November 21st

On this day – 21^st of November 1974 – The Birmingham Pub Bombings

The Birmingham Pub Bombings was several explosions in pubs in Birmingham, United Kingdom. A total of 21 people were killed in the explosions, while another 182 were injured. The Provisional Irish Republican Army were most likely the terrorist behind the attack, although they never officially claimed responsibility. They had previously conducted act of terrorism on English land with the goal of getting the British government to withdraw from Northern Ireland. The bombing in Birmingham led to considerable anti-Irish sentiment in UK, and several Irish people living in the area experienced violent attacks against themselves. Six Irishmen were sentenced to life in prison after the attack, but their case were overthrown in 1991 due to unsatisfactory convictions. This attack is the deadliest terror attack in UK between WW2 and the London Bombing in 2005. It is also seen as one of the worst cases of injustice in UK history.

This terrorist attack is not the only deadly result of the conflict between England and Ireland on the 21^st of November. In 1920 were 31 people killed in Dublin as a part of the Irish war for independence.  

One of the pubs after the bombings