British soldiers were injured when an IRA unit detonated a 5 lb mine by remote control as a patrol passed in Dungannon.
 * 26 April: Two British soldiers were killed in separate IRA attacks. One UDR soldier was killed in a gun attack near Moortown in County Tyrone. He was shot at close range by IRA volunteers using assault rifles. After he fell to the ground they fired more shots into him. Another British soldier was killed and two injured when the IRA detonated a remote control bomb in Carrickmore. The British patrol had passed a small shop in the village when the bomb exploded. It is believed the IRA switched a gas cylinder which always sat outside the shop for one packed with40 lb explosives
 * 1 May: Three British soldiers, all members of the Royal Air Force, were killed and four others were wounded when the IRA launched separate attacks in the Netherlands. In the first attack an IRA unit opened fire on a car carrying British soldiers near Roermond, killing one and injuring three. In the second attack, two British soldiers were killed when they triggered a booby trap bomb attached to their car in Nieuw-Bergen.
 * 6 May: IRA volunteer Hugh Hehir was killed by the Garda Special Branch following a bank raid in County Clare.
 * 11 May: Craigavon RUC barracks came under grenade and gun assault from the IRA shortly after 9:20am. The base was damaged but there were no injuries.
 * 12 May: A British soldier, of the Royal Pioneer Corps dog unit, and his Labrador dog were killed when they triggered an IRA anti-personnel device on the Castleblaney Road. The IRA had partly hidden a massive landmine at the side of the road so that it would be discovered by the British Army. When the bomb disposal team arrived they defused the device and a follow-up search was carried out. The IRA had placed a pressure plate bomb nearby and it exploded when the soldier stepped on it during the follow-up operation.
 * 13 May: Two British soldiers were badly wounded when the IRA detonated an anti-personnel mine as their patrol passed on North Howard Street, Belfast.
 * 16 May: A UDR soldier was badly injured when a booby trap bomb concealed in a creamery can exploded at Bantry, near Dungannon.
 * 19 May: Seven RUC officers were injured in an IRA bomb attack during the Balmoral Show in Belfast.
 * 24 May: An IRA unit fired four mortars at Cookstown British army base. Three of the mortars landed inside the base but only one exploded.
 * 15 June: High-ranking UVF member Robert "Squeak" Seymour was shot dead by the IRA in an alley behind his shop on the Woodstock Road in Belfast.
 * 15 June: Six off-duty British soldiers were killed by an IRA booby-trap bomb attached to their unmarked military van in Market Square, Lisburn. The bomb was made in such a way so as to ensure it exploded only upwards, causing maximum damage to the van, but avoiding spraying surrounding vehicles with shrapnel.
 * 22 June: A British soldier was wounded in an IRA gun and bomb attack in the Westrock area of Belfast.
 * 23 June: A British Army Lynx helicopter was brought down by the IRA near Upper Cashel Lough Upper in south County Armagh. The aircraft was engaged by two DShKs machine guns, three M60s and rifles from Aughanduff mountain.
 * 4 July: The IRA attacked North Queen Street RUC Station in Belfast but withdrew after being engaged by a heavily armed SAS detachment which had been lying in wait with at least one heavy machine gun. The SAS shot dead a passing taxi driver.
 * 7 July: Two civilians were killed in an IRA bomb attack at the Falls Baths in West Belfast. The IRA released a statement saying that the operation had gone "tragically wrong". The IRA said the bomb was intended for a British foot patrol but had been triggered accidentally. In the follow-up operation a British Army bomb disposal officer was killed when he stepped on a pressure-plate bomb left nearby.
 * 7 July: An IRA volunteer was killed when an improvised mortar detonated accidentally during an attack on Pomeroy RUC station.
 * 13 July: Nine British soldiers were injured when the IRA detonated two bombs at a British military barracks in Duisburg, Germany.
 * 23 July: Three civilians were killed by an IRA landmine on the main Belfast to Dublin road near Newry. The bomb was intended for High Court Judge Eoin Higgins, who was returning from Dublin Airport. The civilian vehicle was a similar model and had also been returning from Dublin Airport. Along the route it was driving behind an unmarked Garda car. The IRA believed this was a Garda escort and, judging by the car model and the route taken, it was assumed to the Higgins's car.
 * 25 July: An IRA volunteer was shot by UVF members wearing RUC uniforms in the Markets area of Belfast.
 * 29 July: A British soldier was killed when an IRA landmine exploded as a British foot patrol passed in Cullyhanna. Two RUC officers and two soldiers were also injured.
 * 1 August: One soldier, Lance Corporal Michael Robbins, was killed and a further 9 were injured by a timer device. The attack was the first Provisional IRA bomb on the UK mainland in four years. The target was the British Army base at the Inglis Barracks in Mill Hill, North London. The two storey building containing the single men's quarters was completely destroyed.
 * 2 August: An RUC detective was killed in an IRA under-car booby-trap bomb attack in Sloan Street, Lisburn.
 * 2 August: A UDR soldier was shot dead in the carpark of a shopping centre in West Belfast by a two man IRA unit. The gun used in the killing had been stolen from one of the corporals killed on 19 March.
 * 2 August: Six part-time soldiers of the UDR were injured when their vehicle was struck by an IRA explosive device outside Dungannon, county Tyrone.
 * 3 August: A UDR soldier was killed when he was on his way to work by an IRA unit which had taken over a house in Cookstown, County Tyrone.
 * 4 August: Two contractors who worked for the RUC were killed when the IRA ambushed their van as it left Belleek barracks. The van was hit by over 100 high velocity bullets. Both men were also members of the Orange Order.
 * 8 August: A British soldier died three weeks after being shot by an IRA sniper at New Barnsley base in west Belfast.
 * 12 August: A British Army Sergeant-Major was shot dead by the IRA in Ostend, Belgium.
 * 20 August: Ballygawley bus bombing: Eight British soldiers were killed and 28 wounded in a landmine attack on their bus, which was travelling between Omagh and Ballygawley. The bomb contained 200 pounds of plastic explosive.
 * 22 August: A British Royal Navy officer was killed in an IRA bomb attack in Belfast.
 * 26 August: Three RUC officers were injured in an IRA bomb attack and a hotel was also destroyed in an explosion.
 * 27 August: The IRA carried out over 200 separate gun and bomb attacks across Northern Ireland, within a 24 hour period, in a demonstration of the IRA's military capacity. It was timed to coincide with the extradition hearing of IRA volunteer Robert Russell.
 * 30 August: 3 IRA volunteers, Brian Mullin (26) and brothers Gerard (29) and Martin Harte (23), were killed in an SAS ambush near Drumnakilly, County Tyrone, as they attempted to kill an off-duty member of the Ulster Defence Regiment.
 * 3 September: Crossmaglen British Army base in County Armagh was hit by three mortars.
 * 9 September: An Ulster Clubs member was shot dead by the IRA in the Finaghy area of Belfast.
 * 12 September: The house of Sir Kenneth Bloomfield, the top civilian servant in Northern Ireland, located at Helen's Bay, County Down, was heavily damaged by two bombs planted by the IRA. Bloomfield, his wife and children had to be treated for shock.
 * 25 September: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA at Loughgall, County Armagh. The IRA unit fired 47 shots in the attack and the soldier was hit a number of times in the lower body. He was also a member of the Orange Order.
 * 4 October: A Prison Officer was killed when his car was blown up by an IRA bomb in the Bloomfield area of Belfast.
 * 7 October: A British soldier was wounded in an IRA booby-trap bomb attack in Belfast.
 * 11 October: An RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA on the Lisburn Road in Belfast. He was looking after his brother's ice cream shop when two men entered and shot him a number of times at close range with .357 Magnums.
 * 17 October: A contractor to the British Army was killed in an IRA bomb attack in the Dundonald area of Belfast. The IRA also claimed he was linked to the UVF.
 * 26 October: An RUC officer was shot dead by an IRA sniper in Kinawley, County Fermanagh.
 * 26 October: A civilian was killed by a booby-trap bomb attached to his car at his workplace (a postal sorting office) on Tomb Street, Belfast. The IRA claimed responsibility and said it believed he was a member of the UDR.
 * 21 November: An RUC officer was killed in an IRA attack on a security barrier in Castlederg, County Tyrone.
 * 13 December: A contractor to the British Army was shot dead by the IRA in Portadown, County Armagh.
 * 14 December: A rocket was fired at an RUC landrover at a court-house in Newry. Two RUC officers and a civilian were hurt. The IRA claimed responsibility.
 * 16 December: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA in Downpatrick, County Down.

1989

 * 4 January: Two RUC officers were injured in an IRA booby-trap bomb attack in the New Barnsley area of Belfast.
 * 15 January: A former RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA while parked outside his girlfriends house in Ballintra, County Donegal. Two IRA volunteers fired into the car through the front windscreen, shooting him 23 times. Shortly after the killing the IRA announced that it had stood down one of its units which operated along the Fermanagh-Donegal border.
 * 28 January: An RUC officer was killed when an IRA unit launched a drogue-bomb at a stationary patrol vehicle in Sion Mills, Tyrone. The device was thrown from the roof of a nearby building as the car stopped on a routine inquiry. A second officer was badly injured in the attack.
 * 31 January : A British soldier was killed when an IRA unit detonated a remote control bomb which was hidden in a drainpipe as a British Army foot-patrol passed in the Falls area of Belfast.
 * 6 February: IRA volunteer James Joseph Connolly (20) was killed when a bomb he was planting under an RUC officers car exploded accidentally.
 * 20 February: The IRA bombed a British Army barracks at Ternhill in Shropshire, England. One person was injured.
 * 22 February: A British soldier was shot dead when a military bus came under gun attack from an IRA unit in the Waterside area of Derry. Lance Corporal Norman Duncan, aged 27, was shot by an IRA Unit as he drove from Ebrington Barracks in Derry to the nearby Ebrington Primary School to collect the children of British soldiers in a school bus. As the bus stopped at a junction a man jumped out of a nearby car, walked over to the bus and fired 15 shots at the driver, hitting him six times in the head and abdomen.
 * 26 February: A man was shot in the head by the IRA in an alley in the Lenadoon area of Belfast. The man was an estate agent and was accused of being an informer for providing the IRA with safehouses which were bugged by the security forces.
 * 27 February: A former RUC officer was killed in an IRA booby trap bomb attack at his home in east Belfast. The IRA also accused the man of being involved with loyalist paramilitaries. The RUC denied this.
 * 7 March: The IRA carried out a machine gun attack on a building in Coagh, which they claimed was used by loyalists to plan attacks. Three civilians were killed. The IRA claimed that one of the people killed, Leslie Dallas, was a UVF member but that the other two men had been "caught up in the confusion". The security forces and the UVF denied Dallas was a UVF member.
 * 8 March: Two British soldiers were killed and six other badly wounded when their vehicle struck a massive IRA landmine on the Buncrana Road in Derry. The second vehicle in the patrol was completely destroyed.
 * 14 March: An off duty UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA while at his workplace in Dungannon, County Tyrone.
 * 16 March: A senior UVF member was shot dead by the IRA while at his home in the Skegoneill area of Belfast. An IRA unit entered his home and shot him 15 times at close range.
 * 20 March: Two high-ranking RUC officers, Superintendent Bob Buchanan and Chief Superintendent Harry Breen, were ambushed and killed by the IRA near the Irish border outside Jonesborough, County Armagh. They were shot dead by a six man unit using four rifles. There were at least 25 strikemarks on their unmarked car.
 * 4 April: An IRA volunteer was shot dead by the UDA/UFF as he slept beside his wife in their Rasharkin home. It is alleged by the IRA and Father Raymond Murray that there was collusion between security forces and loyalists in his death.
 * 12 April: A civilian was killed when the IRA detonated a car-bomb at Warrenpoint RUC barracks. The IRA said one of its members had accidentally triggered a microswitch device which caused the bomb to explode early. The bomb was meant to go off an hour later after a smokebomb had detonated first to clear the area.
 * 21 April: The IRA shot dead a civilian in his taxi on the Crumlin Road in Belfast. The IRA originally claimed he was a loyalist paramilitary however it has since emerged that the attack was planned by Sandy Lynch, a British Agent who had penetrated the IRA. He had tipped off the security forces of the attack and an SAS team were lying in wait for the IRA unit. The IRA escaped because they killed the man further up the road than expected. Lynch was later kidnapped by the IRA and was being interrogated in a house in Belfast when he was rescued by the RUC. One of those arrested in the operation was Danny Morrisson.
 * 24 April: A 400 lb IRA van-bomb failed to explode in the Turf Lodge area of Belfast. Despite a warning from the IRA that there was a primed and unexploded bomb on a main road the RUC refused to close the street and only responded to the incident 13 hours later.
 * 4 May: A Prison Officer was killed by an IRA booby-trap bomb attached to his car in Loughgall, County Armagh. He was also a member of the Orange Order.
 * 4 May: A British soldier was killed in an IRA landmine attack on a British army foot patrol just outside Crossmaglen, County Armagh. Three other soldiers were wounded. Seamus Mallon MP criticised both the IRA and the British Army for "turning south Armagh into one huge warzone".
 * 10 May: A British soldier was badly injured losing both his legs and his right eye when the IRA carried out a remote-controlled bomb attack on his patrol on the Falls Road in Belfast.
 * 13 May: The IRA launched a mortar attack on 13 May 1989 against a British Army observation post in Glassdrumman, South Armagh. The attack involved the first use of the Mark-12 mortar.
 * 19 June: A bomb exploded at a British Army base in Osnabrück, Germany. Nobody was injured, but the explosion caused damage estimated at £75,000.
 * 27 June: An RUC officer was killed in an IRA booby trap bomb attack in Strabane, Tyrone.
 * 1 July: An off-duty RUC officer was shot dead by the IRA in Garvagh, County Londonderry. Two IRA men shot at him as he sat in his parents house.
 * 2 July: A British soldier was killed in an IRA booby trap bomb attack outside his home in Hanover, Germany. He was killed when an IRA bomb exploded as he opened the door of his Mercedes car.
 * 3 July: A triple IRA bomb attack at Belfast Harbour Airport damaged two aircraft and a control tower.
 * 7 July: A number of RUC officers were injured in an IRA landmine attack in Red Arch Bay, County Antrim. One officer died of his wounds 18 days later.
 * 15 July: The IRA bombed the headquarters of a British phone company in Belfast. The IRA telephoned in a 20-minute warning to a local radio station. There were no civilian casualties.
 * 18 July: The IRA kidnapped and killed a civilian near Dundalk. They claimed he was an informer who had aided the RUC in their arrest of Raymond McCreesh. They also said he regularly met his RUC handler in the Downshire Arms Hotel in Banbridge.
 * 12 August: An IRA bomb wrecked a pub in Derry, just hours before the yearly Apprentice Boys parade.
 * 7 September: A German civilian woman, 26-year-old Heidi Hazell, was shot dead in West Germany. She had been sitting in a car with British license plates outside the British Army married quarters in Unna. A gunman walked up to the car and shot her 14 times at point-blank range with an AK47. The IRA expressed regret for the death and claimed she had been shot "in the belief that she was a member of the British Army garrison" at nearby Dortmund. It did not apologize and warned civilians to "keep well clear of military personnel."
 * 11 September: A number of mortars were fired at a Royal Air Force radar station south of Belfast. No injuries were reported.
 * 16 September: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper during an attack on Coalisland British Army base, County Tyrone. The soldier was fixing a radio mast on the roof when an IRA volunteer fired up to 30 shots at him. His body dangled from a safety line until he was eventually cut down.
 * 22 September: Eleven British Royal Marines were killed and 22 other soldiers injured when the IRA bombed their barracks in Deal, Kent, England.
 * 4 October: A civilian was shot dead by the IRA on Cavehill Road in Belfast. The Sunday Tribune reported that he had been killed by mistake, and that a loyalist paramilitary was the intended target. The IRA's Belfast Brigade issued an apology and claimed it had been a case of mistaken identity.
 * 8 October: An RUC officer was killed by an IRA booby-trap bomb attached to his car outside his home on Dalboyne Gardens, Lisburn. The officer was a Superintendent and the sub-divisional commander for Newcastle, County Down.
 * 9 October: A British soldier (who was also a member of Ulster Resistance) was shot dead by the IRA in Kilrea, County Londonderry. He was shot a number of times in the head as he waited for collection by his employer.
 * 18 October: A member of Ulster Resistance was shot dead by the IRA at his home near Lurgan, County Armagh. Three IRA volunteers entered his shop, which sold loyalist regalia, and shot him a number of times at close range.
 * 20 October: An RUC officer was shot dead during an IRA ambush of an RUC armoured patrol near Newtownhamilton, County Armagh. Another soldier was badly wounded, having been shot multiple times. The IRA unit pulled out in front of the RUC vehicle in a lorry and opened fire with a DShK heavy machine-gun. The car was hit 66 times. The killed officer was also a member of the Orange Order.
 * 26 October: IRA members opened fire on the car of an RAF corporal in West Germany. The car had stopped at a petrol station snack bar near RAF Wildenrath and inside it were the corporal, his wife, and their six-month-old daughter. The corporal and his daughter were killed; his wife suffered shock. The IRA expressed regret for the child's death and claimed its members did not know she was in the car.
 * 26 October: An IRA unit launched a multiple mortar attack on Crossmaglen British Army base, County Armagh.
 * 3 November: A 1600 lb van bomb exploded outside an RUC base in Derry. There were no injuries.
 * 4 November: A rocket was fired at an RUC landrover in West Belfast. Two RUC officers and two civilians were hurt.
 * 17 November: A UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA outside Drumad British Army base, Armagh town. He was also a member of the Orange Order.
 * 18 November: Three British soldiers were killed after entering a derelict cottage which had been booby-trapped by the IRA in County Down. The bomb contained almost 400 kg of explosive. A fourth soldier was badly wounded.
 * 18 November: Two British soldiers were wounded when an IRA carbomb exploded at a British Army barracks in Colchester, England.
 * 13 December: Two British soldiers were killed and one wounded during the Attack on Derryard checkpoint, near Rosslea, County Fermanagh. The attack was the only recorded use of a military flamethrower by the IRA.
 * 18 December: The IRA planted a 270 kg car bomb in Rathfriland, County Down, outside the homes of members of the British security services. The device only partially exploded causing moderate damage.
 * 22 December: Two IRA members were arrested while transporting explosives in Newgale, England.