Arms dump put on display in Strabane
An arms dump which was used by three IRA volunteers the night they were killed in an SAS ambush, has been dramatically uncovered a quarter of a century after their deaths.
The hide was used by Charlie Breslin and brothers Michael and David Devine before they were gunned down in a field at Plumbridge Road overlooking the Head-of-the-Town on February 23rd, 1985.
The Journal can also exclusively reveal that the empty hide was excavated in the grounds of the Convent of Mercy site in the Grove area of the town.
It was dug out on Monday – 25 years to the day it was last opened – and put on display in the Fountain Street community centre. It was included with memorabilia during the closing stages of an exhibition held to commemorate the deaths.
The arms dump consisted of a plastic pipe measuring just under 4ft long which had been buried around six feet in the ground in a wooded area.
It’s believed the hide would have taken around nine hours to bury in the 1980s and was excavated within an hour of being pinpointed this week following an anonymous tip-off.
The arms dump was opened for use by the three IRA volunteers on the night of February 22nd 1985. They had made their way to an area of higher ground in the Head-of-the-Town and were in the process of returning weapons and ammunition to the hide when they were intercepted by the SAS shortly before 5am and shot.
The dump – which had a lead cover and bitumen sealed base – had remained bone dry and undisturbed for a quarter of a century. The ‘active service unit’ had been in possession of two grenade launchers newly engineered by the IRA which had never been used before in Ireland, along with a Ruger rifle, an FN rifle and a Cal rifle. They had planned to attack an RUC vehicle on routine patrol at Fountain Street which failed to appear.
Republican sources say that given the time which has elapsed, the find should now be regarded as an historical exhibit.
Organisers of the weekend of events said that producing the item had been extremely poignant for the families of the deceased.
