Belfast Telegraph bombing remembered after 50 years
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Amanda Pollock, the granddaughter of Belfast Telegraph printer Joseph Paton, marked the 50th anniversary of his death after a 1976 bombing in Northern Ireland.
On September 15, 1976, a van containing 50 to 100 pounds of explosives detonated in the loading bay of the Belfast Telegraph building. Fifteen people sustained injuries in the blast, and four days later, 63-year-old Joseph Paton died from his injuries in hospital.
Pollock believes the deaths of people like her grandfather often went unacknowledged during The Troubles, a period of thirty years of violence in Northern Ireland. In 1976 alone, nearly 300 people died, making it one of the most deadly years of the conflict.
Despite extensive damage to the printing presses, the Belfast Telegraph staff, led by editor Roy Lilley, managed to produce a four-page edition the day after the attack, selling it for one penny and dubbing it the “Penny Marvel.” Current editor Martin Breen stated the bombing did not stop the newspaper from publishing and expressed sympathy for Paton’s family. A memorial service will take place at St Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast to remember Paton and others affected by the bombing.
Two individuals were convicted for their roles in the attack, with one receiving a life sentence for murder.
